The name ‘Southwark Cathedral’ may not roll off the tongues of tourists in the same way that St Paul’s cathedral and Westminster Abbey do, yet it still pulls in a sizeable number of visitors each year. On hot sunny days in the summer, people pour over from neighbouring […]
Computer generated images showing residents enjoying bird’s eye views across London from a leafy roof garden set on top of a skyscraper is not unusual for marketing material in a city where architects and developers race to win over wealthy homebuyers with their glitzy projects. Toblerone Towers – […]
Standing on a raised gravelled bank a short walk from Plumstead station, the views in front of me could hardly be described as picturesque. Looking in one direction I could see some Southeastern trains parked up in their sidings, while looking the other way there was an expanse […]
In an area of London where so many buildings have been flattened and replaced by new homes, Reverdy Road and Alma Grove come as pleasant surprises. Just a few minutes walk from busy Old Kent Road, you find these parallel streets of well-looked after Victorian two-storey, terraced houses […]
“It’s a world away from the South Downs or the Lake District but Croydon could be set to become a new tourist hotspot thanks to the National Trust,” said the Evening Standard in a recent article. This is perhaps stating the obvious – national parks with green open […]
“Woolwich is a great place to invest in property,” more than one person said when I was house hunting last year. “The arrival Crossrail will send house prices soaring and it will help to continue the much-needed regeneration of the town centre,” I was told. Walking along the […]
Trudging through woodland is unlikely to be top of everyone’s list when it comes to choosing a place for a walk. As many a hiker will tell you, there is little better than being rewarded with a panoramic view from high up on the top of a hill […]
Bermondsey Street is a busy stretch of upmarket cafes, galleries and craft shops that is gentrifying fast. Lying in the shadow of the Shard, it’s an area of prime real estate, with developers sitting on vacant properties waiting for prices to rise as the ambitious re-building of London […]
When the sun is shining London’s open spaces suddenly become much more attractive places to visit. Groups of friends gather for impromptu team games, families enjoy picnics and some (hoping they won’t get caught by the authorities) fire up a barbecue. For a city as populous as London, […]
When the capital’s first railway – the London and Greenwich – opened in 1836, Deptford became an overnight haven for commuters and day trippers. Passengers could reach southeast London from the company’s London Bridge terminus in a matter of minutes and some 20,000 travelled on the line during […]
Past In The Present 