Bank Holiday Short Walk - Bermondsey Carnival (Rotherhithe, away from the river - in reverse to finish at the Carnival)

Bermondsey Carnival, what’s that then?  

It is a free, day-long community celebration held in Southwark Park, with a history stretching back over a hundred years in SE16. The event brings together two stages of live music and DJs spanning a wide mix of genres, a funfair, dedicated kids’ entertainment, free football activities run by the Community Trust of the local Football Club, independent food and drink traders, and local community stalls. 

https://www.bermondseycarnival.com/ 

 

[The Carnival had lost its grant funding from Southwark Council a few years back and went into a hiatus but after much local campaigning came back, using the stages and stalls left standing from the 2-day RALLY Music Festival held over the preceding days for free/a nominal sum.] 

 

Music runs across two areas: the main stage and the BSC x PEEK Tent, which brings an “underground” dance-music flavour to the afternoon with DJ sets running well into the evening. The 2026 line-up includes Lisa Loud, Meaka Monroe, Ten Tonne Ska, Carpet Head, The Ukullective, and headliner Artful Dodger, plus compère Philip Poleon and DJ Noel, alongside sets from Rafe, Ted White, Luckless, Sow, Abby T and Sound Source Radio DJs in the BSC x PEEK Tent. 

https://bermondsey.london/event/bermondsey-carnival-2026/

 

The Walk:

 

Length: 7.3 km 

Ascent: negligible 

Net Walking Time: up to 1 ¾ hours 

 

Start & Finish: Bermondsey Underground, meet at 14.00 hours (Jubilee Line, Zone 2). 

Dropout Points: Rotherhithe Overground, Canada Water Underground, Surrey Quays Overground or any number of bus stops. The whole route is in Zone 2.

 

The blurb for walking the route in the original direction:

“This varied route explores parks and waterways on the Rotherhithe peninsula rarely seen by occasional visitors, who tend to follow the Thames Path.

Start from Bermondsey tube near the boundary with Rotherhithe, following a meandering route through the well-kept Southwark Park, then 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.”

 

Eat/Drink: Many cafés and pubs en route and two pubs just past the end, check the webpage or the pdf for details.

 

For walk directions, map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here.

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