The Snapping Bishop

Rotherhithe is one of those elusive tranquil spots of London for me. Its sits slap bang in the middle of the city yet easily manages to separate itself from the rapid pace of the thriving metropolis that surrounds it. A natural barrier made by an almost closed ‘u’ shaped curve of the Thames, on the south side, combined with no bridges and only a small segment of the borough open to London main arteries, inevitably means all traffic going into the area soon returns one out of it again only a few hundred yards from where it first entered. This fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by the daily driving population either, leaving the residents of the area free to live their lives without having to endure the continuous barrage of London’s hectic traffic.

Southwark Park (Google Map Link) stands at the forefront of this loop of calmer roads, occupying a whole sweep of land all down the dry west side. Like many Victorian parks it quite wonderfully laid out, full of mature trees, small lakes, sweet vistas and other miscellaneous gems of interest such as the barely standing church in the shot below which had been quickly converted to a art gallery, or a well maintained bowling green sprinkled with fresh autumn leaves.

These are my favorite five out of the few that I shot last Thursday afternoon during a quick wander with friends.