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Tate Modern, Bankside

Companionship careSouthwark

Days out in Southwark for an older parent

Ten places in Southwark that make a good day out for an older parent, from Tate Modern to Brunel Museum. For each one: what its own access information confirms, what it costs, how long to allow, and the carers nearby who drive and could take them.

Researched by PrimeCarers from each place’s own website and access information  ·  Updated October 2026

Tate Modern. Photo: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ten days out across seven towns

The best places to take an older parent in Southwark

Seven of them are free to visit or to walk around. The access information for two describes a step-free route, and three confirm an accessible toilet. Where a place does not publish its access, we say so.

Tate Modern, Bankside

Photo: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gallery · Bankside

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is the national gallery of modern and contemporary art, housed in the former Bankside Power Station on the Thames. The free collection displays include work by Picasso, Rothko and Warhol, and the vast Turbine Hall hosts large commissions.

Entry to the collection is free, there are twelve bookable parking spaces for disabled visitors off Park Street and companions of disabled visitors go free to paid exhibitions.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Free, some exhibitions charged

What their access information confirms

  • Step-free route
  • Blue Badge parking

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Bankside

Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge

Photo: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cathedral · London Bridge

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral is London's oldest Gothic church, standing beside London Bridge and Borough Market, with a Shakespeare memorial and a medieval choir and retrochoir. It has a herb garden in the churchyard and a café.

There is step-free access from the Millennium Courtyard, a platform lift into the nave and step-free access to the café, though some parts of the cathedral are not yet accessible to wheelchairs.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near London Bridge

Borough Market, Borough

Photo: Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Market town · Borough

Borough Market

Borough Market is one of London's oldest food markets, under Victorian iron and glass roofs beside Southwark Cathedral. Traders sell cheese, bread, fruit, fish and street food from around the world.

The market's public spaces are all on one ground-floor level and there are fully fitted accessible toilets during trading hours, though it gets crowded at lunchtime, so a mid-morning visit is calmer.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

What their access information confirms

  • Café

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Borough

Imperial War Museum London, Walworth

Photo: Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Walworth

Imperial War Museum London

IWM London tells the story of modern conflict from the First World War to the present day through objects, film and personal stories, with a large atrium of aircraft and vehicles. It stands in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park near Elephant and Castle.

Entry is free, the West Entrance is step free and the whole building is accessible by lifts and ramps, with manual wheelchairs to borrow and two Blue Badge bays behind the museum.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Free

What their access information confirms

  • Step-free route
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Blue Badge parking

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Walworth

HMS Belfast, Bermondsey

Photo: Dmitry A. Mottl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Bermondsey

HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast is a Second World War cruiser moored on the Thames near Tower Bridge, run by Imperial War Museums. Visitors can explore the decks, mess rooms, engine rooms and gun turrets and hear the stories of the crew.

The main deck, quarterdeck, boat deck and café have been adapted for wheelchairs and there is an accessible toilet in the shop, but the upper and lower decks are reached by steep ladders.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Bermondsey

Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich

Photo: Poliphilo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gallery · Dulwich

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Gallery is the world's first purpose-built public art gallery, designed by Sir John Soane and opened in 1817. It holds Old Master paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Gainsborough, has a garden and a café, and hosts changing exhibitions.

The gallery is on one main floor in a quiet village setting, and a carer can check the gallery's access page for parking and wheelchair details before visiting.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Paid entry

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Dulwich

Dulwich Park, Dulwich

Photo: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Park · Dulwich

Dulwich Park

Dulwich Park is a Green Flag Victorian park with a boating lake, rhododendron and azalea gardens, a café and the Francis Peek community centre. There are pedalos and rowing boats on the lake in season.

There is a car park at the College Road entrance and toilets by the car park and behind the café, so a carer can plan a short circuit of the lake and a rest.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Dulwich

Burgess Park, Walworth

Photo: Malc McDonald, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Park · Walworth

Burgess Park

Burgess Park is Southwark's largest park at 56 hectares, stretching from Camberwell to the Old Kent Road, with a lake, Chumleigh Gardens and the line of the old Grand Surrey Canal. The tennis pavilion café is at Addington Square.

It is a big, open park, so a carer can pick one area, such as the lake or Chumleigh Gardens, rather than walking the whole length.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Walworth

Southwark Park, Rotherhithe

Photo: Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Park · Rotherhithe

Southwark Park

Southwark Park is a Grade II listed Victorian park of 63 acres in Bermondsey, with a lake, gardens, a bandstand and an art gallery. The Pavilion Café serves coffee and hot food all day.

Accessible toilets are next to the café, so a carer can plan a gentle walk round the lake with a stop at the pavilion.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet
  • Café

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Rotherhithe

Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe

Photo: Ewan-M, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Rotherhithe

Brunel Museum

The Brunel Museum is in the engine house of the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe, the first tunnel built under a navigable river, begun by Marc Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Visitors can learn how the tunnel was built and see the entrance shaft.

The main entrance, shop, lower gallery and toilets have wheelchair-suitable access, and a Blue Badge parking space can be reserved with notice, although the shaft itself is reached by stairs.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet
  • Blue Badge parking

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Rotherhithe

Regular groups and events in Southwark

Something to go back to every week or every year, from our research into what older people enjoy doing in Southwark.

  • DancingLink Age Southwark seated dance and exercise groupsLink Age Southwark runs around 25 exercise and activity groups across the borough, including gentle exercise, seated yoga and seated dance, with some sessions aimed at people living with dementia. A carer can find the nearest group, go along the first few times and handle the journey there.Details
  • ReadingSouthwark Libraries book groupsThe council lists adult book groups meeting in libraries across the borough, as well as online groups for people who cannot easily travel. A carer could pick the nearest one, collect the monthly title and read parts of it aloud during the week.Details
  • Sports · Peckham RyePeckham BowlsPeckham Bowls runs the bowling green and pavilion in Peckham Rye Park as community bowls, with no membership and no dress code and sessions open to all ages and abilities. A carer could book a slot, carry the woods and play alongside someone who used to bowl.Details
  • Volunteering · NunheadFriends of Nunhead CemeteryA volunteer group that looks after the cemetery and runs guided tours, an annual open day and family history help, meeting at the cabin by the Linden Grove entrance on working days. Volunteers are welcome for an hour or two rather than a full day, and a carer could stay alongside for the session.Details
  • Volunteering · RotherhitheTime & TalentsA long standing community organisation in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey with groups and social activities for older people, including trishaw rides through its Cycling Without Age programme. A carer could help someone move from being helped to helping out, for example by joining a group as a regular volunteer.Details
  • KnittingKnitting and Sewing Circle at the Ageing Well Southwark hubA weekly Thursday afternoon knitting and sewing circle for older residents, where members make items such as cushions and bags to sell at fundraising bazaars, alongside art and craft sessions midweek. A carer could bring the needles and wool, help with casting on and stay for the two hours.Details

Hobbies and carers who share them in Southwark

At a glance

The ten places side by side

What each place’s own access information confirms. “Ask” means it does not say, not that it is missing.

PlaceTimeCostStep-freeToiletCafé
Tate ModernBanksidehalf a dayFreeYesAskAsk
Southwark CathedralLondon Bridgean hour or twoFreePartlyAskYes
Borough MarketBoroughan hour or twoFreeAskAskYes
Imperial War Museum LondonWalworthhalf a dayFreeYesAskAsk
HMS BelfastBermondseyhalf a dayPaid entryPartlyYesYes
Dulwich Picture GalleryDulwichan hour or twoPaid entryAskAskAsk
Dulwich ParkDulwichan hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk
Burgess ParkWalworthan hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk
Southwark ParkRotherhithean hour or twoFreeAskYesYes
Brunel MuseumRotherhithean hour or twoPaid entryAskYesAsk

Where the places are in Southwark

The county’s boundary, numbered as on this page, with the main towns for reference.

Upper SydenhamPeckhamRotherhitheHonor OakWalworthEast DulwichBermondseyDenmark Hill12345678910
  1. 1Tate Modern, Bankside
  2. 2Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge
  3. 3Borough Market, Borough
  4. 4Imperial War Museum London, Walworth
  5. 5HMS Belfast, Bermondsey
  6. 6Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich
  7. 7Dulwich Park, Dulwich
  8. 8Burgess Park, Walworth
  9. 9Southwark Park, Rotherhithe
  10. 10Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe

What it costs

What a day out with a carer costs in Southwark

Carers in Southwark charge £19 to £21 an hour through PrimeCarers, typically £19, with our fee included. A four-hour outing is about £76 for the carer’s time. Entry, food and parking are extra, and travel costs are only payable if you agree them with the carer in advance, in writing. The cost of home care in Southwark has the full figures.

Photographs on this page are from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each one.

Questions

Questions families ask about days out in Southwark

Tate Modern in Bankside, Southwark Cathedral in London Bridge, Borough Market in Borough, Imperial War Museum London in Walworth, HMS Belfast in Bermondsey, Dulwich Picture Gallery in Dulwich, Dulwich Park in Dulwich, Burgess Park in Walworth, Southwark Park in Rotherhithe and Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe. Each has its own section on this page with what its access information confirms, the cost and how long to allow.

The access information for Tate Modern and Imperial War Museum London describes a step-free route. HMS Belfast, Southwark Park and Brunel Museum have an accessible toilet. Imperial War Museum London lends wheelchairs. Access changes, so ring ahead about anything your parent depends on.

Tate Modern, Southwark Cathedral, Borough Market, Imperial War Museum London, Dulwich Park, Burgess Park and Southwark Park. Parking is often charged even where entry is free.

Yes. A companion carer can drive your parent there, walk at their pace, help with the toilet and meals, and bring them home. 7 of the carers with a rate near Southwark drive. Visits are booked by the hour, typically £19 an hour here with our fee included. Companionship care in Southwark shows who is available.

Often. Many attractions let a carer or companion in free, or at a reduced price, with a disabled visitor, and some ask for proof such as a letter or a benefit award. It varies, so check each place’s access or prices page before you go.

Where the nearest carers live

From the profiles of the carers based within about 45 minutes of Southwark

Where the nearest carers live. A carer close to home can manage a longer day out.

Companionship care in the counties around Southwark

Days out in the areas around Southwark

Companionship care by town in Southwark

Each town page shows the carers who list it as home, with their rates and reviews.

Find a carer who could take them out in Southwark

See carers near Southwark who drive, with their photos, interests, rates and reviews. Talking to them is free and nothing is booked until you say so.

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