Evening Walk - Rotherhithe and Bermondsey - Finnish Christmas Fair and (optional) Winter by the River (Surrey Quays to Bermondsey or London Bridge)

Short version of the 'Rotherhithe away from the River' walk, due to Southwark Park closing at dusk...

 

Length: 5.1 km to Bermondsey, a little longer to London Bridge 

Ascent: negligible 

Net Walking Time: up to 1 ½ hour (plus time spent at the Xmas Fair)

 

Meet: Surrey Quays Station (outside the gate line at street level) at 17.00 hours (Overground). 

Finish: Bermondsey or London Bridge Underground. 

Dropouts: Canada Water Underground and Overground (3.2 km), Rotherhithe Overground (3.7 km). Bus stops are never far away.

 

From Surrey Quays Station, we cut across to Greenland Dock, one of the few remnants of the once ubiquitous ponds and water channels of the Surrey Commercial Docks, used mainly for timber and grain trading, before walking along the spine of the peninsula through the enchanting Russia Dock Woodland, an infilled dock with plenty of visible reminders of its past.

 

A short loop through the Stave Hill Ecology Park leads up to one the finest low viewpoints in town: Stave Hill, a 9-metre artificial mound with surround views to the Olympic Park, Canary Wharf, the City of London, Westminster and most high points in South East London.

 

You then skirt around Surrey Water and follow the well-maintained Albion Channel (more remains of the former docks and quays) to Canada Water, currently one of London’s largest regeneration sites, before a final loop through the historic Rotherhithe village and – for a short stretch – along the Thames River, passing some famous pubs and ending back in Bermondsey.

 

At Albion Street, turn left to the Suomen Merimieskirrko/Finnish Church’s Christmas Fair, which closes at 20.00.

Option at the end: walk on along the Thames through Shad Thames to Tower Bridge and the former Town Hall and on to London Bridge Station. On this last stretch you venture through the Winter by the River Fair, which closes at 22.00.

Eat/Drink: Some legendary London riverside pubs en route, plus a restaurant or two. Check the webpage for details. Plus many food and drink stalls at the Winter by the River Fair.

p.s.: This year, for reasons unknown, the Norwegian (and also the Swedish) Christmas fairs are on different weekends than the Finnish one t=short.54