They say that Londoners don’t cross the river unless forced by employment or the lure of alcohol; only bad things lie on the other side.

Well, that’s just not true – the bit about the bad things, anyway. The bit about not crossing except for employment or alcohol? I’d say that’s 99.9% spot on.

Here’s the 0.01% it’s not true for me with a recent non-work/alcohol driven exploration south of the river Thames. However, it was food and tat fueled.

Aladdin’s Cave in Lewisham was the first tat shop we came across during our South of the River Exploration, and it was absolutely jam-packed with so many great pieces. Part of me wanted to buy everything in here and fill my home up like a hoarder with kitsch taste, but the minimalist in me fought back and I walked away empty handed, save for this photograph.

Leaving my flat at the weekend (read: when I could be staying in bed hiding away!) requires coffee. Going south of the river requires excellent coffee. Luckily, Brockley Market‘s Dark Fluid didn’t let me down with a perfectly prepared latte. 

Kooky Bakes seems to be doing the rounds with the people I follow on Instagram and Twitter, so I was only all too excited to see them set up at Brockley Market, scrumptious-looking desserts in tow. We tried their dosant and pumpkin whoopie pie.

Mmmm a caramel cronut dosant. An ultra-greasy pastry (just check out the corner of the bag it’s sitting on, or my shiny fingers below) that is light and flakey like a croissant and deep fried like a donut. This particular breed was filled with caramel and had some caramel on top, too.

It was nice, but I doubt I’ll have one again – far too greasy for me!

The pumpkin pie whoopie, on the other hand, that was a total winner for me. Awesome autumn flavours and tasted just like Boston in the fall.  

Then there were pumpkins! Wish I could say I bought one to carve at home, but this time I was strictly admiring their autumnal beauty while fantasising about jack-o-lanterns at Halloween and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving…

When I was a kid we knew it was autumn because we’d go apple picking at the local orchard, buying apples buy the pound. Those were the best apples I ever tasted.

These apples at Brockley Market were a good second best, though, and easily the best apples I’ve eaten in England. I walked away a very happy Katie with a kilo of the Worcester apples. 

And the autumn-themed foods didn’t stop there, just check out these spooly skeleteon cookies by The Cinnamon Tree Bakery. Picture perfect!

And of course, a trip south of the river wouldn’t be complete without heading down the road to Greenwich Market.

We wandered through the crafts, looking for London-themed items to decorate our flat. We found a few things we’d love to buy (vintage London bus signs and framed London Underground maps from the 1940s!) but sadly the price tags were too hefty for us as a quick market purchase. However, they’ve been added to the wish list!Last – but definitely not least – is the shop that does tea AND tat. Oh hell yes. We got lost in here for a good half hour, not even noticing how much time we were spending admiring the wares.

All in all, our time south of the river was great, but next time I think we’ll need to include pints and friends 😉