Greenwich Pub Crawl

Having been a bit unhappy with the Cutty Sark we thought it would be rude not to have another pint.  The Stoat had to make his way back to the market for some cake so we took the river path back to the The Yacht.  The pub is owned by Youngs and has been given the usual Youngs pub make over.  But even Youngs can’t spoil the view and The Yacht has made really good use of having such a good view with big windows all along the river side.  The tables up by the window were full so we sat by the fire like old men warming our cockles.  The usual beers were on tap like Old Speckled hen, Doom Bar and Youngs Gold.  Just the one pint of Youngs Gold was had before we moved on.  

There was not even time to put the gloves and scarf on before we arrived at the next pub, the Trafalgar.  The Trafalgar has really improved in the last few years and it was great on the day we visited.  The atmosphere was just what you would look for in a pub, warm and friendly with the enthusiastic buzz of punters having a good time and a good pint.  The beers available on the day were the best we found on the day Adnams Old Ale which was very nice, Adnams Bitter, Doom Bar and Sharp's Own and Slaters Queen Bee. 

The Trafalgar is a good pub in the heart of Greenwich, I’d recommend it.  It’s also got the best views of any pub in Greenwich. 

Starting to feel the ale now we were keen to hit more pubs.  

The Gipsy Moth was the next venue.  The pub has been designed to attract the young and beautiful of Greenwich so is more of a bar style.  It’s a good place for a night out and some drinks.  The have some good beers like Sambrooks Wandle, Doom Bar, London Pride and Liberation Ale.  When we were there though it was a bit like a crèche, children were everywhere screaming and shouting!  The Stoat needed his cake so we saw the back of our pints and went to the market.  

After cake we made one last stop off at the Coach and Horses in the market.  It’s quite a small pub with an ‘L’ shape design.  There are some good beers on tap like Adnams Old Ale, and Doom Bar and Sharp's Own.  Looks like Adnams and Sharps have got some good sales people in Greenwich.  We got a seat by the door and looked over at the people sitting by the fire in the deep comfortable looking leather sofas, sipping herbal tea.  Hold up, yes that is right herbal tea!  I can moan about the huge coffee machines taking over good bar space till the cows come home but I can at least understand the need to meet demand.  People like to have coffee after a meal but herbal tea!?  The Stoat and I were not happy about that.  Pubs don’t need to serve herbal tea.  If tourists want to come to pubs they can have a pint or a soft drink or even at the worst and I say it through clenched teeth a coffee but if they want a herbal tea they should go to a sodding tea shop.  This led to all sorts of chat and Le Stoat even made the controversial comment questioning the place of wine in a pub.  I think that may have been due to the seven previous pints.  

After this session several points about this journey have been made clear.  The question of strategy of reviewing pubs and when to visit them is interesting.  Pubs will often change greatly in character throughout the day and this could have a major impact on my view.  Also is a pub crawl an effective method of pub review.  I think that this crawl showed it is not because we got drunk and lost focus unsurprisingly.  It was really good fun though! So if a pub crawl is used I’ll go to the important pubs first, by that I mean the GPG pubs.  

All in all Greenwich has some good pubs that are well worth a visit and with so many in such a small space they make a really good pub crawl route.  

The Stoat

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep lost her sheep - But found them again, added a yorksire pudding and some veg, and had a very nice meal! 

Pub number two on the journey to visit all 59 Good Pub Guide Pubs in London, took me to the Bo Peep, which is in the South London section of the GPG, despite it feeling very much like a countryside pub.

Feeling and looking very much like a country pub was a very pleasant experience from my usual city life.  The slight glimmer of the docklands sky scrapers was still visible over fields in the distance, but all around is countryside.  The pub is not far from the M25 and would be a good stop off for anyone not from London, on their way somewhere.  I went along for Sunday lunch with some friends, and luckily I had booked a table because it was packed.

The food was good, we had lamb and beef roasts, and fish pie, and they were all well prepared.  The ladies serving were pretty switched on, service was good.  They even went the extra mile and made us extra apple and rhubard crumble.

The Bo Peep - Chelsfield

What can I grumble about...not much, the only minor thing is only three ales on tap, but that is just being really picky.  They were serving very well kept Harveys Bitter, Adnams and Courage Best.  They were also doing wine, but I wont profess to know at all what is good and what is not when it comes to wine.

I think my biggest gripe during the visit, was the world crushing news that there were no pork scratchings.  How can a pub hold its proverbial head high in the competitive world of pubs without getting its bar snacks in order? 

The bar was certainly bustling with customers,  I'd like to have the chance one day to go there for a quiet pint by the real wood fire they have.  The low beamed ceilings of the main bar and the views over fields would make this a great spot for a chilled out beer any winter evening.  In the summer the pub garden would be good too, I'd imagine.  Whether I'll make it back this year or not we shall see, but overall, if you live nearby, I'd say it's worth a visit to get out of 'London' and feel a bit of that country pub atmosphere for a while.

For a 'London' pub, or a pub that close to London (only 30 minutes drive from my house in Greenwich) to have that atmosphere and decor, was really nice.  I would say however, that if you were to venture only a little further out into Kent then you be able to visit some better (my opinion) 'country style' pubs like the Swan in West Peckham or the Spotted Dog near Penshurst.