The weather
Mild for October, and dry. A slim chance of drizzle around 6:00 pm lands while you’re inside Dishoom, then the sky clears for a crisp walk past the lights. The footbridge is breezy, so bring a coat. The blue figures are the chance of rain.
Forecast from Open-Meteo for central London, checked Friday 16 October.
In along the river
London Bridge, a bite at Borough Market, then the Thames path west and over Waterloo Bridge.
Horley → London Bridge
One Thameslink train, no changes, about 40 minutes. London Bridge is the first stop in London. Head out the Borough High Street exit.
| 2:51 pm | Horley, Thameslink to Peterborough. London Bridge 3:30 pm |
| 3:05 pm | Horley, Thameslink to Bedford. London Bridge 3:50 pm |
| 3:21 pm | Horley, Thameslink to Peterborough. London Bridge 4:00 pm |
Good to know
- Contactless works at Horley. Tap in at Horley, tap out at London Bridge, then tap in at Blackfriars and out at Horley going home, using the same card or phone all day. Horley has its own pay-as-you-go fares, so compare with an off-peak day return to London Terminals at the machine.
- Times are from Realtime Trains, checked Friday 16 October. Check National Rail in the morning, as weekend engineering work on this line is common.
Borough Market, one bite
Stalls shut 5:00 pmThree minutes from the station. London’s oldest food market, under Victorian iron and the railway arches, and loud and lively on a Saturday. Keep it to one shared thing, because dinner is early. A Bread Ahead doughnut, or a Monmouth coffee to carry along the river.
The Thames path to Waterloo Bridge
Free · about 45 minutesLondon’s best riverside walk, heading west with the water on your right. You pass Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hinde (a full-size Tudor galleon in a tiny dock) and Shakespeare’s Globe. Then comes Tate Modern’s chimney, with the Millennium Bridge running across to St Paul’s. Step into the Turbine Hall if you want to. A brand-new sound installation opened there this week, and it’s free. Carry on past the Oxo Tower and climb the steps onto Waterloo Bridge.
Good to know
- Waterloo Bridge is the “Waterloo Sunset” view. Look west for Parliament and the London Eye, and east for St Paul’s and the City. Around 4:40 pm the light is starting to go gold.
- Tired legs? Take the Jubilee line from London Bridge two stops to Waterloo, then walk ten minutes onto the bridge.
Somerset House
Free to walk inRight at the north end of Waterloo Bridge. A vast 18th-century palace around a cobbled courtyard where the fountains rise straight out of the ground. Walk through the courtyard and out the front onto the Strand. Covent Garden is five minutes up Wellington Street.
Good to know
- The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is on inside this weekend (15 to 18 October). It’s ticketed and optional.
Covent Garden & Seven Dials
The old flower market, a painted courtyard, and seven little streets meeting at a sundial.
The Piazza & market hall
Free · wanderThe 1830s market building has an iron-and-glass roof, with the Apple Market’s craft and jewellery stalls under it and a string quartet or opera singer often busking in the sunken lower courtyard. Out on the West Piazza, in front of St Paul’s Church, the street performers draw a crowd. This is the square where Eliza Doolittle sold flowers in My Fair Lady.
Little extras nearby
- Jubilee Market on the south side is the cheaper, rummage-y one.
- Milk Train on Tavistock Street does soft-serve wrapped in candy floss, if she wants a sugar hit to share.
Neal’s Yard & Seven Dials
The photo stopFive minutes up Neal Street. Neal’s Yard is a tiny hidden courtyard of brightly painted walls, window boxes and flower pots, the most photographed corner of Covent Garden. Around the corner is Seven Dials, where seven streets meet at a sundial pillar laid out in the 1690s. Browse the small shops on Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street. Dishoom is a three-minute walk away.
Good to know
- Choosing Keeping (stationery) and Magma (design books) are lovely browses.
- Neal’s Yard Dairy on Shorts Gardens hands out cheese tastings.
Dinner at Dishoom
An early Bombay supper with the table already booked, while everyone else queues.
Dishoom Covent Garden
Book 5:45 pmThe original Dishoom, a homage to the old Irani cafés of Bombay, with ceiling fans, black-and-white family photos and the smell of the grill. Booking before 6:00 pm is the trick. After six, tables for two are walk-in only, and the Saturday queue runs 30 minutes to an hour.
What to order for two
- House black daal, simmered for over 24 hours. Everyone orders it, and they’re right.
- Chicken ruby (a rich butter-style curry) or the lamb biryani.
- Okra fries and gunpowder potatoes to share.
- Garlic naan and a roomali roti.
- Finish with a house chai and a kulfi on a stick.
Good to know
- 12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9FB. Open 9:00 am to midnight on Saturdays.
- Book on dishoom.com. Any party size can book before 6:00 pm.
- If no 5:45 pm slot shows, take the latest one before 6:00 pm and shuffle Neal’s Yard to after dinner.
Night lights & home
Lanterns, fountains and the London Eye, then two Tube stops to the train.
Chinatown & Leicester Square
Free · 5 min walkAcross Charing Cross Road to Gerrard Street, under the red paper lanterns and the carved gates. If there is room after Dishoom, get a bubble tea or a little fish-shaped custard waffle to walk with. Then cut through Leicester Square, all lit up for the cinemas.
Trafalgar Square → Golden Jubilee Bridge
The photo of the nightFive minutes to Trafalgar Square, with the fountains, the lions and Nelson’s Column floodlit and the National Gallery glowing behind. Then walk down Villiers Street to the Golden Jubilee footbridge beside Charing Cross and climb up. From the middle, the London Eye glows on the right, Big Ben and Parliament sit down the river, and Waterloo Bridge and St Paul’s are behind you.
Embankment station is at the north foot of the footbridge. Take an eastbound District or Circle line train two stops to Blackfriars, about 5 minutes, and follow the signs to the National Rail platforms.
Blackfriars → Horley
Thameslink, platform 1 on the timetable. Take a train for Gatwick Airport or Horsham, and check the board says it calls at Horley.
| 7:54 pm | Blackfriars, Thameslink to Horsham. Horley 8:43 pm |
| 8:14 pm | Blackfriars, Thameslink to Gatwick Airport. Horley 9:02 pm |
| 8:24 pm | Blackfriars, Thameslink to Horsham. Horley 9:13 pm |
| 8:44 pm | Blackfriars, Thameslink to Gatwick Airport. Horley about 9:32 pm |
Good to know
- Don’t go via Victoria. Realtime Trains shows no direct Victoria to Horley trains at all on this Saturday.
- Times are from Realtime Trains, checked 16 October. Check them again over dinner.
Swap-ins & what else is on
Jubilee line to Waterloo
London Bridge → Waterloo · 2 stopsIf the riverside walk feels long, ride two stops and walk onto Waterloo Bridge. It saves about 30 minutes, so spend the extra time in Covent Garden.
TfL status1-54 African Art Fair
Somerset House · 15 to 18 OctThe big contemporary African art fair, inside Somerset House this weekend. It’s ticketed. Add an hour and have her catch the 2:21 pm instead.
Somerset HouseLondon Transport Museum
Covent Garden Piazza · until 6:00 pmVintage buses and Tube trains you can climb into, right on the Piazza. It is paid, and good if it pours.
MuseumDishoom Borough
Hop Exchange, Park St · walk-in onlyOpened this week, with 50% off food until 20 October. It’s walk-in only with a long queue, so it’s one for another day.
DetailsFilm Festival closing weekend
BFI Southbank · over Waterloo BridgeA free drop-in games lounge and immersive pieces until 9:00 pm, a 10-minute walk across the river.
ProgrammeDiwali on the Square
Trafalgar Square · Sun 25 OctThe Mayor’s free Diwali festival, with music, dance and food stalls, five minutes from Dishoom. It is the weekend after.
DetailsGathered 13 to 16 October from The Nudge, Solosophie, Time Out, Visit London, Dishoom, Somerset House and the venues’ own sites.
Before the day
Book tonight
- Dishoom Covent Garden, Saturday 5:45 pm for two, on dishoom.com
- Contactless (same card or phone all day), or an off-peak day return to London Terminals
- Aim for the 2:51 pm from Horley. The 3:05 pm is the fallback
- Comfy shoes and a coat
If something slips
- Train late: skip the river walk and take the Jubilee line two stops to Waterloo
- No 5:45 pm slot: book the latest slot before 6:00 pm, or join the walk-in queue with free chai
- Rain: London Transport Museum on the Piazza, and the market hall is covered
- Tired after dinner: skip Chinatown and walk straight down to Embankment
- Missed the 8:14 pm: the next trains are at 8:24 pm and 8:44 pm