Back on another trip down south, with a change to our plans leading us to a tour of some posh pubs in London along with a couple of old favourites, and a second visit in 6 months to the town and football ground of Aldershot....
It was an early start on a Friday morning as my brother and I set off from West Yorkshire via the Grand Central. We were due into London about a quarter to twelve. Our plan was to head off from Kings Cross to the other side of London and catch an hour or two of cricket at the Oval, where the final innings of Yorkshire's match with Surrey was interestingly poised. All was going well, the train was pretty quiet, but as we approached Doncaster that all changed. The announcement came over the tannoy that the train would be going no further as there had been an incident on the line at Welwyn that was causing cancellations and delays and for some vague reason this train could not carry on. So abandoned at Donny, we were left amongst chaotic scenes as people scrambled to get on the trains that were still going south. We decided to hang on a bit and let it calm down, and so when we did catch an onward train, it was relatively quiet and we managed to get a seat all the way down.
It was still slow progress, as whilst the incident had been resolved, there were still delays as trains were waiting for a berth at King Cross, and so it was around 1.30 when we finally got off the train at Kings Cross. Meanwhile, at the Oval, wickets had been tumbling, and Surrey were 115-7 at lunch chasing a target of 185 on what had been a match dominated by bowlers (an amazing 23 wickets had fallen the day before when for only the second time ever there had been play in all 4 innings on the same day), and so it was questionable given the nature of the game if there would be any play when we got there. So, given the circumstances, we decided to give the cricket a miss.
After our long journey a beer was called for and so it was on to an old favourite that we headed. About 10 minutes walk away from the station is the King Charles 1, an oasis of quirkiness in an attractive suburban area a world away from the hordes of tourists with their trundling suitcases and confused expressions. It was busy as usual in this one room bar with a mixed crowd of people of all ages surrounded by an assortment of eclectic paraphernalia, and for a while we stood and surveyed it all from a position at the side of the bar. The cask beers, deftly served by the landlord as he dealt with several customers at the same time, consisted of two from Siren and, bizarrely, two from Settle, straying far away from their North Yorkshire home.
We both went for Tempo, a 3.8% easy-drinking pale ale, which was a pleasant way to start the day (Rating 6.5/10), and when we got a seat we decided to get another, this time I tried the other Siren beer, Memento, described as a modern best bitter with an ABV of 3.8%. This had a bit more body to it and I rated it slightly higher than my first pint (7/10). Another enjoyable visit to this friendly and characterful pub.
We retraced our steps to Kings Cross, headed Underground, and took the Circle Line to Temple, which is just across the River Thames from Waterloo, from where we were catching our train to Aldershot later in the day. But first, an investigation of the three pubs in the Good Beer Guide that were all within a few minutes' walk of the tube station. We emerged in to a completely different scene to that around Kings Cross, a calmer atmosphere with quieter streets and solid buildings fashioned out of white Portland stone as used in many of the posh buildings in the capital (as well as Barnsley Town Hall). We walked past Globe House, the HQ of British American Tobacco, were passed by besuited gents heading home for the weekend, and encountered the usual assortment of bemused tourists with cameras snapping in to space. We did, though, soon came to our first pub in the Temple area.
The Edgar Wallace (opening image) is an attractive pub bedecked with an attractive exterior floral display situated on a quiet cul-de-sac. There has been a pub on the site here for around 250 years and it was originally known as the Essex Head Tavern. It was given its current name in 1975 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the famous crime writer, who was originally a reporter for the Daily Mail based on nearby Fleet Street. It is a quiet one-room pub, and in a similar approach to Sam Smiths, this free house shuns background music, phones, and laptops, although whether this is as strictly enforced is not clear, as several people around the room were on their phones. As were we, checking the score from The Oval where Surrey seemed to staging something of a rally with the 8th wicket partnership adding runs. There were two beers available on cask, with two casks currently in use, Landlord (of course), and Harveys Sussex Bitter, which we both went for (Rating: 6.5/10), the beer pulled by one of two mature ladies who were looking after the bar. The pub, whilst smartly-decorated and comfortably furnished, was rather soulless, the clientele a mix of business types discussing tax breaks and tobacco in ever-so cultured tones and smartly-dressed, curious tourists.
The next pub was only a matter of yards away. The Devereux is situated in another attractive building dating from 1844. Situated in a quiet courtyard, the pub is Grade II-listed. It carried on for years in various guises. but when then was closed for a period. It reopened in March 2019 in what is Middle Temple, which is the heart of London's legal district. The pub is deceptively larger inside than its exterior suggests, with wood panelling, booths, partitions and historical prints on the walls. We walked in, central bar, friendly staff, with Fullers London Pride the only beer available beer on cask. We sat at the bar, I enjoyed the vibe here more than the Edgar Wallace as it was more relaxed, whilst my brother preferred the earlier. But it is all relative: my Pride was ok (6.5/10), but like the Edgar Wallace, it is not a pub I will be actively seeking out in the future unless I find myself in Temple again.
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| Devereux, London |
We finished our drinks and walked up to the main road where our next pub was waiting. We were on Fleet Street, a location synonymous with journalism which generally these days is a shadow of what it used to be. We saw the spectacular Royal Courts of Justice and a few minutes later we arrived at another spectacular building on the same side of the road. This was the Old Bank of England which, as a result of its stunning interior, is a Grade II-listed building. It was until 1975 the Law Courts branch of the Bank of England, thereafter becoming a Bristol & West Building Society office. It then became a Fullers pub, but the lease was actually owned by Hertfordshire brewers McMullen, and they then took it over in 2019 and gave a makeover to this historic building. Spectacular it certainly is, but the beer I had, Rivertown Isle, described as a 3.9% Exotic Blonde, was pretty insipid, not in particularly bad nick, but just very bland (5.5/10). Rivertown, it seems, is McMullen's craft arm, but as with so many traditional family brewers who have arrived very late to this party, they don't quite get it. A cool name, a few different hops, no filter, but it needs some passion from the brewer to make it work, which this clearly lacked. Meanwhile, at the Oval, Yorkshire had managed to capture a couple of wickets to leave them with one wicket to take. Surrey needed a few runs to win. It was close, but in the end Surrey prevailed and once again Yorkshire had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Meanwhile, we ordered food here, which was just what we needed and was well received by both of us, my burger and chips very good. In summary: come for a look, try the food, but don't expect anything great from the beer!
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| The Old Bank of England |
We re-traced our steps back along Fleet Street to where it becomes the Strand. Opposite the spectacular Royal Courts of Justice we came to the George, with its attractive black and white facade which I had noticed through the window when we'd walked past it after leaving the Devereux earlier had several hand pumps on the bar. So we nipped into what is a lovely interior with dark wooden floors, a panelled bar, with some partitioned seating areas opposite what is a rather low bar counter with a further area of tables and chairs at the back. There was a range of 7 beers on hand pump including several from independent brewers including Southwark and Vocation. Somewhat surprisingly given the pubs in the immediate vicinity, the George was not in the 2026 Good Beer Guide, but I much preferred this Greene King-run pub to the others we had just visited. My pint of Mayflower from the Southwark Brewing Co was certainly the best beer I had while we were in Temple (7/10), a 4.2% Session Pale Ale described as thus by the brewery: "Lightly coloured easy drinking pale ale with a hit of hops... a true session ale. Brewed to commemorate the voyage of the Mayflower with the Pilgrim Fathers to America in 1620, a journey that started in Rotherhithe, not Plymouth!"
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| The George |
We then headed back towards the Embankment with its views across the Thames, climbed the steps up to Waterloo Bridge and had splendid views up and down river from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in one direction and the towers of Docklands in the other, with various riverboats and pleasure craft acting out a scene on the river below. We got to the other side, and passing the sign saying we were now entering the London Borough of Lambeth, my mind turned to the Lambeth Walk, a song from the 1937 musical Me and My Girl, which takes its name from a local street, Lambeth Walk, once notable for its street market and Cockney working-class culture. The tune gave its name to a walking dance made popular by Lupino Lane, which was performed in a jaunty strutting style, based on exaggerated idea of how a Cockney struts.
We soon arrived at Waterloo Station from where our train to Aldershot was leaving shortly. Our journey into this corner of North East Hampshire took about an hour through the south west London suburbs and in to Surrey, as the skies began to darken and the evening advanced, we went through woodlands and heathland before arriving at Aldershot. We took a taxi to our hotel, although it turned out to be not too far away. We were staying at the Queen, one of the town's two Good Beer Guide entries, which is a Wetherlodge. We got checked in, dropped our bags off in what was a very comfortable room, and then headed out to visit, the town's other GBG-listed pub.
It was about 10 minutes walk to the Garden Gate, a friendly local pub situated in a quiet residential area which isn't very far from the railway station. It wasn't too busy when we walked in to what is essentially a small single bar serving two distinct drinking areas, with a few people sat at tables in both areas. There is also a separate back room leading to a small partially covered patio and smoking area to the side. Two beers were on hand pump, one of them a house beer, Wobbly Gate, the brewery behind it apparently a closely guarded secret, with Ranmore from Surrey Hills Brewery in Dorking on the other. We went for pints of Ranmore, a straw coloured extremely moreish session beer that has a surprisingly full flavour for its ABV of 3.8%. A pleasant and distinctive aroma is followed by a moderate hop bitterness. It was the best beer of the day (7.5/10), and we had no hesitation in going for another. With its friendly welcome and relaxing atmosphere with just the gentle hubbub of conversation in the background, the Garden Gate was just what was required after the bustle of the city earlier in the day.
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| The Garden Gate |
We walked back through the quiet suburban streets to our hotel, passing a couple of Nepalese restaurants, testament to the fact that Aldershot and the borough in which it sits, Rushmoor, is home to the largest Nepalese community in the country. In part this is due to the Gurkha connection to the British Army, whose garrison between Aldershot and Farnborough is the largest in the country. The growth of the garrison in the mid 19th century at the time of the Crimean War transformed Aldershot from a village to a town. The population of the town proper today is around 40,000, but taking in neighbouring settlements like Farnborough, Camberley, and the garrison it is over 240,000.
We went to the bar when we got back to the Queen, which was busy in what is not a particularly pub-rich town. I went for a pint of Moondance from the Triple fff Brewery who started brewing in 1997 in nearby Alton. My beer was one of the brewery's original beers, an award-winning 4.2% Pale Ale brewed with American Cascade hops. It had an aromatic floral nose, whilst in terms of flavour a gentle bitterness was balanced with a sweetness and a note of hoppy elderflower. It was a little sweet for my taste, and served without a sparkler of course, but it was ok (6/10). The pub itself, which has 7 letting rooms, is a landmark building of historic importance, first licensed in 1857 and is Grade II-listed. The hotel had fallen on hard times before it was rescued, restored, and reopened by Wetherspoons in 2014. The bar area has a light and airy feel; slightly café bar in style with a long single marble topped bar and an open plan area with exposed beams. Pictures of old Aldershot are to be seen on the walls, and with our breakfast visit here in the morning confirming, it is certainly one of the better Spoons I have been to recently.
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| The Queen, Aldershot |
After a surprisingly comfortable night's sleep, as we breakfasted at the Queen we were joined by several fellow Town supporters who had set off early for the lunchtime kick-off at Aldershot's EBB Stadium. It was then just over 10 minutes' walk to the ground through what is a somewhat scruffy town centre. We walked past the Crimea Tavern where we had called before the game here last season, but with tickets still to buy we had no time to stop. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was hot in the sun, but our part of the ground was shaded by trees. The teams came out and the game kicked off. It was quite intense at first, with both teams pressing forward, Aldershot a little niggly in the early stages. Then Town conceded a penalty, which was promptly saved by our keeper. Town were pressing forward but despite some promising build ups just couldn't score. And as the game progressed, with Aldershot getting more and more niggly, and the officials missing more and more, it was the home team who broke the deadlock, and with Town unable to get their act together, the final whistle blew on what had been at times a frustrating game to watch. It finished Aldershot Town 1, FC Halifax Town 0.
We headed back quickly to the station to begin our journey back up North. It had been an enjoyable trip, but it was disappointing that both teams that we had intended to watch had managed to lose their games by very narrow margins. But it's nothing new, of course, and a consolatory pint will always ease the disappointment, which on this occasion had to wait until we got back to London where we repaired to the Euston Tap before heading back to Kings Cross to catch the train home....
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