Borough Market

You're at the edge of Borough Market, one of London's oldest food markets. Food has been traded here in Southwark for around a thousand years. The market has survived plenty of attempts to get rid of it. In the thirteenth century, the City of London banned its citizens from buying food here, on the "wrong side of the river". In the eighteenth century, Parliament decided to close it because it was blocking the high street. So the locals clubbed together, raised six thousand pounds and bought a plot of land where the market could move. The same charitable trust still runs it today. Look up. The railway runs over your head. In the nineteenth century a viaduct was cut straight through the market, and trains still rumble over the stalls. For a long time this was a wholesale market for fruit and vegetables, and when supermarkets arrived it nearly died. Around the year 2000 it was reborn as a market for good food, and today it's one of the most popular places to eat in the city. The church next door is Southwark Cathedral. Local merchants bought it from the King in 1611, and Shakespeare's brother Edmond is buried there. Next stop: London Bridge, about 350 metres or 6 minutes. Take the steps up to Borough High Street and walk out onto the bridge. The stop is in the middle.