The Shard & Borough Markets

A couple of weeks ago we took a well deserved mid week day off and headed to London. Our visit was to use our present from Dad & Deb – a champagne visit to the Shard. Wanting to make the most of our visit, we also popped into Borough Markets as we’d never been.

First stop was Borough Markets. We’d only had a small breakfast before we left so we were fully prepared for some big eats!

I opted for a grilled halloumi wrap with east Mediterranean slaw and smokey BBQ sauce from Gourmet Goat. The chunks of halloumi were thick and grilled just to squeaky perfection. JB popped over to the Roast pop up for a beef and horseradish baguette. The beef melted in your mouth and the horseradish was strong!

Variety Basket of Mushrooms

Borough Markets Map

Colourful Veg at Borough Market

New Forest Cider

Borough Market

Just after 12 we made our way over to The View from the Shard. Located just outside the entrance to London Bridge, it’s super easy to find (for us countryside folk!). The Shard has 2 viewing platforms at floors 69 and 72 allowing stunning views over the capital. One of these being an open-air skydeck (the corners of the ceiling are open air). The Shard stands 310m tall and is the highest in Western Europe. We’ve been lucky enough to do the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Skydeck in Melbourne so we’re making our way round the tallest buildings!

There was no queue the day we went (mid week) but I could imagine in the summer holidays it gets very busy. You use 2 separate super speedy lifts to get up to the top floors which takes around 30 seconds in each. Once into the View from the Shard, its a very minimalist interior design with simple wooden floors and massive windows. There are a few tall tables and chairs dotted around so that you can enjoy a drink from the bar. There are also some low level seating closer to the windows.

The day we visited, it was a little overcast in the afternoon but we could still see as far as Wembley Stadium. I was surprised to see the specially designed touchscreen telescopes that allowed you see what the different buildings were, were free to use!