Friday 12 March 2010



This time last week I went for a weekend in Das Capital! Aside from checking out a few stores and doing the seeing-of-sights one of the attractions on our jaunt was of course to visit some great alehouses. Some pre-researched into like a real-real ale twat! (CAMRA'S London Pub Walks book and Beer in the Evening coming in very handy) Other's we stumbled across whilst on our merry way. Whilst we didn't get everywhere - you can only have so many pints, plus we need to leave some for our next escapade, pick of those were as follows:

The Lamb and Flag 33, Rose St, London, WC2E 9EB [map]
A fantastic originally dating back to the seventeenth century, now a post war, backstreet traditional boozer, amazing ancient wooden interior. This place was a little hard to track down via alleys and the winding backstreet junctions of Covent Garden. Calling in on Friday tea-time it was busy, I'd imagine this be somewhere to really enjoy earlier in the day. One of London's last Freehouses, poet John Dryden was beaten to within an inch of his life outside in 1679.

Once nicknamed the Bucket of Blood due to the prize-fighting outside from a more rotten bygone era.




The Market Porter 9 Stoney St, London, SE1 9AA [map]
Excellent boozer which we visited on a couple of occasions, busy as you'd expect but lack of seating was made up by pretty young girls pulling our pints, they even let us try before we buy, which was nice.
This was just around the corner from the Paul Smith store, on a fairly famous setting, and opposite the famous Borough Market with a vast array of smells wafting across making my tummy do a little dance.


The Cock and Bottle 17, Needham Rd, London, W11 2RP[map] Great locals style pub a stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle of Notting Hill and the touristy Portobello Road Market. Personally, I could think of a million worse ways to spend a Saturday night than drinking the so easy to sup Hogsback T.E.A, I wish I was there now, right now.


The Uxbridge Arms 13, Uxbridge St, London, W8 7TQ [map]
Just across the road from the busy Notting Hill Gate tube and it's packed surrounding areas, the day tripping tourists from afar are totally oblivious to this slightly hidden gem, a backstreet local pub which wouldn't be out of place in a quaint corner of Cheshire.


The Churchill Arms 119 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 7LN [map]
Busy, and perhaps a little touristy, but just look at this place, 'eld Winston himself would be proud to have a bedtime tot in here, well maybe a little embarrassed as it's crammed with photos and memorabilia of the old tory leader it's acceptable to like. even the Gents is covered in pictures.



Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Wine Office Court, 145 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2BU [map]
Just off Fleet Street lies one of London's most famous tourist attraction pubs, The Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese with it's famous old pendant lantern proudly displayed outside, this traditional pub dating as far back as 1667 a year after the great fire. The pub's interior has some of the most original and oldest in the city.



The Tipperary 66 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1HT [map]

London's original Irish pub, The Tipperary - a long way away (pfft...) claims to be the earliest Irish pub in London, on the famous Fleet St, this tiny boozer has shamrocks in the mosaic floor. Re-named the Tipperary in 1918 to commemorate the unofficial anthem of the Great War.
The Lamb 94 Lambs Conduit St, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3LZ [map]
Lambs Conduit Street, a cracking olde worldly cobbled street with an array of independent stores, from master crafts mans to clothing emporiums. At the end lies the Lamb, an awesome old pub first recorded in 1729. Complete with it's decorative lantern and original snob screens dating from the Elizabethan era.

The Dove Inn 19 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London, W6 9TA [map] - Splendid looking pub on the river though a bit of a disappointment on our visit, mainly because we did visit on a Sunday mid afternoon, too many dogs, kids and Sunday lunchers for my own personal/miserable old self, I reckon a random early midweek afternoon and it'd be a great place for a pinta overlooking the river would be the most perfect time to visit.

The Blue Anchor 13 Lower Mall, London, W6 9DJ [map]
Just a walk from Hammersmith tube, and a small jaunt to the Dove as mentioned above, lies the Blue Anchor, sat opposite the river, a good location to watch the boat race, if watching twits racing past is your thing. My thing was eating a basket of chips with a pint of Cornish Knocker on a late Sunday afternoon without a care in the world sat by the roaring fire, which wasn't actually roaring but you can picture the scene.

The Shipwrights Arms 88, Tooley St, London, SE1 2TF [map]
A Victorian corner pub with splendid exterior, with a nautical theme and island style bar, walking distance betwixt Tower Bridge and Waterloo. Enjoyable place to spend a Friday Evening, I'm sure you'd agree.






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