Remains of the Old London Bridge
old london bridge, hiding in a park
Two stone alcoves from the medieval London Bridge, salvaged and standing among the trees in Victoria Park.
Free to visit · Hackney · Hackney Wick · E9 7DE
Opening: Park daylight hours
The medieval London Bridge, the one crowded with houses, shops and the heads of traitors on spikes, was demolished in the 1830s when a new bridge replaced it. A few of its stone alcoves, where pedestrians once sheltered from the traffic and the weather, were salvaged and scattered around the city.
Two of them now stand quietly among the trees in east London's Victoria Park, looking like little stone shelters with no obvious purpose. It is free to find them, and to sit where Londoners sheltered on the most famous bridge in the world, six hundred years of history hidden in plain sight in a local park.
Getting there: In Victoria Park in east London, a short walk from Hackney Wick or Bethnal Green.
Best time to go: A dry day for a walk through Victoria Park.
Insider tip: Look for the two alcoves near the western end of Victoria Park, easy to mistake for ordinary shelters. Sit inside one to occupy the same nook where medieval Londoners dodged the crowds on the old bridge.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide