London Trip #15: Part 4, Pubs Visited

Pubs Visited, April 2018 

Though some really wonderful pubs were visited, and some really wonderful pubs were revisited, this was not one of the most pub-friendly trips to London that I have achieved.  For one thing, this was a very short journey.  We arrived on a Sunday, which is a non-drinking day on our jet-lag program, and we left for Heathrow early the following Sunday.    Another reason was the number of closed down pubs we encountered on our long walks.  Usually a quick pub stop amidst our walking day is welcomed, but many we encountered were no longer in business, and large parts of the walks had none anywhere near us.  For the first time in recent memory while staying in Croydon, we did not visit The George, a pub that is four minutes walk from our hotel and has 17 hand pulls.  No explanation can be given;  I don't know what I was thinking.  And our visit to a favourite central London pub, The Harp, was thwarted as it was too crowded to get in the door.  As more pubs close down, others become too busy to patronize.

I managed 19 pub visits during the week, including nine that were new to me.  At least one old favourite had greatly improved, while others maintained their previous high quality.  Here are the details and the ratings for both pubs and beer.

* Unforgivably bad.

** Always worth a stop if in the area.

*** Make tracks for this establishment!

Oval Tavern (***):  Discovered last year buried in the dense neighbourhood on the east side of East Croydon Station, this is a live music venue that serves good ales and has several vegan food options.  Our arrival day visit was just an excuse to stretch our legs, as the jet lag program forbids alcohol that day.  We sat and had juice.  Sadly, we never made it back here.

The Green Man (**):  On Monday's walk, this was one of two pubs we encountered on the 2nd half of Segment 7 of the Loop.  The pub sits very near Hatton Cross Station, and we pass it each time we take the X 26 bus from Heathrow to Croydon, and back.  By coincidence the Loop passes near here, so we finally got to visit!  It's a pretty nice pub, with a vast garden.  However, on my visit they were out of cask ale!  Our arrival day had been sunny and very warm, and all of London was outdoors as our bus took us from the airport towards our hotel.  I can well believe she did sell all of the ale the day before.  I was not off to a very good start, however.  I settled for a bottle of Kopperberg Perry (**1/2), which hit the spot.  Across the street from the pub, over a little triangular green, is Super Singh, a small vegan restaurant.

 

 The Green Man, near Hatton Cross

 

Their wonderful sign!

The Old Crown (*1/2):  Sitting right above the canal in Hayes and Harlington, we were pretty tired when we arrived here.  A nice enough pub, but no ales were served.  Sigh.  It was going to be one of those days.  I enjoyed a bottle of Adnams Mosaic Pale Ale.

Victoria Station Wetherspoons (**):  A reliable but overly busy station pub situated above the real hubbub that is Victoria Station.  This station is our main gateway to central London, lying about 15 minutes ride from East Croydon.  We pass this pub each time we use the station.  However, we only made one visit this year.  I finally had some cask ales!!  Bowman's Wallop Wool (**) was tasty, but Acorn Brewery's Darkness (*1/2) was watery.

 

 Above the madness of Victoria Station at the Wetherspoons pub.

Green Dragon (***):  The finest pub in Croydon, and one of the better ones anywhere.  Large and comfortable, it lies amidst a bustling area.  Evenings can be very busy.  We visited Tuesday morning and late afternoon.  On my visits I had Titanic Brewery Chocolate and Vanilla Stout (**), Dorking Brewery Washington Gold (***), Lilley's Apple/Pear Cider (***), and a draught ale, Tiny Rebel Organic Mocha Capucchino Stout (**1/2).  Deb tried a bottle of Brew Dog Nanny State 0.5% (**).  If they rented rooms here, I could spend a happy week.  Our vegan dinners were delicious, too!

 Croydon's finest pub!

 

One half of the interior of the Green Dragon.  The bar is on the other side.

 My cozy corner of the Green Dragon.  Deb went out to explore the 'hood, while I curled up with some fine ales.

 The three-tiered bar at the Green Dragon.  8 cask ales in front, 9 draught taps behind, and 6 real ciders above.  Heaven!!

 Close up of some of the draught taps, Green Dragon.

Cronx Taproom (**1/2):  This tiny taproom is my 2nd favourite pub in Croydon.  It also features craft cask ales, craft taps, and ciders.  I managed three visits this week.  If it's too busy, beer can be taken (in plastic cups) to the main sitting area of the Croydon Boxpark, which is a vast and dense area of restaurants with a common central seating area.  I had their own Standard Bitter (**), then some Entire Porter (**1/2), and finally Hop Cat Session IPA (**).  They had a 3% table beer, and Deb was able to enjoy a delicious half pint on two occasions!  It was called Peckingham Table Beer.

Norfolk Arms, Arundel (**):  We visited Arundel, Sussex, on Wednesday. It is quite a scenic and very historic market town along the west bank of the Arun River.  Atop the hill is Arundel Castle, and after visiting there we returned to the town.  The Norfolk Arms is the very small taproom for Arundel Brewery.  We got comfortable here around 3:30 pm, and were the only customers for quite a while.  I enjoyed two very fine ales, including the best one of the whole journey.  Arundel Brewery Sussex Gold (**1/2) was delicious, but Arundel Brewery Red Handed (***) was heaven!

A section of downtown Arundel, showing the Norfolk Arms.  The castle (in behind) still belongs to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk.

 The Norfolk Arms serves ales from Arundel Brewery.

 Our snug little area at the Norfolk Arms.

The Swan Hotel (**):  We also visited this fine Fullers establishment in downtown Arundel.  It was a relatively quick stop before hiking out to our dinner pub.  I enjoyed a half-pint of Fullers Southern Star (**), made with Australian hops.

Looming large in central Arundel is this fine Fullers establishment. 

The Black Rabbit (**1/2):  Our third and final pub of the day was over a mile upriver from downtown.  I enjoyed vegan shepherd's pie, while Deb had a grilled tofu super salad thingy.  They had vegan sherbet, too!  I enjoyed a glass of Fursty Ferret (**) from Badger Brewery.  The pub also had a large outside seating area along the River Arun, with views of the castle in the distance.

 Approaching the unique country pub north of Arundel.  The river can be glimpsed in the background, right.  Note the tables and benches near the red phone box.

 Another view of this fine pub north of Arundel.

Inside the Black Rabbit.  Our table was the first on the left, near the windows.

The River Arun passes The Black Rabbit, giving distant views back towards the castle. 

The Railway Arms (**):  Located near the station in West Drayton, we stopped here for some refreshment on our Thursday London Loop walk.  They had one cask ale, which changes every week.  I had a glass of Sharps Doom Bar (**), a decent though routine ale.  We encountered two friendly older gentlemen, the only other people in our front room, who meet at the pub every Thursday for a chat.

The Railway Arms, West Drayton. 

The General Eliot (**):  The only other pub we stopped at on our walk today was this one, alongside the Grand Union Canal, right on the Loop trail, and very near to Uxbridge.  I had a glass of Ringwood Brewery's Boondoggle (*1/2).  We enjoyed a long stop here before completing our walk in Uxbridge, where we went for coffee.

The cozy canal-side pub is right on the London Loop trail.

 The Loop passes the General Eliot pub along the Grand Union Canal.

 

Moon Under Water (**):  A reliable if uninspired Wetherspoons in Balham.  You can see it when you come out of the station.  We were changing from National Rail to the Northern Line tube service on Friday, so we stopped in the area for the pub (we were here last year, too), then found a decent little cafe, and a charity shop with excellent books and CDs.  I enjoyed a glass of Old Rosie Cider (**1/2).

Barbican Centre (**):  This is a vast entertainment complex, also filled with restaurants and bars, along with a great book and gift shop.  It was Friday night and we were here to be entertained by Orchestra Baobab.  We shared a huge dinner of polenta and veggies in The Kitchen, a fancy cafeteria style restaurant in the complex.  There was a nice lobby bar, too, but all the chairs were taken.  At the restaurant I enjoyed a bottle of Meantime Brewery's London Pale Ale (**).

New Cross House (**1/2):  Located in New Cross, almost across the street from Birdie Num Nums Cafe.  This a large, high-ceiling pub with cask ales, craft taps, and cider.  This was a lucky find, and we enjoyed our stay.  I had a glass of Wimbledon Brewery's Wimbledon Windmill Ale (**), a tongue twister for sure!  This was to be the last new pub of our journey.

 New Cross House, London (New Cross).

Jurys Inn Bar, Croydon (*1/2):  The hotel bar is actually pretty nice, though beer selection is not great.  I had a coupon for two free drinks, so I had a shot of Jack Daniels and a glass of white wine.  Just to try something different.  Afterwards, it was time to pack for the trip home.

London's Pride (**):  The only pub inside security at Heathrow Terminal 2, it is a Fullers, with a restaurant side and a pub side with comfy chairs.  We usually spend several hours here before our flight home.  I capped off the trip with a glass of Fullers ESB (**1/2), always worth drinking if properly kept.

It's never easy to say when we will return to London, or if we will.  We have major trips planned to New Mexico later this year, and then maybe back to Vienna.  In the spring we are thinking of a possible visit to Venice, or into the desert closer to home.  Nothing definite planned yet for 2019.  Thanks for stopping by.  Come back often!

Mapman Mike

London Trip #15: Part 3; London Loop Segment 8, 2 Concerts, and Birdie Num Nums!

We hadn't walked the loop since Monday, and it was now Thursday.  Today's walk took us from Hayes and Harlington up the Grand Union Canal to Uxbridge.  It was considerably shorter, at 8 miles, than Monday's epic walk.  But we had pretty much tired ourselves yesterday in Arundel, walking about 5 miles as we explored the castle, its enormous grounds and gardens, and the town itself.  However, we had trained for just such an emergency!  The station at Hayes and Harlington is on the opposite side of London from our hotel in Croydon, but London's fabulous transport network got us back to where we had left off pretty quickly and easily.  We were soon on the canal and walking our route once again.

The London Loop route maps are all on line, and the segments can be walked in any order.  It's hard for people who have been only to central London to grasp how much green space the city has.  47% of London's 1500 sq. km is green space; that increases to 60% if you include the outlying open spaces.  London has the world's largest urban forest.  And so these photos might give you a better sense of what Deb and I experience when we visit London.  All the comforts of a great city, plus enough nature to keep us more than happy on our explorations.

 The Grand Union Canal, leaving Hayes and Harlington.  The Loop begins on the canal, but leaves it from time to time to wander deep into vast park lands adjacent.

 A foot and cycle bridge over a busy motor way.

 A different view of London!  We ate our picnic lunch on a bench atop a high hill overlooking--lots of green things!

 Back to the canal for a time....

Off to explore a watery park.  This is Little Britain Lake.

 The River Colne stays with us for a large part of this diversion from the canal.

 Back to the canal.

The Grand Union Canal joins central London to Birmingham, far to the north.  We left it at Uxbridge.  Uxbridge is the main city in the London borough of Hillingdon, which is 15 miles from Charing Cross.  London is such a vast city!

That ended the major walking part of our journey.  We spent Friday in central London, visiting the National Gallery in the afternoon, and attending a concert at the Barbican Friday evening.  We heard the legendary Orchestra Baobab, an African/Latin group of 10 African musicians and singers, in an unforgettable live performance.  They rocked the Barbican Centre for a set lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes!  Malfino was the group that opened for them, in a pretty interesting 30 minute set.

Saturday we had a chance to either walk some more, or hear a young singer/acquaintance perform in a short comic opera.  The day was gloomy, and I really wanted to hear Liberty sing once more.  We heard her in 2015 at the London Early Music Festival, singing alto in the Trinity Laban choir, and doing solo work as well.  We were extremely impressed with her voice (I wrote about her in the blog for Trip #13).  It was easy to reach the church in which her group would be performing, so we hopped on a tram to Beckenham, eating our breakfast as we rode.

 

If the idea of a jukebox opera intrigues you, then this is the ticket. 

Liberty starred as Priscilla, one of two of the spoiled step-sisters of Cinderella.  The singing parts were lifted from famous operas by composers such as Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, and English words from the Cinderella story were substituted for the original words.  The performers consisted mostly of music students from Trinity.  They had been performing all week, and had even sung it the previous night.  Now it was Saturday morning and they were singing again, despite physical and vocal fatigue.  They were troopers, every last one of them, including the girl who had to step in at the last moment and sing the part (for her first time in the role) of an absent cast member.

I can't begin to say enough good things about the performance, and the 60-minute opera itself.  I am very happy that the cast got to perform it so many times, too.  There wasn't a bad singer in the lot, and the acting was mostly first rate, too.  However, Liberty and her stepsister, and their mother really stole the show.  The three of them together created a great comedy team, and made the most of their on-stage time by keeping us laughing and watching them whenever they came on.  Liberty, whom we heard previously in a solemn choral concert, really got to show her stuff today.  Her voice is as lovely as ever, and if anything her expressive qualities have deepened.  This was a perfect opportunity for her to sing classic opera, and display her wonderful acting talent and good comic timing.  And her facial expressions!  Hilarious!  It was a morning well spent.  We got to talk with Liberty after the show, and I was even on hand to take a group photo!  So looking forward to hearing more from this multi-talented young woman!

The brilliant and very energetic cast of Cinderella.  Liberty is at back, right, with her stepsister to the right of the soldier, and their 'mother' is between the soldier and Cinderella.  Between the three of them they managed to mostly steal the show.  The soldier was the person who stepped in last minute to take the role.  Well done all! 

After the performance we made our way to New Cross, where we met up with London friend Caroline for lunch.  We had met up earlier in the week for dinner in Croydon.  The rendezvous cafe was called Birdie Num Nums, a funny nod to Peter Sellers and the film "The Party."  The restaurant was vegan friendly, and we settled in for a cozy chat and some great food.

 A fun cafe in New Cross, and very vegan friendly.  We met up with London friend Caroline for lunch and a catch-up chat.

Town Hall tower, New Cross.

New Cross Gate Station, on our homeward journey.  London transport was really good to us all week, especially the regular suburban trains.

This was to be our last full day in London, so some more pubs were visited later on by Deb and me.  The pub page is forthcoming, highlighting some of the new ones visited, and a few old favourites.

To Be Continued....

London Trip #15: Part 2, Arundel and It's Castle

ARUNDEL

We always plan at least one day away from the London area on each trip.  This time it was a revisit to Arundel, Sussex, about an hour's train ride south from our Jurys Inn Hotel in Croydon.  Ten years ago we had ended up in Arundel, muddy to our knees from a long walk that ended here. The marvellous castle was closed for the season (March), and we vowed to return someday.  Someday arrived on Wednesday, April 25th, 2018.  On our previous long countryside walk, we had visited the small grave of Mervyn Peake, author.  If you don't know the major works of Mervy Peake, I highly suggest that you carry on over to Amazon.ca and order the Gormenghast Trilogy.  Peake writes like Charles Dickens, if that famous author wrote while taking acid or LSD.  The central theme in Peake's writing is Gormenghast Castle, which is based on Arundel Castle.  He lived across the Arun valley, and from his village he saw Arundel Castle every day.  It obviously affected his mind, which was, fortunately, a great one.  The Gormenghast Trilogy is one of the greatest works of Gothic literature.  I've read the entire, vast series twice, and look forward to the third reading someday soon.

 The very large castle dominates the town of Arundel.

 The castle keep.  We climbed winding stairs to the top, along with a Year 2 school group, who were busy enjoying their field trip to a real castle.

 The battlements of Arundel Castle are extensive, and from a 

distance the castle seems to sprawl forever.

 When it wasn't raining, we toured the enormous grounds, which included some very impressive gardens, along with a large church.

 Looking much like a large field of candy, the tulip fields were in bloom!

 More tulips!

 Formal gardens, Arundel Castle.

 The Keep, from the safety of the central courtyard.  The castle is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, who are in residence much of the time.  The exorbitant visitor fees no doubt keep them living here in comfort!

The castle's central dining area, which also featured in the novels of 

Mervyn Peake.

One of the castle bedrooms, still in use much of the time.

Another bedroom at the castle.  I couldn't make up my mind which one to take for the night.

The castle library, definitely a highlight of the tour.  In Peake's novels, it burns to the ground, sending the Earl of Gormenghast over the precipice into madness.

The town of Arundel is dominated by the vast castle.

A favourite store to browse in downtown Arundel.

Victorian shopping arcade, Arundel.

There are a number of fun shops to browse in Arundel.

Relaxing in a downtown pub, the Norfolk Arms.

Castle view, Arundel.

We had a very enjoyable vegan dinner here, about a mile from the castle.  England is among the most vegan-friendly areas in the universe.

To be continued ....