Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
uncomfortable part of the ship, and to make it down to the airlocked Boiler Room, a
spaghetti of pipes and valves, from which there was very little chance of escape in the
event of the ship being hit. If you want to know more about the cruiser's history, head
for the Exhibition Flat in Zone 5; next door, in the Life at Sea room, you can practise
your Morse code and knots, and listen to accounts of naval life on board.
City Hall
The Queen's Walk • Mon-Thurs 8.30am-6pm, Fri 8.30am-5.30pm • Free •
T
020 7983 4000,
W
london.gov.uk •
!
London Bridge
East of the
Belfast
, overlooking the river, is Norman Foster's startling glass-encased
City Hall
,
headquarters for the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London,
which looks like a giant car headlight or fencing mask. Visitors are welcome to stroll
up the helical walkway, visit the café and watch proceedings from the second floor.
For access to “London's Living Room” on the ninth floor, which boasts the best views
over the Thames, contact City Hall. Before you leave the area, be sure to check out
Fiona Banner's shiny black
Full Stops
, 3D renditions styled in different fonts and
wrought in bronze.
Bermondsey Street
Once the area's high street,
Bermondsey Street
has been transformed over the last
decade or so into a trendy strip of cafés, pubs, shops and art galleries. This was also
once the heart of the tanning industry - hence Tanner Street, Morocco Street (where
much of the leather came from) and Leathermarket Road, which leads to the former
Leather Hide and Wool Exchange
of 1878, decorated with roundels depicting the
process of tanning. Next door is the former Leather Market, built in 1833 and now
converted into workshops, including one where you can watch
glassblowing
demonstrations (Mon-Fri 10am-1pm & 2-5pm; free).
With Borough Market getting ever busier, an offshoot foodie market has begun to
evolve on Saturdays around the Monmouth Coffee roastery under the railway arches
on
Maltby Street
, at the end of Tanner Street. And finally, at the far end of Bermondsey
Street, the venerable Bermondsey
antique market
takes place early on Friday mornings.
The market is also known confusingly as the New Caledonian Market, after the prewar
flea market that used to take place off Islington's Caledonian Road.
16
Fashion and Textile Museum
83 Bermondsey St • Tues-Sat 11am-6pm • £8 •
T
020 7407 8664,
W
ftmlondon.org •
!
London Bridge
he
Fashion and Textile Museum
is the lifelong dream of Zandra Rhodes, fashion
grande dame extraordinaire
. Designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta,
and daubed in Rhodes' favourite colours of yellow, pink and orange, the FTM
(a former cash-and-carry warehouse) is an arresting sight on an otherwise drab
street architecturally. Rhodes opened her first boutique in the 1960s, and reached
the peak of her popularity during the punk era. Her own sartorial taste hasn't
changed much in the intervening years, but thankfully FTM's exhibitions are more
wide-ranging - from designer tea cosies to 1970s fashion - and are often drawn
from her own vast collection.
White Cube Bermondsey
144-152 Bermondsey St • Tues -Sat10am-6pm, Sun noon-6pm • Free •
T
020 7930 5373,
W
whitecube.com
The definitive sign that Bermondsey had come of age was the arrival of an
absolutely enormous branch of the high-profile
White Cube
contemporary art
gallery. Owned by Old Etonian Jay Jopling, White Cube started out in Mayfair in
the 1990s, championing the art of the Young British Artists, such as Damien Hirst
and Tracey Emin, opening a branch in Hoxton in 2000 (now closed), and moving
south of the river in 2011. Inside, you'll find changing exhibits from an
international roster of artists.
