This is part 5 of a series.
It was now Tuesday, our 5th full day in London. It was a designated day of culture for us, at least the first half. The second part of the day went slightly awry, but ended well at least. We returned to Temple Tube Station, where last May we undertook a Fleet Street pub crawl. While we did revisit one pub from that day, we mostly wanted to visit the Temple area itself. Owned by the Knights Templar from 1185-1312, it is like a small enclave within the city. In the 17th C. four law schools took up residence here. It is a labyrinth of tiny streets and tinier courtyards. Middle Temple Hall is here, where Twelfth Night was first played. We did not fully explore the area, but became attracted by the Temple Church, which was open to visitors.
The original church, consecrated in 1185, was circular. It now serves as the apse for an expanded church. The church was bombed in May 1941 and the resulting fire resulted in catastrophic damage. Rebuilt and rededicated after the war (1958) to its original state, it is now once more a marvel to behold. The original round church was likely used for Templar initiation ceremonies. For a small donation we were allowed to explore the entire church, including an upstairs area. It is used primarily today by lawyers of Inner and Middle Temple. Their two symbols can be seen throughout the church in windows and floor tiles.
Around the corner was The Courthauld Gallery, part of the University of London. It contains a must-see collection of paintings from the Medieval and Renaissance periods up to the Post impressionists. We have visited once before, many years ago. Among other treasures are two paintings by Bruegel the Elder, last seen by us in the 2019 exhibition of the artist's works held in Vienna. A few photos follow showing some of the highlights.
Image courtesy Courthauld Gallery.
Image courtesy Courthauld Gallery.
Photo courtesy Courthauld Gallery. Another of my favourite paintings in London.
We left the gallery refreshed but in need of refreshment. Our favourite pub from May's pub crawl was nearby, so we headed for The George in the Strand. We shared three half pints, a Headless Cavalier from Greene King, Clockwork Orange Old Ale from Brentwood Brewing Co., and Bermondsey Black from Southark Brewery. All were beautifully kept and delicious. Deb ate a mushroom pate here while I went and foraged on the street, finding a decent sandwich at Pret a Manger next door. On the way back to the hotel Deb became nauseous, so she spent a long time resting once back home.
We were to meet up with Caroline at 4 pm in Croydon, so I went alone at first, with Deb hoping to join us in a bit. We met up at Ludoquist Cafe, a gaming cafe with hundreds of board games, decent food and even drinks. The two of us poked at a few games new to us but found the rules so complex and involved, with pages and pages of explanations, that we lost interest. We were ready to give up by the time Deb arrived an hour later. However, we found Tokaido, a game very familiar to us, and the three of us managed to play a full round. It was Caroline's first time playing the game, so of course she won! We had a good visit with her, saw her to her bus afterwards, then picked up some noodles nearby and headed back to our hotel for the night. Another culture day lay just ahead!
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London's National Gallery houses many of our favourite paintings. The collection is particularly strong in Dutch and Flemish, our two favourite schools (thank you to Detroit for the art education). We saved early Flemish for next time, viewing the Rubens collection (several late landscapes to die for) and the Rembrandts (several paintings to die for) today. The main entrance is no longer at the front, but everyone now goes in via the Sainsbury doors. The galleries are upstairs, all on one floor. Being free the gallery was busy but not overcrowded, and we had no difficulty getting right up to paintings. Seating is plentiful and we made good use of it. It had been many years since our last visit and it was a great pleasure and thrill to be back among so many great masterpieces.
It was now time to discover two new (for us) pubs and a cafe. Deb was feeling okay but not yet in the mood to drink ale. So this was mostly my party. I had picked up a CAMRA booklet at a pub and had been studying it carefully. Two pubs stood out boldly and I was eager to visit. We took the Tube from Charing Cross to Victoria, then walked down Tachbrook Street towards the Thames. Cask Pub and Kitchen instantly became our newest and favouritest pub in London!! This place rocks like the proverbial cradle. While I still love Green Dragon very much (of a muchness), Cask Pub does it all even a bit better. It boasts 10 craft ale handpulls, most from outside of London, 20 draft taps of equally obscure but fine ales and ciders, a decent food menu and, best of all, a huge book of "beers in bottles from around the world". The bottles are sorted by country and priced individually, even counting how many bottles there are remaining of a particular year. Ranging in price from £20 to £600+, we have pledged to order a bottle next time, likely from Belgium. They even had some bottles of Jolly Pumpkin from Detroit!
10 handpulls--count 'em. 20 draft taps. See and weep. Then there is the list of bottles available. Ye gods, what have you created? Why do I live so far from my true home?
I ended up having Abbeydale Trillionaire Short Bread Stout and Hammerton Crunch Peanut Butter Stout. Both were on handpull and among the best beer I'd ever tasted. Deb had a sip, moaning at what she was missing today.
We were off to one last pub. Back at Victoria we caught a slow train to Selhurst, one stop from Croydon but many stops from Victoria. Usually we go shooting past this station at warp speed. But today the Dark Horse Pub was calling out to me. A short walk from the station we first found Caleche Coffee, enjoying our black gold a bit later than usual today. As usual at Victoria our departing train was ready to depart, so we ran for it instead of stopping to grab a coffee and waiting 15 minutes for the next train. After coffee we sauntered into a nearly empty Dark Horse. I enjoyed a terrific world class ale called Three Acre Brewery Best Bitter. Well done! I like to see three acres put to such good use. The pub is perfectly lovely and I hope to revisit. Though not on the same level as Green Dragon or Cask Pub, it is still a heartwarming place to park one's posterior for an hour.
Next up was a walking day, the first London Loop segment of the journey. Tune in soon for a further update.
Mapman Mike.
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