Coming here as a child and even now the collection is utterly astounding I can spend hours in the fossel and mineral room. Plus the architecture of the building is completely unique and breath taking.

As London’s oldest food market, Borough Market has been serving the people of Southwark for 1,000 years. Located next to London Bridge, the market is an easy location for breakfast or lunch. Favourite is Börek with home made hummus or a freshly made pasta dish.

I spend many hours in the bookshops along this stretch, namely Henry Pordes for second hand books and new discounted titles (pile on left of photo), as well as Koenig Books for new art books with lots of great discounts in the basement. (photo right). In 2001 the rents for much of this strip were increased to align them closer to market value but thanks to public support they were reduced again. Unfortunately some bookshops still closed down; Koenig replaced the beloved Zwemmers - a real institution - but thankfully still provide great books, although others are no longer bookshops at all.

I love living in cities with a river and the Thames is so wide! It is one of my favorite things about London.

A lovely healthy cafe in portobello!