In London, the South Bank generally refers to the area that runs along the south bank of the River Thames between Lambeth and Blackfriars Bridge. It’s home to one of London’s major rail stations, Waterloo, and you can also get down at other underground or overground stations to visit the area.
We took the train to Waterloo to explore the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street, which is adjacent to the station, and is great for a little stroll. It’s just another cool place off the beaten track that most tourists aren’t aware of.
The graffiti tunnel is amazing and unlike other graffiti I have seen. You can see artists working on their art, and you just know that this tunnel is going to look a little bit different each time you visit.
After the tunnel, we walked toward the London Eye. This is a super-touristy thing to do, and it’s very expensive for the experience (unless you take one of these 2 for 1 rail tickets). We didn’t have these tickets on hand so we just hung around there, admiring the giant wheel and taking photos in front of Westminster.
It was a lovely sunny day, so we decided to spend time outside and had a little picnic on one of the park benches in front of the London Eye.
It was then time to walk off the lunch alongside the river, stopping to take photos of the lovely attractions along the way.
There are a lot of fun activities around here, and it’s a great place to hang out with kids. There are entertainers, magicians, merry-go-rounds, and buskers, tons of entertainment.
This part of the South Bank was very crowded and also very hot and sunny, so we kept moving past all the people and continued walking, looking for a bit of shade.
We then stopped to explore an interesting-looking beach. It was a good place to halt for a bit. I wouldn’t recommend putting feet in the water though, it’s quite dirty and muddy.
We then stopped at an outdoor second-hand book market that had some really interesting books and an impressive array of comics.
There are books for all ages and interests, and we easily spent a good 1.5 hours browsing here. Thankfully, we didn’t have bags, and we had a long commute back home and, which saved us from going bonkers shopping. Well, that, and also that the prices are not the greatest for second-hand books.
We walked out empty-handed and promptly entered a curious-looking curio and gift shop. From the outside, it looked small, but it was full of interesting gifts and souvenirs, and we probably spent another hour or so examining everything.
We then continued walking toward the Tate Modern Museum. The building is super-impressive and we have always admired it from the other side of the river. But now, with it right in front of us, we decided to go visit, even though it was the end of a long day outside.
As soon as we walked in, there was this huge ass display of a spider that promptly got Piglet all excited. He ran off, hoping for other massive animal installations, only to be sadly disappointed.
Modern art isn’t my area of interest, and I found some of the pieces a bit tedious and hard to follow. However, there are some lovely audio-visual installations that are well worth your time. I also loved how daily, everyday stuff was used in some of the artwork. Piglet was definitely charmed by the use of Meccano and Lego in the art.
We wandered through a couple of rooms, but it was already near closing time, and not enough time to really explore. Also, the museum is massive and requires a whole day to see everything in there.
On our way out, we stopped by the Love installation—it was a little corny, but we had to take a photo there.
And that was the end of another long day of sightseeing. We were tired and hungry and feeling a bit peckish, so we stopped at a nearby Starbucks for some nibbles to take home on the train.
It was a wonderful day sightseeing. In good weather, London is absolutely glorious, and I feel so lucky to be able to live here and enjoy the city!
