The first football trip away of 2026 which once again took me to a new town and a new ground, with an excellent night in a busy historic part of the capital following on. Here's what happened....
It was an early start. The taxi dropped me off at Halifax railway station just before 7.30, and not much later my brother joined me after walking there from home. Our train arrived, a couple of minutes late, and soon we were starting our long journey, first to London, and then on to the Hampshire town of Aldershot where FC Halifax Town were playing this afternoon. For a change we were going via Manchester and then into Euston, as this was a weekend of engineering works on the East Coast line south of Peterborough.
We duly arrived in Euston, a delay at Rugby having scuppered the chance of a pint in London. We headed down to Southwark where we had booked early check-in at our Travelodge, whìch was handily close to the tube station. Bags dropped off, we went back to Waterloo, from where we caught the train for the 50 minute or so journey to the army town of Aldershot.
The former Recreation Ground, now known as the EBB Stadium, is conveniently less than 10 minutes' walk from the station. We went straight to the ticket office, which is situated as you arrive there, rather than as at so many grounds these days where you have a 10 minute walk to join a long queue moving at a snail's pace with the clock to kick-off counting down ever faster. No problems here, tickets bought with cash from a cheerful lady, and with almost half an hour to go before kick-off we finally had the chance for a pint!
The nearest pub to the ground is the Crimea Tavern, which not surprisingly is home to the Aldershot Town Supporters Club, and is literally just across the road from the ground. We did have a specific reason to go here, though. Terry, the recently-departed landlord of the Three Pigeons in Halifax, is an Aldershot fan and when he left had mentioned he would be in here before the game. Sure enough he was there, along with several Town fans who had called in to see him. It was lovely to have a quick catch up over a pint. We had a pint of TEA (an acronym for Typical English Ale) from Hog's Back which is quite bitter and not quite to my taste, but was in decent condition (NBSS 3), although not helped by being served in a plastic glass, for which I could have marked it down! For the sake of completeness the other beer available on handpump was Wainwright. And then it was across the road for the match.
Aldershot's ground is a traditional old-school affair, which hosted Football League action for many years, but the club has been becalmed in the National League for several years. Results between the teams have fluctuated over the years. Earlier in the season we had beaten them 4-2 at the Shay, whilst in one of the games last season we had lost to a goal scored by a player sponsored by Terry when he was landlord at the Three Pigeons! Today's game saw a slow start from Town, but then came a great finish from our hot-shot striker Will Harris which saw Town 1-0 up at half-time. Early in the second half Harris made it 2-0 and the 87 Town fans in the ground were sensing another victory. But the football gods and Town's defence weren't having it, and Aldershot responded with 3 goals in 6 minutes! WTF?! Town had several clear chances but failed to score, and so the game ended 3-2 to Aldershot in a game we should really have won.
And so back to the station, where the game was analysed by our gaggle of Town fans who have seen it all before as we waited for the 17.34 back to Waterloo. Once back, we went our separate ways with my brother and I being joined by our old mate Richard who lives in London. It was literally across the road from the station to our first pub of the evening, the Waterloo Tap. This is a small and pleasant modern bar built within a railway arch which was pretty busy when we walked in. There were 6 beers on cask, served from taps along the bar back along with a larger selection of keg beers. The presence of Holts mild caught Richard's eye and he went for a pint of it, remarking that he'd not paid £4.50 a pint for it last time he'd drunk it in Manchester many moons ago! Meanwhile our Mick and I both went for a pint of Joined at the Hop, a 3.8% pale from Gravesend's Iron Pier brewery which was nothing outstanding but as good as any beer I've had from them (NBSS 3). With seating at a premium we found a place to lean close to a radiator and whilst we were offered a table by a couple of lads as they were leaving, we remained in our hot spot as we weren't planning to stay much longer ourselves.
From there it was a short walk to the next pub, situated in a quiet neighbourhood street only a couple of minutes away from the bustle around Waterloo and London Bridge. We walked along the historic Roupell Street which consists mainly of Georgian terraced houses built as worker's cottages, and which remains as a little pocket of London barely changed from that period. At first I assumed it must be a French enclave, as there were rather incongruously several old-style Citreons parked on the street as we walked to the historic Grade II-listed Kings Arms, the first of three pubs we would visit over the course of the evening with a similar name. We walked into a busy pub with a vibrant but welcoming atmosphere. As we peered at the four hand pumps on the bar a friendly girl reeled off descriptions of each beer so convincingly that I assumed she worked here, but it turned out she was just a well-informed customer! I ordered a pint of bitter from the long-established Suffolk brewers St Peter's, which was rich, malty, and full of flavour, and possibly the best beer of the day (NBSS 3.5). This was arguably the best pub of the day; bustling and friendly, a real community local, with many traditional features around the pub and old photos on the wall, and with Thai food on the menu.
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| The King's Arms Waterloo, and a couple of customers.... |
It wasn't very far to the next place, which was another traditional pub although it wasn't quite as we had expected as it seems there have been more recent modifications, but nonetheless it was a pretty decent place to go for a pint. The Shipwrights Arms is a Grade ll-listed pub on Tooley Street near to London Bridge, and was pretty busy when we arrived to find a mix of customers of all ages enjoying a Saturday night drink. The pub was built in 1884 and is rated as one star on CAMRA's National Inventory of historic pub interiors, and features an original tiled mural of shipwrights at work and what for these days in these parts is a rare central island bar. The staff were friendly and we were served very quickly, with my pint of Southwark London Pale Ale from a proper local brewery which was another excellent beer which I felt was worth a 3.5 rating on the NBSS scale. One of those pubs which I think you would definitely appreciate more in a quieter period.
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| The Shipwrights Arms, Waterloo |
We then headed over towards the bustling Borough Market area where our next stopping point was a modern pub on a quiet street called the Rake. This was a more craft and modern beer-focussed place than the others we visited with beers not just from the UK but from Europe and the USA. From the four cask beers on offer I went for a pint of Kernel 1080 Simmonds Bitter on cask which maintained the run of good beer we had enjoyed (NBSS 3.5). This 5.1% beer was the first bitter brewed by this iconic brewery who were founded not far away in Bermondsey in 2009, and it is based on a recipe from 1880 from the former Simmonds Brewery in Reading. The strength of the beer is typical for that era – 6% was average back then for a bitter! And the malt bill predates the common use of crystal malts (which hugely influence a modern bitter’s flavour), comprising just Pale Ale Malt and lightly-toasted Amber Malt, and the beer is then hopped with Goldings all the way leading to a spicy, citrus aroma with hints of marmalade and a touch of tea in the flavour. The bar was small although there was a large illuminated and covered outside area which was busy. A feature inside was a wall signed by many of the brewers who have delivered here over the years. This was probably my favourite place of the evening, along with the Kings Arms we had visited earlier on.
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| The Rake, Borough Market |
We headed over to Borough High Street for our next visit, passing the Good Beer Guide-listed Market Porter which we had all been in previously. We crossed over the High Street where in Newcomen Street we came across the second Kings Arms of the evening (opening image). A popular, Grade II-listed, single-room pub with a traditional and comfortable interior, its exterior incorporates a historic plaque which originally stood at the southern end of Old London Bridge and was rescued when all the buildings on the bridge were demolished in the mid-18th century. Inside the pub was very busy with a predominantly younger crowd than elsewhere. I went for a pint of Harveys Sussex Bitter, which is a regular find in London these days, which was fine but not as good as some of the earlier beers we'd had (NBSS 3).
We moved on, deliberating over getting something to eat. Another pint beckoned though, and we found it in another historic pub off Borough High Street. Situated on an old cobbled street we came to the Old King's Head. The pub features stained glass windows which hint at a bygone era and there are a number of large murals adorning the walls which capture the history of a pub and the surrounding area. There were bare floorboards and on the bar were 4 regular beers comprising a safe and rather uninteresting selection of Doom Bar, Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter, and two from the St Austell stable, Tribute and Proper Job. We opted for a pint of the latter, which was just being changed but the landlady said it would be on in two minutes so we waited. The beer duly arrived but would have probably been better for a little longer in the cellar (NBSS 3). It was though a pleasant enough pub with which to round off the evening's proceedings. We said our farewells to Richard as he headed off home, and we did get some food, from a van very close to our Travelodge, where a kebab for my brother and a smash burger and chips for me consumed at a random table and chairs close by went down very well.
The following morning we woke to find our 10.15 train back to Manchester had been cancelled, so we headed to Euston earlier to see what our options were. Good tube connections and a forward wind saw us just make it for the 8.12 which was very quiet so there was no problem finding a seat. We arrived in Manchester a little after 11 and went to the Piccadilly Tap which was already open. We both went for a pint of Hen Harrier from Bowland Brewery, a beer which can very considerably in quality. But this was excellent, a Northern pint with a proper head and lacings that stuck to the side (NBSS 3.5). We'd had some good beer in London but it is different, almost like a different drink, with a different texture and mouthfeel due to a lack of sparklers on the beer pump. I am sure someone could have a successful business serving beer in the Northern way in the capital if they marketed it well enough! We had an excellent late breakfast at Koffee Pot after which better was to come. We called in at the Smithfield where the pint of Salvation from Blackjack was one of the best pints I've had all year (NBSS 4). Once again the lacings clung to the side of the glass as we drunk this 4.5% IPA with its big bold flavours courtesy of the Galaxy and Comet hops. Overall though, despite the disappointment of the football it had been another good trip down south, but it was good to be back in the north....
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