How to get there!
BUS • DLR • TUBE • CLIPPER
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BUS • DLR • TUBE • CLIPPER •
Borough Market by foot.
This route from the flat will take you along the river to Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, part of the Roman wall & Southwark Cathedral. You can duck off earlier and head to 40 Maltby Street, Bar Tazino or José places on Bemondsey Street. You will also walk past Restaurant Story. In Borough Market you have Padella, Wright Brothers and Turnips. (See South London food section for details). This route will also take you by the houses of Helen Mirran and Graham Norton in Wapping. Ian McKellan lives next to The Grapes pub.
Public Transport
Number 15 Bus: Nice but slower route into town. Go out of flat, turn left and walk down Copenhagen Place, at the end turn left onto Salmon Lane (huge anchor in road), immediately turn left onto Commercial Road, cross at the pedestrian crossing. You will see the bus stop outside St. Anne’s Church. This is all of two-minute’s walk from the flat.
The 15 bus will take you all the way into town, ending at Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square. That journey, depending on traffic, will take 40-60 minutes. The bus will likely have Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square on the destination board; if it has Aldgate you can take it and change at Aldgate (same stop) and wait for one going to Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square. Or just wait at St. Anne’s for a Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square one. Get off the 15 at Aldwych for Somerset House.
This route passes the Whitechapel Gallery, the end of Brick Lane, the end of Commercial Road and Spitalfields, Tower of London, London Bridge, St Paul’s, Fleet Street, The Strand and Trafalgar Square. You can get to the Tate Modern on it by getting off at St. Paul’s and crossing over the Wobbly Bridge (Millennium Bridge). From the same stop as the 15, you can also get the 135 bus, which will take you to Liverpool Street and Shoreditch. Get off two stops after Liverpool St for Shoreditch.
Take the Thames Clipper from Canary Wharf to the Strand or the Tate or wherever. It’s worth taking this for the interesting view you get of the city from the river. Depending on the tide, the boat may be level with contemporary London, medieval London, Roman London, or Anglo-Saxon London.
From the stop at the end of Pixley St (leaving the flat and turning right on Copenhagen Place and right on Pixley and left at the end of very short Pixley St, to the bus stop there), you can get the 277 to Lauriston (Ginger Pig, Empress of India, also past the East London Liquor Company). That’s about five stops for the ELLC, and seven for GP. Also from here you can get the D6 to Cambridge Heath for Morito and the Laughing Heart. Or walk up alongside the Regent’s Canal and get off at Mile End Park, just after the bridge for Roman Road. It’s at the end of the park. (See East London Food section)
We now have the Elizabeth Line running from Canary Wharf. This currently does not go all the way to Heathrow without changing at Paddington - but it will be fully connected by October 2022. The Elizabeth will get you to Tottenhan Court Road calmly, coolly and very quickly. Which is handy if you simply want to get up West for the theatre or such.
Take the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) from either Limehouse or Westferry in the direction of Tower Gateway (not Bank). At Tower Gateway, you have to exit the DLR and cross the road (Tower Bridge and the Tower of London will be on your left). The tube, Tower Hill (District & Circle line) is on the right behind the Roman Wall. Take either District or Circle Line. Get off at Westminster (or wherever you fancy). Westminster is at Westminster, unsurprisingly. You can walk up Whitehall/Parliament St to Trafalgar Square and the West End (past Downing Street, Horse Guards, Churchill War Rooms, etc.). You can also walk down to Westminster (very short walk past Number 10 Downing Street) from Trafalgar Square where the number 15 bus route terminates. If you see the 88 when up west, that’s the bus route I used to drive.
There’s also Mile End Tube, on the Central Line. To get there: leave the flat and go right along Copenhagen Place and then right on Pixley Street. At the end of Pixley Street turn left onto Burdett Road and keep walking for 10 mins or so. The Mile End park will be on your left for much of the journey, once you are past the go-cart track. Turn right at Mile End Road (there’s a big yellow bridge to your left), the Tube is on the right. If you want a quick trip to Noble Rot, get off at Holborn or Chancery Lane and it’s a 10-minute walk from there. For the budget busting Core and Ledbury, you can get off at Notting Hill Gate and both are 10-15-minute walk from there. For all in Shoreditch, get off at Liverpool Street Station. For the West End, get off at Holborn and walk 10 minutes.