The South end

Park Life - It's Alive & Well in South London

If you live in London and don’t enjoy working out in a brightly-lit room surrounded by strangers, it can be hard to find a place to exercise. Happily there is a solution if you live south of the river (or even if you don’t; we do have some Tube lines, you know). South London is home to a number of parks and open spaces, most notable for the sheer amount of space they cover. These urban idylls are perfect for walking, jogging, or just relaxing in surprisingly green and pleasant surroundings.

South London is arguably the best area of the city in terms of the number and quality of public parks. The jewel in the crown is the vast and wild Richmond Park, which at its epicentre feels more like Dartmoor than South-West London. You can look out for the park’s native deer, or have a picnic with nobody else in sight – even on a bank holiday.

Other wide open spaces of note this side of the Thames include Clapham Common, an unspectacular but very popular green area that stretches languidly away from the area’s lively high street. Further down the Northern Line, Tooting and Streatham commons are perfectly acceptable for a Sunday stroll to burn a few calories. Wimbledon and Mitcham Common are both more extensive areas, large enough for a few hours’ walking.

As well as the natural expanses of the commons, South London is also home to a handful of smaller, landscaped green spaces. Battersea Park on the south bank of the Thames features landscaped gardens, a pavilion and the famous Peace Pagoda. Further south, Crystal Palace park sits on the border of five different boroughs, and boasts a bizarre nature walk dotted with concrete dinosaurs. Surely more interesting than anything you’ll find in the dreaded gym–

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To get to Richmond Park, take the District Line to Richmond and get a 371 which stops outside the park in Petersham.

For Clapham Common, head to the Northern Line station of the same name. It’s on your right as you come out, in the opposite direction to the High Street.

For Tooting Common, take the tube to Tooting Bec on the Northern Line. As you come out, head east along

Tooting Bec Road

. After five minutes you will reach the common.

Wimbledon Common is a short bus ride away from Wimbledon station; take the District Line, tram or overground to the station, exit onto the high street and catch the 93 bus from the other side of the road.

Mitcham Junction railway station sits on the western edge of Mitcham Common, and can be reached from Blackfriars and Victoria mainline stations.

Battersea Park has it’s own railway station, about ¼ of a mile west of the park; it is a couple of stops from Victoria on any Southern service.

Crystal Palace also has its own station, on the southern edge of the park. The station is accessible via Southern services from London Bridge and Victoria stations.

Beautiful Bankside - London's Gem!

The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, The West End’s Theatreland, Covent Garden, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s, all must see sights for the London tourist and all north of the river. Well my advice is to take a break from the north and head south of the Thames to experience the beauty of Bankside!

South of London has for too long lived in the shadow of the illustrious North, a place where taxi drivers fear to drive after sundown according to popular fable, but things are changing and the Bankside area of Southwark, just south of the river and centrally located, has sights that cannot be missed and that are ideal for the traveller on a budget.

When visiting Bankside why not stay in the London School of Economics’ Bankside House? During term times this vast building acts as accommodation for students at one of Britain’s highest regarded seats of learning, but during Spring and Autumn breaks and for large sections of Summer and Winter it throws open its doors to the general public and doubles as a budget hotel. The accommodation is basic, although the food is great, but the value for the money and location cannot be beaten in the whole of London.

Literally around the corner from Bankside House is the Tate Modern art gallery, a former power station that has been converted into a huge gallery housing some of the world’s greatest, and controversial, modern art. Turn another corner and you will find yourself gazing in amazement at The Globe Theatre, a faithful reconstruction of the very theatre used by William Shakespeare himself. Get to the Globe early, or buy tickets in advance, as the queues can be daunting, but you can also take part in free tours of the Globe and learn more about its history. Down a sidestreet from the Globe, and less well known to the tourist, is another theatrical reconstruction - the Rose Theatre. The Rose predates even The Globe and is still being excavated, but stages a range of Elizabethan drama, specialising in the plays of Christopher Marlowe, the great contemporary of Shakespeare.

One of the great joys of this area of London is strolling along the Thames. The South Bank of the river has a great advantage over the Northern side in that it hosts a variety of beautiful, and historic, pubs where you can sit and watch the world float by and wave to tourists sailing past on Thames cruises. The embankment path runs right along the river side and is a stunning walk on a sunny day. Watch the Londoner’s out jogging and skating and always ready to return a smile.

While strolling along the embankment on any given day you will see book and art dealers with rare and antique collections for sale and you will also find hidden delights such as the Dali Museum before you come to the great wheel itself, The London Eye that lets you drift along as you look out over the whole of this great city! There is so much to see and do in South London, so visit Bankside and see the true beauty of this captivating capital!