Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Along Borough High Street are plaques locating the alleyway (“yard”) of long-
gone taverns known to book lovers.
The White Hart
(north of The George) was where
Shakespeare and Dickens drank and set scenes.
The Queen's Head
(south of The George)
was owned by the mother of John Harvard, of university fame. At
The Tabard
(now
called “Talbot,” also south of The George), Chaucer's band began its fictional trip south in
The Canterbury Tales
—“Befell that in that season on a day/In Southwark at The Tabard
as I lay/Ready to wander on my pilgrimage/To Canterbury with full courage.”
• Walk back to Southwark Cathedral. Next to the church, you'll find the...
Borough Market
The first trading starts at 2:00 in the morning at this open-air wholesale produce market.
Workers can knock off by sunrise for a pint at the specially licensed Market Porter tavern
(on Park Street). On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the colorful market opens for retail
sales to Londoners seeking trendy specialty and organic foods. It's great for gathering a
picnic on a sunny day. Of the many market stalls, the Ginger Pig is
the
place for serious
English sausage and bacon (west end of market, across from Park Street), while Maria's
Market Café is a colorful eatery popular with market workers (the red stall in the middle
of the market).
