This neighbourhood stretches along the southern bank of the Thames from Waterloo Bridge, past Blackfriars and the Millennium Bridge, all the way to London Bridge. The locality boasts some of the city’s most recognisable and famous landmarks, including the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, OXO Tower and The Shard. It also plays host to the National Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, and nearby Borough Market. Although this neighbourhood is home to many popular tourist attractions, there is a lot for locals too. Some of the city’s most fashionable restaurants, riverside bars and pubs line the Bankside, while those looking for a more meditative experience can wander the Bernie Spain Gardens. This neighbourhood is well-situated for getting around London due to its strategic location and excellent transportation links that include Waterloo and London Bridge stations.

A reconstruction of Sir Francis Drake’s galleon, the Golden Hinde is located in this neighbourhood. It was an English galleon best known for its participation in an expedition to circumnavigate the globe between 1577 and 1580. The expedition, consisting of a fleet of five ships, set sail from Plymouth Sound in Devon in 1577 and the fleet travelled to South America, through the treacherous Straits of Magellan, the Pacific Ocean, the coast of California, Vancouver, New Albion, the Philippines, the Spice Islands, Java, round the Cape of Good Hope and on to Sierra Leone. In 1580, Francis Drake returned to Plymouth Sound and the Golden Hinde was the only vessel to return of the original five vessels. After Drake’s circumnavigation, the Golden Hinde was maintained for public exhibition at the dockyard at Deptford, London, until 1589 when it was sent with the rest of the English Armada to Spain by Queen Elizabeth I of England, during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War.

The roof of the National Theatre is home to approximately 60,000 bees. They keep bee hives on their roof to promote the declining bee population and sell the honey in the National Theatre shop. Meanwhile nestled behind the Tate Modern sits one of the city’s most disconcerting statues. The animatronic sculpture on Sumner Street was created by artist Andrew Shoben and reacts to and imitates the people around it. Interestingly London Bridge station is also the only station on the entire London Underground network with the word “London” in its name.

One of the downsides of living in this neighbourhood area is the property prices. This area has become a hot commodity in recent years and this is reflected in the average property price, which has increased over 50% in the last 4 years and is well above the London average.

This neighbourhood area has therefore clearly undergone significant development in recent years. The Shard, Britain’s tallest building, was recently joined by Shard Place, a 26-storey residential-led development including a private terrace garden on the 16th floor. Looking forward, One Southwark Bridge, the former home of the Financial Times, is currently in the process of redevelopment and will provide 210,000 sq ft of office space. Further west, Barge House is also under construction. The new 5-storey office building is designed by Henley Halebrown and will use the existing frame and foundations of the existing building to minimise its environmental impact. These developments are typical of Southwark as a whole and residents should continue to see more improvements to their neighbourhood area in the coming years.