Southwark is one of London's boroughs, of which there are 32 (not counting the City of London, a strange beast with its own rules in many regards); of those 32 there are 12 Inner and 20 Outer boroughs, and Southwark is among the former, making it part of the core of historic London. The borough is home to landmarks like the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Shard, and Borough Market. Not far from the theatre is a replica of the Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake's ship that sailed all the way to California during Elizabeth I's reign. The ship is tucked into a small dock at St Mary Overie. Golden Hinde II is parked between a few buildings and next to a pub, and may be toured for a fee. In my brief perusal of it I was struck by how awful a position it's in for good photos, since the buildings around it must cast awkward shadows over it during much of the day, but more importantly how small it is. I can't imagine that circumnavigating the Earth in a ship only 120 feet long was much of a picnic.
Once again, the question of 'What makes a building mediæval?' reared its head on this trip, since castles and cathedrals especially often went through several stages of development. I suppose the most accurate wording would be to call these things buildings that originated in the Middle Ages, but brevity's sake demands less precision. I bring this up because several elements of Southwark Cathedral aren't mediæval, from the aforementioned Harvard Chapel to much of the stained glass--though it seems more common to see replacement than original stained glass anyway. The eastern end of the cathedral features a few modern windows, including one commissioned to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. It was designed by Leifur Breidfjord. When the sun shone through it, it was especially beautiful.
London Bridge has good views up and down the river; it might not be the best place from which to photograph Tower Bridge, though, because HMS Belfast is anchored between the two. I thought of Neverwhere a lot while I was in London, from looking for signs of a floating market on the Belfast to expecting to hear Neil Gaiman's voice over the loudspeakers telling Underground passengers to mind the gap.
Instead of taking the Underground back the same way I came, I decided to cross the river and catch a train on the north side. Using the Millennium Bridge was the obvious choice; I believe it's the only pedestrian-only bridge in the area, and it's so distinctive. From either side it's difficult to see the bridge against the larger ones behind it, giving it an insubstantial feel. The bridge lines up almost perfectly with St Paul's Cathedral on the north side of the Thames, so that the dome is framed between the buildings on either side as you approach. It makes one wonder why there was no bridge in that location before.
Though I didn't know it at the time, it turns out that in searching for a Tube stop whose line would take me close to UCL I walked through Vintry Ward, where Chaucer was born. I arrived at our party only a few minutes late and very satisfied with my afternoon's exploration.