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London Pubs?

Dave Wooten

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Recommended Pubs and brews appreciated. Also is photography welcomed.

Any London or surrounding area ok, I will be in the Trafalgar Square vicinity.
 
Wow! The one I remember(long for!) the most was Churchill Arms. The best Thai food and beer I found in London, when we visited in 2004. The nearest tube is Notting Hill Gate. As far as photography: 108_0809.jpg 108_0820.jpg
 
Thanks Plummeri,

So I guess it is not out of line to shoot photos in the pub?
 
Well I shot this discretely in a pub in Belfast, N. Ireland. I'd say go for it. BTW, any pub that says "Whetherspoons" is part of an English chain. Less character but reliably good food. Cheers!
 

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Blimey - there are over 4000 pubs in London: how long are you staying?...

Trafalgar Square? Hmmm... You could take a short stroll along to Covent Garden and listen to some classical (and other types of) music from buskers while having a pint outside (weather permitting, though some areas of the Market itself are covered). Plenty of different types of establishments in that area, from swish Wine Bar / restaurants to a 300 year old pub that used to be a prizefighting venue - I forget the name, it's tucked around the corner. Being a touristy area, they are presumably used to cameras. Being popular, it does get crowded, especially Friday evenings and weekends.

Beers depend on what you are looking for. Stouts like Young's Oatmeal Stout will put hairs on your chest (and is surprisingly smooth). If you prefer a traditional bitter, then anything that comes out of a pull-handle pump will do you. It really depends what you are used to and how much you want to experiment - there are really too many options - you'll just have to force yourself to try as many as possible....

Cheers, Bob.
 
Like an Ol' Thumper myself.




I seem to remember 'The Star'(?), St Johns Wood as being pretty good. Small and friendly. Been a long while though.

Say Bob, something different can't quite place it .... um new haircut?
 
You should have seen the hair a year or so before this one was taken (around 1961-62) - a pudding-basin job... Eeeeeek!

Theakston's Old Peculiar is expensive but very fine if you can find it, as is Shepherd Neame's Abbots Finger (no, I'm not making these names up). Both are quite dark and strong tasting so probably not for the average lager drinker - down a pint of something else first to get your taste buds acclimatized...
 
Bob F. said:
... Theakston's Old Peculiar is expensive but very fine...
Click to expand...
You have refined taste in beers. Another favourite. We can get it here but only in a place called the London Bar (true!), where you can normally afford one of those or an evening of others.
 

Thanks Bob, I will be in London about a week, and I actually do like stout...have a sixer or Russian Imperial in the fridge at the moment, I am interested in experimenting a bit as you all are reported to have more than a bit of the best! BTW Your photograph "A misty mornings congregation-The Becket church" and the stone circle photos, were they taken far from London? not to hijack my own thread but...
Thanks again
Dave in Vegas
 
The stones at Castlerigg are at the other end of the country, in the Lake District (Cumbria). However, both Avebury and St. Thomas Beckett Church are within a day trip from London if you have a car (about 2 hours west from London to Avebury, and 3 hours south east to Romney Marsh). I do not think either are practical by public transport unless you enjoy waiting hours for buses... Avebury: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse....eepicon=true&zm=0&in.x=9&in.y=10&scale=200000 & Church at Fairfield: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse....=&keepicon=&zm=0&out.x=5&out.y=10&scale=50000 The other postcard of the angler on his way home was also shot near the church, on Winchelsea beach.

Cheers, Bob.
 
As mentioned there are lots of pubs. I would try to get out of the Trafalgar Square area, its not got much character, although the nice pubs are (all with excellent beer)

The Harp, 47 Chandos Place - the best really central pub
The Dog and Duck, 18 Bateman Street (tiny, so gets very busy)

Not much further away:
The Princess Louise, 208-9 High Holborn - probably the finest pub interior in London
The Market Porter, by Borough Market - best reasonably central selection of beer

Photography in pubs is generally fine, they are public places. They are *very* dark usually though.

For photographing people in pubs I would recommend going a bit further out of the centre to a more residential area, can give lots of recommendations (eg one of my locals, the Pineapple, Leverton Street, Kentish Town).

For interiors and pubs of architectural interest, let me know I have one or two of the CAMRA historic London pubs books.

Oh and have a great time!
 
What do you mean by 'London'? The pubs in the central area are very touristy & pricey. If you like decent beer, why not try the Campaign for Real Ale (http://www.camra.org.uk/), you could arrange your own pub crawl!
 
It's begining to sound like you may need a tripod after visiting the first pub. The St. George, off Brough High St is a must, close to London Bridge, and Borough tube station. It's one of the oldest pubs, plenty of character.
 
Hello all and thanks for the great info so far...yes I will be free to move about the city and local pubs would be of great interest, and thanks Bob for the info on your wonderful photos....It is my first trip of several upcoming trips to London and so I am quite up for it!
 
The George is indeed an interesting site, being an old coaching inn. However, be warned that it's owned by the National Trust (An English/Welsh charity who maintain many buildings, gardens etc.) who can get quite shirty about photography. The same can be said for some of the more popular/famous pubs, they know the value of the image and may challenge you if they think you are a professional. A 'professional' as we all know, is someone who uses a tripod, has a large or unusual camera or turns up with a full lighting kit, assitants and calls everyone darling. It was for the latter reason that Roger Hicks kept getting into so much trouble. Apparently.

If you have an idea of the sort of pubs you are interested in - e.g. small local ones, historic, famous, large, small etc - I'm sure we could come up with a list. don't assume that a photographic pub has decent beer, or vica-versa.
 
Dave, have a great trip and a pint for me!
 
Dinesh said:
Dave, have a great trip and a pint for me!
Click to expand...

Hello Dinesh,

If my foggy memory serves me correctly, it would be a wee bit more than a Pint for Dinesh!
 
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