London Pubs

| Maison de Stuff | John's Page | John's Pictures |

Tuesday 12th October 2004. A scouting mission for some nice old pubs in the city of London.

13:30:20 My first pub of the day. Nice exterior, fairly nice interior as well. Small, but perfectly formed.

13:44:50 The little alleyway (Stew Lane) which leads down to Samuel Pepys - pub number 2. This was not, as I had anticipated, a nice old pub, but instead quite a modern looking bar...

13:45:11 ...still, on the plus side it was literally right next to the Thames, and offered some rather nice views, despite the grey and driselly weather. Here we can see across to the Globe Theatre.

13:45:18 ...and here we can see some bridge, or other.

13:55:54 My third pub of the day, the Viaduct Tavern. This scored a lot of points - nice frontage, nice interior, very friendly staff... an all round great pub.

13:57:57 Inside the Viaduct Tavern. Ok not the greatest pictures of the interior, but you have to trust me this was very nice.

14:17:29 More of the interior of the Viaduct Tavern.

14:28:59 Whilst en route to the next pub, I wandered past the White Hart here, and thought I would give it a go. So this is pub number 4. This pub had a great atmosphere, even at this time on a week day it was pretty full with regulars - a real locals pub. Lots of them were old gents from the RAF... plus the landlord was a delightfully stereotypical East London pub landlord. Marvellous.

14:31:22 A nice old building.

14:31:43 Couldn't resist the close-up on "Little Britain".

14:34:05 Another pub I just happened across - Barley Mow, in the Clerkenwell area. Pub number 5 then. I don't think there was actually an entrace via this alleyway.

15:05:08 The Barley Mow again. Very quiet inside - probably down to the time of day. Nice bar staff in here - the barman called me "Young man", which I kind of enjoyed to be honest.

15:05:21 Next door to the Barley Mow, the Apium, where I grabbed a late lunch of Ho Fun noodles.

15:18:32 Pub number 6, Ye Ole Red Cow, another pub I just happened across. Quite small inside, and a bit more modern than the frontage suggests, but nice nonetheless.

15:20:39 The Fox and Anchor, the pub I had actually been heading for, which was, unfortunately, closed.

15:20:51 A close-up of the sign.

15:25:36 The next pub, number 7, not on the agenda. This was "The Hope", and inside we can see one of the regulars appeared to be a pigeon.

15:38:34 Outside The Hope.

15:51:42 The Castle, which it took me several days to realise I had actually been in, and it wasn't in fact closed as I'd originally suggested. So this is then pub number 8.

15:56:53 A nice gateway.

15:57:04 That gateway again, at a slightly dodgy angle.

16:01:46 Dovetail - a Belgian "beer and food house". Didn't actually go in here, but took a picture for future reference.

16:05:17 The Crown Tavern, another pub which seemingly closes in the afternoon.

16:44:23 The Bleeding Heart Tavern - pub number 9. A bit posh, but nice regardless. The barman here was French, and in my (by now) semi drunken state I ended up speaking some French to him.

16:53:17 Without expecting it I ended up walking past Ye Old Mitre, and couldn't help but pop in, making this pub number 10.

16:55:32 This is a truly, truly beautiful pub, both inside and out. It is also blessed with some very good staff and some nice ales. Quite possibly one of the worlds greatest pubs.

17:10:35 The alleyway leading to Ye Old Mitre.

17:11:58 This is St. Ethelread's crypt - where the Scotch Malt Whisky Society hold their bigger functions in London. Having just become a member, I was eager to see what it looked like inside.

17:14:05 No real point to this picture, I just thought it would look nice!

17:30:02 The Punch Tavern, which, rather sneakily, I only used for the toilets. Sorry. As such I won't count this one.

17:51:07 Pub number 11, The Old Bell, one of the pubs on my original agenda. Very good.

18:19:52 Pub number 12 was actually a wine bar. This is El Vino on Fleet Street, the last place I went to before heading off home. Here I advised the manager on future whisky purchases, which was very enjoyable.