I've been on another trip to that there London, with football to be watched and pubs to be visited. This time it was in the ....
An early start, Grand Central from Halifax and Brighouse to King's Cross, then a 10 minute walk to our Travelodge to stretch our legs after the constraints of a three hour train journey with not enough legroom and to drop our bags off before walking back to catch our next train. I was with my brother like last time I was in London when we went to Sutton, although this time we were heading in the opposite direction from St Pancras, north on the Thameslink train to see Halifax Town play at Borehamwood, or Boreham Wood, as the club addresses itself.
First though, we went to check out some pubs in a part of London I had never been drinking in before. A few minutes after leaving St Pancras on the way north to Borehamwood and St Albans, the first stop is at Kentish Town. This is a pleasant part of town which was once a resort back in the 19th century when it sat alongside the river Fleet, now long consigned to being culverted and used as a sewer, a sad fate for the largest of the capital's many subterranean rivers. Leaving the station, the place seems alive and welcoming, with a relaxed buzz. There is a kiosk and a pub and a couple of restaurants right next to the station beside a busy main road with shops on the other side. Several graffiti . We left the main road after a short distance once we had got our bearings and walked along a pleasant suburban street with many of the houses painted in attractive pastel shades. We had travelled for less than 10 minuteson the train and it felt miles away from the hustle and bustle of central London.
We soon came to our first pub, a large street corner pub on a quiet residential street with a striking painted exterior. This was the Grade ll-listed Pineapple, which has been in the heart of the community since it was built in 1868. When it was threatened with being turned into flats in 2002, the locals got together to save it as a pub and got this historic building listed within a matter of days. It is a classic Victorian boozer with many attractive features reflecting its heritage, none more so than the classic bar back. With nooks and crannies and odd corners to either side of the bar which is facing you as you enter the building. there is a conservatory at the back and further seating in a space upstairs which doubles as a function room.
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| Pineapple, Kentish Town (image: CAMRA) |
It was busy when we walked in, with people sat at the bar and at tables in front and at the side of the bar. From a choice of 4 beers on hand pump including their own house beer, we both went for a pint of Grandstand from Twickenham Brewery. This is a classic amber session bitter with an ABV of 3.8%, triple hopped with Brewers Gold for a crisp refreshing finish. This was a most enjoyable beer to start the day off (NBSS 3.5), and whilst my brother changed to one of the others when we went for a second pint, I had another one of these. It was my round and as we'd ordered different beers, the girl behind the bar impressed by using both arms to pull them at the same time, delivering perfect pints save for a small top-up at the end. There was a great atmosphere, helped by the friendly staff, in the Pineapple, where they specialise in Thai food. We finished our beers and as we left, more people of all ages - couples, the odd pram. guys and girls on their own, with the dog - were coming in to what felt like a proper friendly local pub. It is definitely a place that I would like to visit again.
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| The Pineapple: classic Victorian boozer |
We set off walking to the next pub, first re-tracing our steps back to the main road, then turning off up Highgate Road where it was a good 10 minutes walk before we came to a railway bridge with the next pub just beyond. We had thought about visiting another pub further up the road, but with us mindful of the fact that we needed to get up to Borehamwood for the football, we decided to abandon that idea and focus our attention on just the one pub so we weren't rushing around at the last minute. And what a pub it was too. I had heard about the Southampton Arms from various sources over the years and consequently it had been added to my to-do list. It is a small unassuming-looking place from the outside with a sigh on the side wall listing ale, cider, and meat, whilst a sign above describes it is an Ale & Cider House. There is a large window at the front with the name of the pub above, with a couple of tables and chairs for the smokers or warmer weather.
We walked into a busy long room with a long bar on the right-hand side. There is a fireplace to the left and a piano beyond the bar. The walls are covered in white tiles giving the place a somewhat functional feel which belied the warm and friendly atmosphere. Most of the tables were fully-occupied, with several stools at the bar taken. Faces were happy, many in for the long-haul, the big window steamed-up resisting the cooler air outside. We managed to find a couple of perches by the bar next to an undecorated Christmas tree. A box of vinyl was standing amongst the bottles and empty glasses at the back of the bar. A sign below the clock on the bar back states that they are the only dedicated ale and cider house in London to sell their beers and ciders from small independent UK producers.
There are 7 hand pumps on the bar for cask beers, with a further 6 for ciders, whilst there are 8 keg lines. All are priced at a set price up to 4.8% ABV, with a set amount by which the price increases for each % alcohol above for both cask and keg, a policy explained on another notice behind the bar. We ordered a pint of Session Pale, a 3.7% light pale ale from Kent Brewery which was a lovely beer with hints of citrus and elderberries (NBSS 3.5). This we paired with one of their pies, which was basically half of a stand pie with pork, gammon, and chicken for a real meat experience. Very nice. One of the tables by the piano was suddenly vacated, so we jumped straight in their grave and claimed it as our own.
We had just enough time for another pint, so this time I tried Walthamstow Green Hopped Pale Ale, brewed with locally-produced Prima Donna hops from the East London Brewing Company. These are freshly harvested (hence green) and so have their own characteristics. The beer is brewed to 4.6% ABV and had notes of marmalade and tangerine which gave way to a slightly spicy, blackcurrant finish with medium bitterness. It was another excellent beer (NBSS 3.5), which brought our visit to this timeless, classic pub to a conclusion. One I definitely look forward to visiting again.
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| The Southampton Arms: a timeless classic pub |
It was just over 10 minutes' walk back to the railway station, and we only had a few minutes to wait before our train came in. It took around 20 minutes to arrive at Elstree and Borehamwood, the station nearest to Meadow Park, the home of Boreham Wood FC. From the station it was about a mile walk along the same road to the ground, a walk that took us past countless takeaways, restaurants, Asian supermarkets, the odd Polski sklep, nail bars, beauty salons, with hardly a pub in sight. We did pass a Spoons I had been in once before, but now with a different name it is most likely a Spoons no more. As we approached the ground we saw the world-famous Elstree Studios, where they apparently film some popular TV dancing programme or other. We got in to the ground in plenty of time for this early evening kick-off which was being shown on TV. A few familiar faces started to drift in as kick-off time approached, but numbers were sparse, there were officially 49 of us Town fans, although we did find out later that someone we know had gone in the home end "because they have a good bar." Our track record against Boreham Wood is not good, and with the temperature beginning to drop, the teams came out on to the pitch. Unfortunately it was another disappointing performance away from home against the home side who were much slicker and well-organised than us. A last-minute goal gave a little respectability to the score line but without some great saves by our keeper Sam Johnson the home side could have had 4 or 5. It finished Boreham Wood 2, FC Halifax Town 1....
We walked back along the busy road to the station, where we had a few minutes to wait for our train back to London. We'd met up with some other friends from a different group who were similarly depleted in numbers and so when we got back to St Pancras they joined us for a pint at the nearby Scottish Stores before they caught their train back up north. This has tended to be a bit hit and miss at times when I've visited previously, but this evening, with the city streets busy and Christmas spirit in the air despite the fact it was still only November, the place was busy and the atmosphere great, with a real mix of clientele. The beer too, was on good form, my first pint of Fuller's London Pride of this visit being most enjoyable (NBSS 3). We had another pint and a good chinwag, and the others left us to get their train back to Doncaster.
We headed off along Caledonian Road to what turned out to be our final pub of the evening, situated a few minutes walk away on Northdown Street. Our destination was the King Charles 1 which I had once visited a few years ago on a Saturday lunchtime when I took the picture at the top of the blog. A runner up in the North London CAMRA 2025 Pub of the Year competition it still had the same green and yellow livery on the outside paintwork, with the words Drink with Dignity featuring in the window above the entrance. Inside it comprises a small, cosy wood-panelled single room pub in a Georgian building, with a decor featuring a host of interesting and eclectic paraphernalia, a real fire, and a great jukebox which was playing some real classics this evening. Essentially a back-street local serving nearby workers and residents, it is just far enough from King's Cross to avoid the masses, although its charms attract a steady stream of discerning visitors from further afield drawn by their welcome to all approach and, in their words, strictly no wankers policy.
Like the Pineapple a few years earlier, in 2015 the King Charles was subject to a community buyout of the 20 year lease of the pub with shareholders comprising a collection of local residents and people with a strong connection with the pub. It was then listed as an Asset of Community Value in August 2021, since when it has continued to thrive supporting many local groups, and regularly hosting live music, quiz nights, and various other events. The place was bouncing with a varied and rather bohemian crowd as we walked in to a great atmosphere, with the odd person dancing along enthusiastically to whatever was playing on the soundtrack. We made our way to the bar where a few people were sat on stools, but they parted so we were able to see what was available on the four hand pumps on the bar front. I went for a pint of Red Ale from Utopian Brewing, who are based in Crediton in Devon. The brewery started out brewing lager using 100% British ingredients, but nowadays do brew cask ale as well. This was a 4.4% American-style red/amber ale with a complex malt character from a number of different malts and a little black treacle. It had been generously hopped with Mystic giving layers of fruit and citrus which balanced the sweetness from the malt and an underlying bitterness. It was another very good beer (NBSS 3.5).
The bell went for last orders, and with any thought of a final pint somewhere else, let alone any food, completely out of the window, and enjoying the vibe created by the welcoming team behind the bar and the assortment of different characters making up the crowd, we went for another beer. This time I had a pint of Hopspur from Redemption brewery who are not far away in Tottenham. With an ABV of 4.5%, the brewery describe it thus: "Amber Ale with some citrus fruit aromas, chewy biscuity malt flavours, slight sticky sweetness and grapefruit piney hop flavours. Well balanced with hop flavours to the fore and an easy bitter finish." A pleasant beer with which to draw the evening to a close (NBSS 3). The music continued as we enjoyed our drinks. As we left, as I tried to take a picture of the outside of the pub, one of the girls from behind the bar said she'd take one of me in front of the pub, but rather than that, we settled on her being in the picture, as you can see....
The following morning, after a good night's sleep, we were up and out of the hotel fairly early, and made our way back towards Kings Cross in the cold morning sunshine. The streets were already busy with the street cleaners out in force clearing away the detritus from last night, whilst hordes of people, some with cases trundling along beside them like a favourite pet, marched like ants to some destination or other, whilst others dawdled along, chatting, stopping unexpectedly like a horse pulling up. We headed down Euston Road past both Kings Cross and St Pancras and made for the Rocket, a popular sports bar with a couple of hand pumps which also does a decent breakfast. An Irish breakfast was ordered - some of the team are Irish - and eagerly consumed, and then we went back towards King's Cross. A check on the giant screen that the train was on time and then after passing the ridiculously long Harry Potter-related queues we went upstairs to the sanctuary of the sprawling, warren-like Fullers-run Parcel Yard. Here we had a quick pot of tea and then ordered our final pint of the trip. My pint of London Pride (NBSS 3.5) maintained the consistent standard we had enjoyed the previous day.
And then it was time to go. Our train was on time and soon we were heading back home after another great trip, bar the football once again....
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