General questions about Southwark

Hi Everyone

I'm visiting London Southwark for a weekend in october and I'm staying in the Travelodge, anyway I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to answer the following for me.

Firstly how much would it roughly cost for a taxi from Union Street to 1) Leicester Square 2) Earls Court Convention Centre 3) O2 Arena?

Is there much trouble in the Southwark area with yobs / football Hooligans? I've heard some scare stories about Millwall supporters causing a nuisance in the area especially around tube station.

Where would be the best place to get a fried breakfast in the morning and kebab/burger late evening?

Is there any Supermarkets / Convenience stores close to Union Street?

Any local pubs/bars which welcome tourists?

I apologise if these questions have been answered in previous posts.

Thanks in advance

JBAR

Hello JBAR

Taxi

1) Leicester Square - approx. GBP 10-15.- (it depends
of the traffic)
-> suggestion take the bus RV1 to Covent Garden and
walk to LS it takes you around 5-10 min.
2) Earls Court - don't know
3) O2 - The fastest is to take the Tube from Southwark. Taxi will be around GBP 20.-

Holigans

You do see them, but there is so much police around that you are not sure who the supporters are police or holigans.
You do not have to bump into them and you will be fine.

Breakfast/Kebab

dont' know

Supermarket

There is a Marks & Spencer

Pubs

All of them do not mind tourists and are friendly as a foreigner I never had an issue.
Try The Anchor as it is just next to the Thames and if the weather is nice you can sit outside.

Have a good time in London and Southwark.

I'd say Terry's is your best bet for a good fry up, based on Great Suffolk St and about a ten minute walk from Union St. Hooligans? Are you going to a match? Just curious as that stuck me as an odd question. Yes, match day can be lively in as much as the station will be packed with a melee of supporters and their minders as Sidi points out.

I wouldn't have thought any pub in its right mind would be unfriendly toward tourists though I guess certain areas may have entrenched locals; however Southwark, within and around the area of Union St is very much focused towards the needs of the visitor. Everyone is going to suggest their own favourite pub in the area, personally for a good local vibe I'd suggest the Lord Clyde on Clenham St which is now even more relaxed with its recently installed paved seating area on its doorstep. Again this is little more than a brisk five minute walk from the hotel.

As a visitor I can see how Taxis will be seen as the quickest option if you are unfamiliar with the capital but public transport has improved dramatically (I can already hear the rattling of fingers on keyboards) these past years, indeed why not consider the new cycle hire scheme just up and running this week for your transport requirements? There are several docking stations in the area around Bankside, which hopefully will still be in service come October!

The M&S is on Southwark St.

JBAR, hello and welcome.
I am a licenced taxi driver and the first thing I would say is that guessing a fare is a very difficult exercise.
As Sidi has already said, it depends a great deal on traffic, also on time of day, as traffic patterns vary throughout the day.
Tip) ALWAYS hail a taxi in the street, the meter will start at £2.20, if you or the hotel phones for one it is allowed to have a maximum of £4.00 on the meter at arrival, plus a £2.00 telephone charge.
The hotel would almost certainly use a local minicab firm, perfectly legal now, but they have no meters and will charge what they like if they have not already agreed a price with you, plus they are unable to use bus and taxi lanes and would inevitably be slower than a black cab, (providing the minicab driver knows where Leicester Sq. is.)
Leicester Sq. would be unlikely to go more than £9.00 - £12.00 unless something goes radically wrong.
Earls Court could be £18.00 - £24.00, same applies.
The 02 presents a problem as presumably you would be travelling there in the evening. Traffic can be mega in that direction between 16.00 - 19.00.
My best guess would be somewhere vaguely between £26.00 and £35.00. I must stress that these are all guesstimates and don't hold me to them. I don't like to encourage people to use other forms of transport, but Sidi's suggestion of using the Jubilee line from Southwark or London Bridge to the 02 is a sound one, it would almost certainly be faster as well as cheaper.
A word of warning though, when leaving the 02 you will be accosted by hordes of illegal unlicenced touts trying to get you to use their cars for the return trip, avoid them like the plague, most of them will never have heard of Union St. and will charge unsuspecting punters whatever they think the punter will stand for.
Probably £80.00 - £100.00
Fried breakfasts? No idea, does anyone other than truck drivers and building workers still eat them?
Kebabs? I've eaten them in upmarket restaurants in Athens, but the kind of establishment to which you are presumably referring symbolises chav city to me and are a definite no-no, but there are sure to be some on Borough High Street.
You are unlikely to encounter football hooligans, just avoid London Bridge station on a match day if there is a heavy police presence there.
Enjoy your stay.

I agree the Lord Clyde is a good one. Very close to it on Redcross Way is Omar's cafe and although I've not eaten there myself it is very popular. Take a look at Redcross Garden. Another pub just a bit further is the Glad on Lant Street. Tiny and retro with live music sometimes.

The Costcutter on Southwark Bridge Road is ok.

Should you encounter Millwall fans, you'll almost certainly spot them from a distance and can avoid. It's not a very frequent problem though.

Thank you all for your replies

You've all been extremely helpful, anyway I've never visited London before but I'm going to be there from the 15th - 17th October, I have tickets to watch the UFC event at the o2 arena.

Initially I was going to book the Travelodge in London Docklands however a friend of mine who frequently visits London recommended the Southwark area.

He did mention he was slightly intimidated by the amount of football hooligans in the area hence why I asked about this.

I've now checked out the area on Google Map and must say I am very impressed, looks like a beautiful area of London.

I will be sure to ask more questions as soon as I get them.

Many Thanks

I think your friend was just unlucky with the hoolies. I wouldn't worry about it.
The riverside is busy but probably a must. If you're interested in history there's a lot here. Lots connected with Dickens, Shakespeare and Chaucer.
If there's one thing I recommend outside of SE1 it's the guided tour of the West Side of Highgate Cemetery. The old Hammer Horrors were filmed there, though that's not the only reason it's amazing.
http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/index.php/home

You could go to the O2 on the Boat from Waterloo - quite a nice way to travel. As for Kebabs there was/is a Kebab ship on The Cut, although I am not sure what they are like nor whether they are still there.

As for tube travel - buy an Oyster card at the first station in London you get to. It'll be a £3.00 deposit and you have to load it up with money to travel around, but is much cheaper than the day travel cards. It can be used on busses, tubes and even some trains. Explore! But beware to check www.tfl.gov.uk to make sure that you know which tubes etc might not be operational when you get here. At the end of your trip you can either keep the Oyster card or give it back and you will get the money that is left on it and your £3.00 deposit back. TFL also has a birlliant journey planner, and no I have nothing at all to do with TFL...

beetroot wrote:

I think your friend was just unlucky with the hoolies. I wouldn't worry about it.
The riverside is busy but probably a must. If you're interested in history there's a lot here. Lots connected with Dickens, Shakespeare and Chaucer.
If there's one thing I recommend outside of SE1 it's the guided tour of the West Side of Highgate Cemetery. The old Hammer Horrors were filmed there, though that's not the only reason it's amazing.
http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/index.php/home

Thanks for the Link Beetroot, I'll be sure to check it out. As cliche as it may sound I'm very interested in visiting the major tourist attractions like Westminister, Big Ben, etc, etc. With the location of the Travelodge in Southwark I think it will be easy to commute to.

Tattie wrote:

You could go to the O2 on the Boat from Waterloo - quite a nice way to travel. As for Kebabs there was/is a Kebab ship on The Cut, although I am not sure what they are like nor whether they are still there.
As for tube travel - buy an Oyster card at the first station in London you get to. It'll be a £3.00 deposit and you have to load it up with money to travel around, but is much cheaper than the day travel cards. It can be used on busses, tubes and even some trains. Explore! But beware to check www.tfl.gov.uk to make sure that you know which tubes etc might not be operational when you get here. At the end of your trip you can either keep the Oyster card or give it back and you will get the money that is left on it and your £3.00 deposit back. TFL also has a birlliant journey planner, and no I have nothing at all to do with TFL...

Thanks Tattie Oyster Card sounds like a fantastic idea will google it now, do you have any idea what the name of the Boat from Waterloo is called?