The London and Greenwich Railway

There is a lot of cheese under the arches of London's first railway.

I've mentioned before that I tend to buy cheese from suppliers in Bermondsey Spa, under the railway arches. This isn't an exhaustive list, but here's some of them, the ones I go to the most.

There are a lot of other supliers under these arches, this link lists them all: Bermondsey Spa.

Most of the railway viaduct is in the original, rather attractive brickwork, it dominates the area and gives it a distinctive character. The railway was a very early one - completed in 1836, and was London's very first railway, eventually going from London Bridge to Greenwhich, it initially ran from a terminus at Bermondsey Spa to Deptford.

The area around Bermondsey Spa has been heavily redeveloped recently, so around the railway are both 50s and 60s public housing and a lot of new flats, mostly new builds. Ten years ago it was an area you'd hesitate to go at night. It is transformed now - it's a quiet, well-lit residential area.

And the use of the arches to create a foodie hub seems to be really working. Long may it thrive. I feel anxious about this kind of initiative - it depends on a strong economy and, because a lot of the food sold under the arches is from Europe, a reasonable exchange rate and predictable, manageable import regulations. Just the kinds of things, of course, that Brexit is likely to bugger up.

Published on Apr 1, 2017

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