Town mouse on the South Bank
A section of London's river has been completely transformed, and summer is the perfect time to explore


From Paris to Moscow, great rivers are often the spine of a city. Sadly, so many city riversides are neglected and London is a perfect example-much of the bankside space of the Thames through the capital is given up to ugly office buildings and endless blocks of apartments. However, happily, there is a stretch where imagination has been allowed some elbow room.
Twenty years ago, London's South Bank was a place to visit for a quick culture fix, but woe betide anyone who lingered. Badly lit at night and with a reputation for attracting opportunistic ne'er-do-wells, it was a dreadful waste of one of the best pedestrian walkways along the river. In 2013, the same stretch is unrecognisable: the beach has been resurrected, for a start. A potted community garden meanders alongside the water by Waterloo and the National Theatre's pop-up bar is stuffed with props from past productions.
** Subscribe to Country Life; Country Life on Ipad
It's the perfect place for the stiff drink you'll need after seeing its brilliant Othello. Climb the winding concrete stairs, and you'll find yourself in a rooftop garden filled with wildflowers and grasses large enough to get lost in as you watch the sun set over the river with a glass of English fizz. As the rosy memories of last year's Olympics continue to glow it's nice to know London is still making an effort.
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
-
The former stables — and recording studio for the Pet Shop Boys — transformed with a magical blend of city and country aesthetic, now seeking a new owner
In the heart of Clerkenwell, what was once a Victorian industrial unit is now a beautiful home.
-
The red kite is a soaraway success story, having escaped extinction to become a familiar sight in our skies again
Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world, writes Mark Cocker.