Explore the sacred importance of rivers through a diverse programme of worship, art, and reflection. This is a community festival organised in collaboration with a range of different churches, from Battersea to Bankside.
River Art Walk is a weekend art trail bringing together major galleries, independent spaces, and working artist studios. Following the Thames and the streets nearby, RAW invites audiences to explore exhibitions, events and open studios. Encounter art at every scale, from seeing internationally recognised institutions to meeting artists at work in their own spaces. A great opportunity to meet the makers in their studios, enjoy live music and attend artist led workshops.
Inspired by the area’s rich heritage and lively characters, Bankside has reinvented the Frost Fair for the 21st century. Immerse yourself in street performances, traditional games, music, art and craft workshops, and even an elephant!
There will once again be Frost Fair themed food and drink and special activities across the wider Bankside area.
Step into the world of Doctor Who on this guided 2.5 hour walking tour through central London. Starting at London Bridge Station, you’ll visit over 15 filming locations from the iconic TV series from classic episodes to modern adventures with the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi. Discover behind the scenes stories, take photos at famous landmarks like the London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral, and enjoy a short London bus ride along the way.
Ready for some spellbinding stories and real historical facts? Uncover the hidden, haunting history of London’s accused witches on this spellbinding walking tour along Southwark’s Bankside and over the river.
From the secrets of Southwark Cathedral and The Globe Theatre, to the shadowy past of Clink Street and Winchester Palace. Wander through Borough Market, brush past the Golden Hinde, and marvel at the views of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Millennium Bridge as history, humour, and haunting tales unfold. You’ll even pass spots linked to Harry Potter!
Prepare for our most historical experience yet! Sir Francis Drake has travelled back in time with a mission from the Queen: to uncover a key hidden along the Thames. This key, holds secrets powerful enough to change the fate of Britain itself. Guarded by riddles, spirits, and those sworn to protect the Crown, it’s up to you to find it… before it falls into the wrong hands!
Menu: A British Treat, Pub Lunch & Dessert.
In the early 19th century, the Thames stood still. Caused by the latest in a series of mini ice ages – that first began in the late 7th century – London’river and even the sea, froze over. Low solar activity and volcanic eruptions across the planet had changed the climate radically. The thick ice brought London’s river traffic, and the precarious businesses that depended on it, a standstill. Threats however create opportunities. With characteristic robustness, entrepreneurial locals embraced this weather phenomenon and created a series of ‘frost fairs’. Appealing to the senses, these icy and chaotic happenings became the epicentre of bawdy entertainment. Everything from food, drink, jugglers, prostitution – and even hunting – were the order of the day. All that people did in the rowdy streets and alleys of Bankside spilled over onto the frozen river.
Join former museum director Antony Robbins, AKA Mr Londoner, to explore all the fun of the frost fair through the centuries. Tours are free but booking is essential. @Meetmrlondoner
In the early 19th century, the Thames stood still. Caused by the latest in a series of mini ice ages – that first began in the late 7th century – London’river and even the sea, froze over. Low solar activity and volcanic eruptions across the planet had changed the climate radically. The thick ice brought London’s river traffic, and the precarious businesses that depended on it, a standstill. Threats however create opportunities. With characteristic robustness, entrepreneurial locals embraced this weather phenomenon and created a series of ‘frost fairs’. Appealing to the senses, these icy and chaotic happenings became the epicentre of bawdy entertainment. Everything from food, drink, jugglers, prostitution – and even hunting – were the order of the day. All that people did in the rowdy streets and alleys of Bankside spilled over onto the frozen river.
Join former museum director Antony Robbins, AKA Mr Londoner, to explore all the fun of the frost fair through the centuries. Tours are free but booking is essential. @Meetmrlondoner
Updated Meeting Location: outside Better Bankside offices, 18 Great Guilford Street, London, SE1 0FD
Explore Bankside, a historic corner of London rich with Charles Dickens’s legacy. This vibrant neighborhood, with its river views, old wharves, and ancient alleys, embodies the grit and charm celebrated in Dickens’s works. Especially during the festive season, Bankside sparkles with life, making it the perfect setting for a Dickensian journey.
Our tour begins at bustling Borough Market, where locals and visitors alike stock up on seasonal delights. As we walk along the Thames, marvel at the twinkling lights reflecting on the water and enjoy stunning views of the City of London, framed by St. Paul’s Cathedral. These scenes bring to life the vivid settings of Dickens’s novels, which capture the realities of Victorian city life.
Dickens celebrated the everyday – churchyards, markets, and pubs – over grand palaces. We’ll honor this spirit as we follow the Low Line, an old railway viaduct now being transformed into a green, sustainable corridor linking people and places. Our path winds through tranquil gardens and historic cemeteries, past Victorian cottages on Copperfield Street, and a Blitz-scarred churchyard. Along the way, we’ll reflect on Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and its themes of transformation and humanity.
Our journey concludes at an iconic Bankside inn, perhaps The Glad, where we’ll toast Dickens’s enduring influence.
Themes of A Christmas Carol
Dickens’s 1843 novella, a cultural icon, centers on redemption. Scrooge’s transformation from miser to philanthropist underscores the importance of compassion and community. Dickens’s critique of inequality and environmental degradation resonates today, echoing efforts like Better Bankside’s push toward sustainability and Net Zero.
Having collaborated with Better Bankside for over five years, I would be delighted to lead these festive tours, celebrating Dickens’s timeless legacy and Bankside’s unique character.
Explore Bankside, a historic corner of London rich with Charles Dickens’s legacy. This vibrant neighborhood, with its river views, old wharves, and ancient alleys, embodies the grit and charm celebrated in Dickens’s works. Especially during the festive season, Bankside sparkles with life, making it the perfect setting for a Dickensian journey.
Our tour begins at bustling Borough Market, where locals and visitors alike stock up on seasonal delights. As we walk along the Thames, marvel at the twinkling lights reflecting on the water and enjoy stunning views of the City of London, framed by St. Paul’s Cathedral. These scenes bring to life the vivid settings of Dickens’s novels, which capture the realities of Victorian city life.
Dickens celebrated the everyday – churchyards, markets, and pubs – over grand palaces. We’ll honor this spirit as we follow the Low Line, an old railway viaduct now being transformed into a green, sustainable corridor linking people and places. Our path winds through tranquil gardens and historic cemeteries, past Victorian cottages on Copperfield Street, and a Blitz-scarred churchyard. Along the way, we’ll reflect on Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and its themes of transformation and humanity.
Our journey concludes at an iconic Bankside inn, perhaps The Glad, where we’ll toast Dickens’s enduring influence.
Themes of A Christmas Carol
Dickens’s 1843 novella, a cultural icon, centers on redemption. Scrooge’s transformation from miser to philanthropist underscores the importance of compassion and community. Dickens’s critique of inequality and environmental degradation resonates today, echoing efforts like Better Bankside’s push toward sustainability and Net Zero.
Having collaborated with Better Bankside for over five years, I would be delighted to lead these festive tours, celebrating Dickens’s timeless legacy and Bankside’s unique character.
Presented by Ben Adams Architects in collaboration with Better Bankside, Multiplex, New-works and Union Street Partners and as part of the London Festival of Architecture, this walking tour invites us to explore the theme ‘Reimagine,’ showcasing key projects that transform existing buildings. Through this tour, participants are invited to witness first-hand how reimagining our built environment can significantly impact the way we live, work, and interact within our cities.
Join your characterful witch guide and learn the true historical tales of suspected London witches across the ages. Witness fascinating pieces of London history along the way too; secrets of Southwark Cathedral, The Golden Hinde, The Globe Theatre, Millennium Bridge and so very much more await on this character led walking tour.
Starting by the infamous London Bridge your friendly costumed witch guide will lead you across Southwark’s Bankside cobbles, seamlessly weaving history with vibrant storytelling. In an experience that brings together true stories, history, and a wisdom that we can learn from our terrible ways of the past, you are sure to fall in love with this historic small part of the city, and be enthralled by London’s witchy chronicles.
Join the Thames Discovery Programme on a guided walk on the Thames foreshore at the Bankside.
Escape London’s crowds with our expert archaeologists and discover the archaeology of this iconic historic area.
Our guided foreshore walks help support our work to monitor and record the vulnerable archaeology on the Thames foreshore.
A walking tour of three railway arches in Southwark retrofitted by local architecture studio TDO. The practice’s own studio on Great Suffolk Street, a railway arch converted in 2012, has set a precedent for recent developments which have reinvigorated redundant arches along the Low Line. The practice has installed re-purposed Nissen sheds within two arches along the Low Line, with a third arch soon to go on site. The projects have provided self-contained, demountable, reusable enclosures that can move to new arches, reducing future capital outlay, allowing cost savings to be passed on to the communities they serve. The design allows the atmospheric and generous vaulted spaces under the arches to be preserved and fully appreciated, whilst accommodating new uses which serve the local community and supporting local businesses. The projects are presented as case studies in ‘Bringing Railway Arches Back into Use: A Good Practice Guide’ to be published in the autumn, providing a toolkit to other boroughs, towns and cities to reinvigorate redundant railway infrastructure. This tour will commence at TDO’s studio and take in two of the completed arches: Ewer Street, which is now occupied by a business in residence; and Redcross Way, a new flexible performance and exhibition space. Tom Lewith, Founding Director, TDO, will lead the tour with Nicole Gordon, Better Bankside.
Led by knowledgeable, enthusiastic guides, this immersive tour offers a glimpse into the life of a 16th-century sailor. Hear the incredible tale of the first ship to circumnavigate the globe for the Kingdom of England. Climb aboard and allow the echoes of the past to guide you on a voyage through time on this remarkable ship
that embodies the spirit of adventure and exploration.
Each tour is approximately 30 minutes and suitable for all ages. Tours are included with admission.
Adult £6
Child £6
Group of 4: £18
For specific tour times, visit website.
Ticket Link: https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/whats-on#activity-whats-on-9-family-469-summer-history-tours
This summer, from 7th – 13th August, step aboard The Golden Hinde for family fun and a piratical experience like no other.
It is time for our ultimate pirate take over event. Don your finest pirate attire, grab your eye patch and join us on this swash buckling adventure of discovery.
Meet our costumed historians as they unveil the history of pirates from around the world. Families can experience the life of a mariner onboard our 16th century ship or test your mettle by signing up to one of our “Pirate Training” sessions.
Included with standard admission:
-Uncover the real history of pirates from all around the world.
-Discover what life was really like on a 16th century ship.
-A voyage of discovery awaits.
Pirate Training sessions are an additional cost and are taking place at 11:00 and 13:00. Pirate Training workshop tickets include the Pirate Takeover talks. Get yourself shipshape and prepare to plunder. See website for further details.
Standard Admission for Pirate Takeover (no Pirate Training): £6 per person
Family Admission (4 people): £18
Ticket Link: https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/whats-on#activity-whats-on-9-family-454-pirate-takeover-2
Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting William Shakespeare, medieval ‘Winchester Geese’ prostitutes, Charles Dickens, the ghost of a nineteenth century pub landlady, and the wonderfully named Doorkins Magnificat!
On our walking tour we’ll visit the areas around Borough and Bankside, which being outside the jurisdiction of the City of London were for centuries the site of seedy goings on.
Crossbones Graveyard is a unique place of peace and tranquility nestled in the heart of Bankside. It holds a deep cultural, historical and spiritual significance as it tells the history of London as seen from the bottom up.
As well as holding the mortal remains of 15,000 women, children and men, it also carries the memory of the Winchester Geese, the women who worked in the brothels and “stews” of the medieval Liberty of the Clink. Licensed by the Church to ply their prostitute trade but denied a Christian burial.
Join Jennifer Cooper, the Madam of Ceremonies at the Crossbones Vigil to Honour the Outcast, for a special tour of this fascinating garden of remembrance sharing stories of history, hypocrisy, poverty, riches, activism, spirituality and transformation!
Very Short Tours, only one hour, starting Over There (outside the Gates) and concluding Over ‘Ere (inside the Garden).
The tour is running on May 25th and June 1st from 12-1pm and June 8th and 15th from 5-6pm. Click here for more information and to book your free ticket.
An easter chocolate hunt like no other aboard The Golden Hinde this Easter Sunday.
Explore all of the decks of the ship to find Golden Coins.
Each session is for an hour and is suitable for all ages. Bring your own baskets/bags to take home your loot.
Stay aboard after the treasure hunt and join our Pirate Takeover talks (Pirate Training will not run on this day).
*Our facilities are not food allergen or gluten-free and we are not responsible for allergens. Customers with food allergies or other nutritional concerns are advised to notify the management before booking tickets.
The Hilton Bankside have created a fabulous map with local illustrator Rosie Brooks, inviting people to discover the some of the ‘Inspirational women of Bankside’. You can pick up copy from their concierge throughout the month of March, or you can download a copy here.
Freeze Frame – the Art of the Frost Fair
Between 1600 and 1814, the River Thames froze and local people spied an opportunity.
The resultant frost fairs combined both chaos and fun – involving jugglers and strongmen and cruel sports a-plenty. This was all fuelled by food and drink and some exciting new recipes inspired by the big freeze. 200 years on, London film-makers, video artists and augmented reality specialists have created site-specific installations across Bankside. Alongside them are cutting-edge works by renowned street artists including Mr Cenz, Dreph and Peachzz – each with their own sideways take on the frost fair story.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and discover some of the artistic responses to the Frost Fair art trail.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Just six months before the Battle of Waterloo, London experienced its last ever frost fair.
A series of mini ice-ages, that kicked off in the late 7th century, caused the Thames and even the sea to freeze over. The thick ice brought river traffic and business to a standstill.
But threats create opportunities and frost fairs were devised by entrepreneurial locals from 1600 onwards. Designed to appeal to the senses, they became the epicentre of bawdy and surprising entertainment, food, drink – and even hunting on ice! Nobody realised that 1814 would see the final frost fair, a changing climate, on the very eve of the industrial revolution, meant the River would never freeze again.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and draw some parallels with our own times.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Just six months before the Battle of Waterloo, London experienced its last ever frost fair.
A series of mini ice-ages, that kicked off in the late 7th century, caused the Thames and even the sea to freeze over. The thick ice brought river traffic and business to a standstill.
But threats create opportunities and frost fairs were devised by entrepreneurial locals from 1600 onwards. Designed to appeal to the senses, they became the epicentre of bawdy and surprising entertainment, food, drink – and even hunting on ice! Nobody realised that 1814 would see the final frost fair, a changing climate, on the very eve of the industrial revolution, meant the River would never freeze again.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and draw some parallels with our own times.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Freeze Frame – the Art of the Frost Fair
Between 1600 and 1814, the River Thames froze and local people spied an opportunity.
The resultant frost fairs combined both chaos and fun – involving jugglers and strongmen and cruel sports a-plenty. This was all fuelled by food and drink and some exciting new recipes inspired by the big freeze. 200 years on, London film-makers, video artists and augmented reality specialists have created site-specific installations across Bankside. Alongside them are cutting-edge works by renowned street artists including Mr Cenz, Dreph and Peachzz – each with their own sideways take on the frost fair story.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and discover some of the artistic responses to the Frost Fair art trail.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
A “fast, slick and fresh” performance of Henry V comes to Bankside this winter.
Henry, the young and newly crowned king, is impatient to assert control over the people of England. Having received a humiliating gift from overseas, his bruised ego leads him to double down on a military invasion abroad in a bid to expand his green and pleasant land. But at what devastating cost?
Performed in the intimate, indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the first time, witness Henry’s bombastic pursuit of power, throwing into question what it really means to be English.
A production by Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong, with Leeds Playhouse and Royal & Derngate, Northampton, directed by Headlong’s Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan (Corrina, Corrina, Liverpool Everyman; Metamorphoses, Shakespeare’s Globe).
This event is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Experience the magic of Christmas in the Globe Theatre with all the family, as our re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s festive fairy tale The Fir Tree returns for a second year.
In a beautiful wood stands a little Fir Tree. Kept company by woodland creatures, it enjoys a peaceful life. But the Fir Tree is curious. It dreams of a world outside the forest, yearning for adventure. What will happen when it grows up? Where will it go? And will it be everything the Fir Tree wished for?
Let imaginations run wild as the Globe transforms into a hand-crafted forest. Meet friendly puppets made of cardboard – and make your own to bring to the performance! Take part in carol-singing and tree decorating, and keep cosy with a hot chocolate or mulled wine under the wintry star-lit sky.
15 – 31 December, times vary.
Celebrate the holiday season on a Festive Family Tour of the magical Globe Theatre. Hear how Christmas was observed in Shakespeare’s time and the folk traditions that people practiced to welcome in winter.
From wassailing to the winter solstice, ‘kissing boughs’ to proper mince pyes, this family-friendly guided tour will enchant, fascinate and warm even in the frostiest of Frost Fairs. But do still wrap up well – don’t forget our wooden ‘O’ is outdoor!”
Family-friendly but suitable for all ages.
19 December – 25 February, times vary
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Freeze Frame – the Art of the Frost Fair
Between 1600 and 1814, the River Thames froze and local people spied an opportunity.
The resultant frost fairs combined both chaos and fun – involving jugglers and strongmen and cruel sports a-plenty. This was all fuelled by food and drink and some exciting new recipes inspired by the big freeze. 200 years on, London film-makers, video artists and augmented reality specialists have created site-specific installations across Bankside. Alongside them are cutting-edge works by renowned street artists including Mr Cenz, Dreph and Peachzz – each with their own sideways take on the frost fair story.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and discover some of the artistic responses to the Frost Fair art trail.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Just six months before the Battle of Waterloo, London experienced its last ever frost fair.
A series of mini ice-ages, that kicked off in the late 7th century, caused the Thames and even the sea to freeze over. The thick ice brought river traffic and business to a standstill.
But threats create opportunities and frost fairs were devised by entrepreneurial locals from 1600 onwards. Designed to appeal to the senses, they became the epicentre of bawdy and surprising entertainment, food, drink – and even hunting on ice! Nobody realised that 1814 would see the final frost fair, a changing climate, on the very eve of the industrial revolution, meant the River would never freeze again.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and draw some parallels with our own times.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Freeze Frame – the Art of the Frost Fair
Between 1600 and 1814, the River Thames froze and local people spied an opportunity.
The resultant frost fairs combined both chaos and fun – involving jugglers and strongmen and cruel sports a-plenty. This was all fuelled by food and drink and some exciting new recipes inspired by the big freeze. 200 years on, London film-makers, video artists and augmented reality specialists have created site-specific installations across Bankside. Alongside them are cutting-edge works by renowned street artists including Mr Cenz, Dreph and Peachzz – each with their own sideways take on the frost fair story.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and discover some of the artistic responses to the Frost Fair art trail.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Just six months before the Battle of Waterloo, London experienced its last ever frost fair.
A series of mini ice-ages, that kicked off in the late 7th century, caused the Thames and even the sea to freeze over. The thick ice brought river traffic and business to a standstill.
But threats create opportunities and frost fairs were devised by entrepreneurial locals from 1600 onwards. Designed to appeal to the senses, they became the epicentre of bawdy and surprising entertainment, food, drink – and even hunting on ice! Nobody realised that 1814 would see the final frost fair, a changing climate, on the very eve of the industrial revolution, meant the River would never freeze again.
Join Blue Badge guide Mr Londoner to explore all the fun of the fair and draw some parallels with our own times.
Meet outside Rabot, 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
This tour is part of the Frost Fair which Better Bankside is running across December and January. Frost Fair is a homage to the area’s unique history, celebrating the characters and fascinating stories from past winters in the Southwark borough. There’s lots more happening across the area, find out more here.
Be transported back to a time of late-night cakes and ales, midnight revels and demons, and the revered ‘Kingdom of Night’ on our Twilight Walking Tour around the Bankside area and beyond.
Learn about the habit of ‘second sleeps’, imagine city life without streetlights and visit the locations of Shakespeare’s own night-time haunts across the River Thames on the Northbank, including the original site of his candlelit Blackfriars playhouse.
