Spring has tentatively arrived in London and I venture out in the glorious sunshine. South Bank is a favourite place of mine, beautifully located and with so much going on. As the home for Tate Modern, National Theatre, Hayward Gallery, Shakespeare’s Globe, BFI, Royal Festival Hall and National Poetry Library, South Bank is a cultural hotspot where art, music, theatre and literature come together. Also, Southbank Centre is hosting the annual London Literature Festival, which I find very appropriate. 

South Bank itself, although having a distinct modern feel to it, has links to great English writers such as Shakespeare and Dickens. Next to South Bank runs the Thames, which according to myth has its very own river deity, Old Father Thames. In Ben Aronovitch’s Rivers of London, this particular stretch of the river is the dominion of Mama Thames though. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s used the Thames as scene for a dramatic river chase in The Sign of Four, where the culprits attempt to flee by means of a small steamer, Sherlock Holmes, Watson and the police at their heels.  

My walk starts at St Paul’s Cathedral north of the Thames. The cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren has become one of London’s most iconic landmarks. In Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch a rather memorable walk takes place around here.

From St Paul’s I stroll through Queenhithe towards the Thames. This is where P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh resided in an apartment with balcony just above the river. Very nice. Very enviable. 

I cross the river via the Millennium Bridge, which was spectacularly blown up in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie. Straight opposite St Paul’s the unshapely form of Tate Modern is towering. The former power station is not exactly an architectural masterpiece, but the inside has a cool, industrial feel to it and the permanent art collection is superb. When Peter Grant from Ben Aaronovitch’s Whispers Underground visited, he got quite a lot more than he bargained for in terms of mind-blowing art.

Shakespeare’s Globe is located just east of Tate Modern. The reconstruction of the Globe Theatre from 1559 is a must-see for literary travellers. The amphitheatre has standing space in the middle and although lighting and microphones have recently been introduced, the theatre aims to reproduce the original playing conditions. The buildings also house an indoor theatre and a Shakespeare exhibition.

The nearby Southwark Cathedral was visited by Shakespeare and members of his theatre group. A stained glass window with Shakespeare characters and a memorial statue honours this relationship and the cathedral also marks Shakespeare’s birthday 23^rdApril. Shakespeare himself is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, but his younger brother Edmond Shakespeare is buried at Southwark Cathedral.

I reach London Bridge under which the city’s most renowned food market, Borough Market, can be found. Unfortunately the stalls are closing as I get there, but the foody smells are still lingering. London Bridge tends to be overshadowed by the neighbouring Tower Bridge, but it does – in various forms – have an ancient history dating all the way back to the Romans and it was at London Bridge Nancy met with Mr. Bronlow in Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist.   

I turn around and head back west. 

BlackFriars Bridge, situated next to Millenium Bridge, is named after the Blackfriars Monastery. In Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, the Blackfriar monks meticulously guard the bridge and Richard, Door and Hunter must in classic fantasy style overcome three challenges before being allowed to cross.

In Sketches by Boz Charles Dickens writes about a miserable, drunken sod who comes to meet his destiny below Waterloo Bridge. Nowadays you can pick up a second-hand book below the bridge, possibly even a Charles Dickens. Or you can watch an independent movie at the British Film Institute.   

Finally, I reach London Eye, which is a major tourist attraction and one of the modern landmarks of the city. Due to the limited number of tall buildings, the characteristic circular shape can be spotted from a variety of London locations. It used to be sponsored by British Airways and when the ride was over they would say ‘Thank you for flying British Airways’ over the loudspeakers. I liked that. You have to appreciate the small things in life. In Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery, Samil inexplicably disappears from one of the enclosed cabins and the siblings Ted and Kat have to figure out what happened.

From South Bank there is a great view of Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament). Tempting as it is to say quite a few things about this place at the moment, I will stick to mentioning that Robin in J.K. Rowlings Lethal White went undercover as an intern here to achieve information in a case relating to one of the MPs. Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway lived just left of Palace of Westminster. She would listen to Big Ben throughout the day, symbolising the passing of time. 

My South Bank walk comes to an end and I head north again. On my way back I walk past one of my favourite writers. The very one who wrote the motto used on my blog. He lies in the gutter, but looks fairly cheerful. I smile at him and go home.  

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Below the locations are shown.