Blackheath Bound

A capital pub ramble taking in a handful of SE venues from Lewisham to Blackheath: a backstreet gem, a brewpub, a SIBA award winner, and an unexpected pint of Bass to end the day.

Despite living in London for thirteen years, this is a part of the capital that I hadn't ventured to previously.  Greenwich, on the northern side of the heath was well-known territory, but I knew nothing about Blackheath except it being where that 26-mile fun-run starts each May.
As for Lewisham, where I hopped off the train, people would have looked at me in horror at the end of the nineties if I told them I was heading there for a pint - put your affairs in order before you go.

I wonder if it's changed much...

Yep. I suspect so.
At least they still have a proper market selling you fruit and veg and carpets.

After an overkill of Wetherspoon's in the previous post I was starting my day in at the bottom end of Lewisham's high street in.... Wetherspoon's.

The Watch House (198-204 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6JP)
It's named after the historic village green which would have once been the centre of old Lewisham.  This has been part of the JDW chain since 1997, witnessing the transformation of the neighbourhood surrounding it.
Step inside and it's a decent-sized place, the supports disguised as bookshelves making it feel less open-plan, with distinct separate areas to the side and back. 

As I hoped for, there was a great diversity of customers in the Lewisham 'Spoons, which was doing a decent pre-noon trade.

There be dragons...

And Windsor & Eton guest ales...

As it was, I picked the Elgood's 'Patron Saint', priced at £3.21.  A brown and malty 4.3% ale, that was on reasonable form but was never going to be a beer that blew me away.

A bolder man (Mick Citra?) would tackle the Lewisham Craft Unions, but I elected to continue onwards to the Beer Guide-listed Dacre Arms.
The route for the day was panning out like this...

Plenty of walking.
Starting with a trek along the A20 which features a remarkable range of pan-global establishments: Brazilian butchers, Oriental Stores, Dosa Sambal and Nepalese Momo.  And a curiously high number of nail salons.  One turn took me to quiet tree-lined residential streets that quickly became fairly smart and affluent.
The Dacre Arms came into view on a fork in the road ahead of me.

 

Dacre Arms (11 Kingswood Place, Lewisham, SE13 5BU)
I'm unsure why I felt it necessary to take a picture of the entrance...perhaps I was just impressed by the wood panelling, or maybe the 'Served with Pride' etched into the frosted glass...

On the other side of the door: half-a-dozen mid-week lunchtime patrons, posters advertising the weekend appearance of Dacre Morris, Robbie Williams' 'Let Me Entertain You' piping out the speakers.
And a quite marvelous pub interior where you're never short of something to look at...

There were four hand pumps on the bar, but just Fullers 'London Pride' and St Austell 'Proper Job' being served on this occasion.  The 'Proper Job' proved lively and a challenge to pour, although it came with a reassuring insistence from the friendly staff/landlady(?) that I tell her if it wasn't up to scratch.  It was fine.
One chap at the end of the bar eyed the ⅔ of a pint that had been pulled through before filling my glass - "I'll have that," he said, tipping it to what was left of his lager.

Propelled by his Proper Job - Peroni mashup, this customer proved entertaining for ear-wigging from my curved seating booth by the door.
Untrustworthy modern news outlets, watching colour telly for the first time, and how close Millwall came to promotion were a few of the topics.
I discovered a bit of Del Boy in the gents - I'd thought that was a one-off in Worthing, but here you got framed pictures of Rodney, Grandad, Mickey and Trigger.

I left the pub and headed up the passageway opposite, a pleasant shaded route taking me to St Margaret's Church, then past big and expensive-looking houses to the edge of the heath itself.
Facing the open space, on one corner, is the Hare & Billet pub.
The best thing about it was the ducks on the pond opposite.  I should have just sat on the bench there for thirty minutes.  Even the pub picture went a bit wrong - sometimes it can be too sunny. 

The Hare and Billet (1A Eliot Cottages, Hare & Billet Road, Blackheath, SE3 0QJ)
The original pub on this site was a well-known coaching inn which was operating in the 17th century.  Back then it was isolated in open countryside, this section of the London-Dover road notorious for highwaymen.
The current iteration is a square Georgian brick building which has had a recent spruce up inside.  Very gastropub.  Any historic rustic charm zapped out of it.
The run of hand pumps offered a house-badged bitter or pale ale, Five Points 'XPA', Thornbridge 'Bother Rabbit', or the local Southwark IPA.  I opted for the Southwark 'Mayflower Session IPA' with a hefty price tag of £6.10, the quality barely acceptable.  I may not have been the victim of a highwayman, but I felt I'd been robbed of over six quid for this.  I'd waited so long to be served in the first place whilst the fella behind the bar delivered things to luncheon customers and made fancy drinks and coffees, that I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to take it back.

All-in-all, I wasn't sorry to leave, making my way to the heart of Blackheath.
Where the best way to appreciate the old buildings and heavily pruned trees is in your vintage sports car with the roof down...

Blackheath is home to the original Zerodegrees brew pub, opened in the year 2000.  I've visited their branches in Bristol and Cardiff and had a fair few pizzas and pints in the Reading one, so it seemed a good idea to pop my head into where it all started.

Zerodegrees (29-31 Montpelier Vale, Blackheath, SE3 0TJ)
Having found a few old pictures online, this used to be a lot more pub-like, whereas now it's more restaurant-with-a-brewery than brewpub.
Big front windows, a clean paint job and enough light fittings to make the lightbulb suppliers rub their hands in glee, it's a bright and airy place. 

It's also cavernous, the small frontage disguising the range of rooms inside on different levels.  It's the kind of place you get lost trying to find the loos.
Then stumble across unexpectedly extensive brew kit...

It was their 'Sunset Calling' a 4.5% ABV pale ale that I ordered at the bar.  Another pricey bill with this weighing in at £6.50 for the pint, but more confidence that the draught Zerodegrees beers would be cool and fresh.

A fairly long walk through the south-east corner of the heath, then onward up Startheddon Road took me to the Green Goddess - a 2026 SIBA award winner.
On our way to Halifax earlier this year we'd called into Brewers 1841 at Ossett.  The taproom for Ossett Brewery had just picked up SIBA's award for best independent bar/pub non city/rural.  I was keen to visit this year's City winner too.

Green Goddess (43a Vanbrugh Park, London SE3 7AA)
The building previously housed a Barclays Bank until that closed in 2021.  Stephen and Maryann O’Connor, previously cuckoo brewers, put in an application to turn this into a bar and microbrewery, which subsequently opened in 2022.  The green goddess name is a reference to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of beer and - sadly - nothing to do with exercising in front of breakfast telly in the late 80s.

Inside it was bright and airy, just a couple of other afternoon customers, XTC's 'The Mayor of Simpleton' playing in the background, with a beer list which was going to be difficult to narrow down to one pick.
I stuck with the cask - three available: Lost & Grounded 'Bitter', Elusive 'Transit Stout', plus Tartarus 'Thriae'.
The Elusive for me, being as they're ever-reliable and I fancied something dark.

Music-wise, we got The Pretenders, A Flock of Seagulls, and Echo & the Bunnymen.  The Cure's 'Fascination Street' sounded great.  Even Bananarama had me nodding my head in appreciation and I thought I only liked 'Robert DeNiro's Waiting'.

With a comfy seat, some good music, and a tempting beer list, I stuck around for a second.  Delving into the keg choices, I avoided the strongest stuff, although a 7% IPA wasn't entirely sensible.  This was 'Coastal Highway' a collaboration between Burnt Mill and US brewer Jeff Bagby.  A delicious hoppy, sticky, resinous beast of a beer.

Before I was completely derailed by an imperial stout, I bade farewell to the Green Dragon and headed west from the pub, crossing the bridge over the A2.
The pub in this neck-of-the-woods was the 2026 Good Beer Guide entry The British Oak.
And it looks great!

British Oak (109 Old Dover Road, Blackheath Standard, Blackheath, SE3 8SU)
It's a Victoria-era building with a distinctive veranda on the front of it.
Two different ways in which - a rarity - does cause a jeopardy, each leading to a different room with no route between them.  I went right to the saloon and never did see the front bar.

Cask ales came from Suffolk - Adnam's 'Ghost Ship'; Sussex - Harveys Best; and County Durham:  Maxim 'All English' making the longest journey of all.

A Harvey's 'Sussex Best' for me - on good form here.
This was enjoyed sat at the side of the saloon - a space which seems to have had a recent makeover with some modern pub furniture, but retains wood panels part-way up the walls and old Courage Brewery signs.

Harvey's finished, I retraced my steps to get back to Blackheath village and the underground station.  Fifteen minutes until the next train, you say?

The Railway (16 Blackheath Village, Blackheath, SE3 9LE)
I'm lovin' the pub name emblazoned across the frontage - much more so that the 'Pub and Dining' lettering on olive green on the ground floor level.  The Railway dates back to the 1800's, has had several identities over the years, including spending some time as the Fairway & Firkin.
What could they offer someone who's missing the on-site Firkin beers and fancies a Dogbolter?
Ah, that'll do! 😋🔺

The Railway features a roof terrace, but I plonked myself down on a table in the main bar so missed the much-celebrated outdoor areas.  It also features cheery customers, a modern pop soundtrack, wooden floors, more shades of green paint, and the opportunity to "dance til you drop" with DJ Scooby on Friday evening.

I actually only wanted a half of the Bass based on the timings of the train but was misheard or not listened to properly at the bar.
I'm sure that won't be a problem...

 

I reckon my first foray into Blackheath had been a successful one.  There are good pubs to be found, especially if you're prepared to walk a bit.  The heath itself is a huge expanse of green (probably more straw-yellow after recent weather) whilst the centre has an historic charm.
Bass was an added bonus...I really should have caught a later train and sought out that roof terrace.

Uxbridge, Harrow and Ruislip Pub Explorations

A post from the north-west corner of London, taking in canal-side pubs, Fullers 'London Pride', a prestigious private school, and more Wetherspoon's that anyone really need to be subjected to.

I've sat on the Oxford Tube countless times as it pulls off the A40 at Hillingdon to pick up and set down a handful of passengers.
Why do they get off there?  I figured I'd hop off and see what I could see.

Discovery one: Hillingdon covers a big area and its current GBG listed pub is a heck of a long way from Hillingdon station and the Oxford Tube bus stop.  I stopped half way down Long Lane (clue in the name there) to check I was actually going the right way.  Thirty minutes after alighting the bus, I finally found myself at pub number one.
Where I vowed to get the blog post written quickly enough to give you chance to pop the date in the diary for the Simply Red tribute band...

The Red Lion is located in Hillingdon Village which would be quite nice were it not for the 4-lanes of Uxbridge Road running straight through the middle.  There's the Church of St John the Baptist, another inn called The Vine, lots of green space, and a run of shops which includes The Village Fish & Chips (who I can confirm do great chips).

Red Lion Hotel (Royal Lane, Hillingdon, UB8 3QP)
The Red Lion is a Grade-II listed building dating back to the 16th century when it would have been timber framed.  It got a Georgian re-fronting in 1800; became a Fullers pub in 1905; and was massively expanded in 2003 to include 45 bedrooms in a motel-style block to the side.
The first couple of rooms surrounding the bar have a good historic feel to them with wooden beams and pillars and big fireplaces.

So, what do you get in the historic Red Lion?
You get Lenny Kravitz on the stereo, those dreadful chunky oversized bar stools, a really pleasing old uneven low ceiling, and  two hand pump dedicated to London Pride. 

It was understandably very quiet pre-noon, just a couple of folks tucked away in corners and a thoroughly bored-looking member of staff at the bar.
Well, at least I gave him something to do, pulling my pint and taking £5.90 off me.
The 'Golden Times' is a collaboration with St Austell and seems like the Cornish brewer giving tips on how to concoct 'Proper Job'. A little less crisp and hoppy, but thoroughly enjoyable.

I had a fairly long walk ahead of me to reach Uxbridge's nearest Good Beer Guide pub.
Up the road - along a short path by the River Pinn - skirting along the top of Brunel University - through suburban streets to the Grand Union Canal.
Just up the canal towpath by the Rockingham Road bridge was the General Eliott.  The side of the pub that looks out onto the Grand Union is a winner (top pic) - the roadside entrance not so picturesque... 

The General Eliott (1 St Johns Road, Uxbridge, UB8 2UR)
Ironically, this is named after a teetotaller, the General George Augustus Eliott being best known for defending Gibraltar during the siege of 1779 to 1783.  I guess his military exploits may have still been fresh in the mind when the pub was established in 1820.  The General has lent his name to half-a-dozen pubs throughout the country, including a local one to me: South Hinksey's lost pub within the Oxford ring-road.

So, what do you get in a canal-side pub named after a teetotal General?
You get Wham's 'Freedom', Loose Women on the telly, Jӓgar Bomb beer mats, and 'London Pride' in a Cruzcampo glass.

Other cask options were available, but the Pride has been craftily positioned at eye-level deterring attention from Landlord or Side Pocket.

The beer was on 'acceptable' form, using the new categorisation on CAMRA's scoring system.
I elected to sit inside which was the preserve of the elder custom, whilst the hi-vis, students and youngsters opted for the waterside seating.

Returning my glass to the bar, I departed the General Elliot and made the short walk up to the busy centre of Uxbridge.  There are enough pubs here to warrant spending the rest of the afternoon in Boris Johnson's old constituency.  Although how satisfying that would be, I'm not so sure.
Instead it was straight to Spoons... 

The Good Yarn (132 High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1JX)
This is currently the second of Uxbridge's two Beer Guide entries having made the grade for the past couple of years.
A narrow frontage on the High Street suggests this is going to be one of the smaller JDW's, although it stretches back a fair way to provide a good number of tables.  The building was previously Pearson's menswear shop before becoming a relatively early Wetherspoon's in 1994.

Guest cask ales on offer came from Sambrook's, Twickenham, Rebellion, and Oakham, priced at the very reasonable £2.30 a pint.
I picked the 'JHB', the golden, hoppy ale being Oakham's very first brew and a former Champion Beer of Britain.

On good form - it went down well.
I settled in the raised rear section of the pub, where the tables were squeezed in a little too close together and the clientele were a diverse bunch.
The most unusual feature was the colourful skylights, which I just about manged to photograph over the heads of the neighbouring folks without looking too suspicious.

Making the decision to explore further beyond Uxbridge, I drank up and wandered back up the High Street to one of the capital's more striking tube stations.

Next destination: Rayners Lane.

This is an area that was still rural at the beginning of the 20th century.  Development began in the 1930's as a 'Garden Village', shortly before a station on the existing Metropolitan Railway was added.  So, no ancient inns here in a bit of London where you'll do better for international cuisine than cask ale.  Truman's contributed the great-looking Rayner's pub in 1937, but it's currently sitting closed and unloved.
Wetherspoon's has little in the way of competition for anyone hopping off the tube at Rayners Lane station and looking for a pint.

The Village Inn (402-408 Rayners Lane, Rayners Lane, HA5 5DY)
This opened in 1993, converted from former shops.
It's the rear section, down a short set of stairs from the bar, that is the best looking bit.
Lots of booths, lots of uniformity, lots of table clutter.

Cask on my visit came in the form of Windsor 'Kohinoor', Sambrook's 'Volley', Twickenham 'Naked Ladies', and Exeter 'Prince of Darkness'.  The latter for me - a beer that I enjoyed a fair few times during Devon explorations but haven't seen for some time.  In all honesty, not in the best condition here.

I decided to head off on foot from Rayners Lane and walk the mile-and-a-half to the very pleasant streets of Harrow-on-the-Hill, built around the 11th century St Mary's Church and still retaining a village-feel within the cosmos of Greater London.  'Affluent' says Wiki.

My destination was a pub which is on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors...

The Castle (30 West Street, Harrow, HA1 3EF)
It's believed there has been a pub on this site since 1706, although the current building dates back to 1901.  It's not been changed a great deal since then, securing its heritage listing, with the doorway and the grand wooden partition within providing the wow factor.
The entrance features the name of the pub in ironwork over the door and in the superb mosaic flooring... 

A decent number of customers were sat in the first room and at the bar, where Fuller's beers flanked the Mad Squirrel and Siren guests.

Pint of London Pride, please.
Taken to the big sofa in front of a fireplace.

The Pride was - as I believe they say - drinking well.
The Doors 'Light my Fire' played at a sensible volume from the speakers.
Whilst I took in that marvelous wooden divider with stained glass-windowed top half and three-foot high service door to stoop through.

A lovely pub.
Moving on, the route towards the tube station took me uphill and past the buildings of Harrow School, with their strict 'no entrance to the public' signs. 

Safe to say the Harrow Wetherspoon's doesn't quite live up to the school buildings when it comes to architectural charm.
I'm also going to hedge my bets that none of the sweary tipsy-looking blokes in the Moon on the Hill were masters from the school.

The Moon on the Hill (373-375 Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2AW)
This is another long-standing Spoons, having opened in 1991.  The building spent most of its life as Wheatland's furniture shop prior to becoming a pub.

It consists a pretty small single-room with seating on two-levels in an L-shape around the bar.  And it was busy - I think I took the last unoccupied small table, the place a hubbub of conversation.

Cask options beyond regular Wetherspoon's beers were local: Redemption 'Big Chief' and a Portobello duo of  'APA' or 'Market Porter'.
It's been a while since I had a 'Big Chief', the Tottenham brewery's chewy 5.5% IPA, served here in decent condition.
Certainly a lively Spoons.  The big group on high stools behind me held court on Colombian referees, petrol prices and Trev's holiday in Tenerife.  Very loudly.

Leaving Harrow,  I caught the Metropolitan Line a couple of stops back westward to Ruislip.
Up through the bustling shopping street, I was heading toward what turned out to be my favourite pub of the day...

The Hop & Vine (18 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7AN)
You don't get a vast number of micropubs in Greater London but from my experience the ones there are tend to be pretty darn good.
The Hop & Vine opened at the end of 2016 in premises that were previously a café.  It's of the regular level seating / music / craft beer type, as opposed to the high stools / talk-to-each-other / three cask ales and that's yer lot variety of micro.
In fact, the beer list had me gorping ay it, struggling to chose, whilst the staff waiting patiently.

The beer ticker could happily sit here for several hours and skip all those silly Wetherspoon pubs that I keep on insisting on visiting.
Just the one for me: Fownd 'Labyrinth of Lost Souls'.  Yep, all that careful studying of the beer list and I end up picking entirely based on the best name.  Only to discover the labyrinth is something video-game-orientated rather than the prog metal album reference that I hoped it would be.
A superb beer in excellent condition.

Set on top of the beer mats advertising the local DIY store.

The music was obscure pop/rock, the pub dogs were ace, the locals a friendly bunch.

A great pub visit.
All that was left for me to do was to end the afternoon's explorations in one last Spoons: JJ Moon's a 15-minute walk away on the doorstep of Ruislip Manor station.

The busiest venue of the day, where I supped  a Twickenham 'Orange Zeus' whilst checking where the Oxford Tube picks up in Hillingdon for the journey home.