When people hear about London, many scenes come to mind – the London Eye and the guards at Buckingham Palace, the double-deck red buses and Big Ben, the luxury and class of Chelsea, the vibrant multi-cultural atmosphere at Camden or the financial sharks that make up most of the population of the City and the newly formed commercial heart of Canary Wharf, museums, galleries and pubs where the spirit of London is encapsulated and preserved for the generations to come. Our capital is a unique mix between traditional and new, of luxury and bohemia, and much more.
There is one place here however that, even though not the first association made upon thinking about London, that we consider to be by far the best place to live and do business in the capital. That is the borough of Southwark. The following text will try to explain that in a straightforward manner, naming as many good examples as possible.
The first major pro in favor of Southwark is its location. The borough is comparatively small, but still densely populated with over 300 000 permanent residents in all of its many districts. Its northern border is actually the south bank of the Thames, and across the river is the City of London, so one will find it hard to imagine a better and more central location than that, right?
On its condense territory Southwark manages to encapsulate all that is good and noble in our day and time – vibrant commercial streets and commuters neighborhoods, art spaces and entertainment venues. Let’s have a look at some of the major districts in the borough and you are going to notice that this is exactly the case:
- Camberwell is the place where the borough’s art scene is concentrated. Located here are the Camberwell College of Arts and the South London Gallery. Many much smaller art spaces are also available, both for you to look at paintings and installations and to actually purchase them.
- If you want to feel the real spirit of a traditional London suburb, consisting of comfortable semi-detached houses and broad tree-line streets, then Dulwich and East Dulwich are definitely the places for you. The original village centre is very well preserved, and the local park is among the finest public green spaces in the central part of the capital.
- People go to the recently regenerated district of Nunhead for nothing less than its excellent pubs. Critics say that the Old Nuns Head public house is the finest example of traditional English pub that one can hope to visit in their life.
- London is traditionally known to be a cosmopolitan city. This is something that dates back to the origins of the colonial empire and it is particularly true today. There are some places in the city that are more cosmopolitan than others however, and among them Peckham takes up a leading position, with its diverse community consisting of representatives of minorities from Bangladesh, the Caribbean, China, India, Ireland, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Vietnam.
- If you have seen The Riddle, the popular 2007 film starring Vinnie Jones and Derek Jacobi, you will recognize Rotherhithe from first sight. Most of the filming locations in that production are located in the district. How cool is that exactly, to be able to literally walk on the set of one of your favorite films?
- If some shopping is what you are hoping to do while in Southwark, then the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, a relatively newly built development in the eponymous district, will provide you with one of the finest retailers in the borough, and all in a very beautiful locale quite near the former Surrey Docks.
- Newington is known for two primary things – for being the birth place of the prominent physicist Michael Faraday and for being one of the finest residential districts in London, alongside the nearby Bermondsey.
- The name Bankside speaks for itself. Obviously the district is located right on the south bank of the Thames. It is also known for being home to the Tate Modern Gallery, which is the building of the former Bankside Power Station. In addition to housing a vast collection of international modern and contemporary art, the Tate is home to the British national art collection from 1900 onwards.
If places with bizarre names crack you up, what would you say about Elephant and Castle? It is one of the few modern districts in London which were named after a pub. The pub itself was important because it served as a coaching inn, and it is actually featured in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night – so it definitively must have been of great importance. Present day Elephant and Castle is primarily a residential district, preferred by both young professionals working in the city and bohemians who like to live an artistic and contemplative life – it is in short a pretty picturesque and diverse place to settle down in.- Can you guess what is the common thing between Samuel Prout, inventor Sir Henry Bessemer, aviator John Cyril Porte, flying ace Arthur Vigers, actresses Lorraine Chase and Jenny Agutter, news reporter Jeremy Bowen, comedian/writer Jenny Eclair and Burger Bear Tom? They are all residents of the district of Denmark Hill in Southwark.
- The name Walworth appears both in the Domesday Book and the present day London Plan. The spirit of the past centuries is still preserved in the many historical buildings in here. There is no need to go to a museum in order to feel it, especially if you can just take a walk in Walworth.
Historical places, open air markets and parks, multi-cultural mass of residents, famous associations, residential quarters and cultural venues of significant importance – that is the face of the London Borough of Southwark at the present moment. And these, among many others, are the reasons we consider it to be the best part of the capital – we hope that you would agree with our assessment.
