A Borough and Bermondsey Loop

On a rainy day in London, I headed down to Southwark and devised a rather neat loop from a relatively new Wetherspoon's to take in a few Good Beer Guide entries and some great-looking pubs.

My first stop of the day was Wetherspoon's where I was early enough for a plate of breakfast and a pre-noon pint.
The Sun Wharf is one of the latest additions to Tim's portfolio, opening last autumn. It's somewhere I've been keen to pay a visit to.

The Sun Wharf (50 Tooley Street, London Bridge, London, SE1 2TF)
Why?  Because I wanted to see the transformation of the one-time London Dungeon, somewhere I used to get invited to each time they opened a new exhibit, being as we used to sell Merlin attraction tickets.  It was great fun with good company and no entry fee.
The thing is, it felt HUGE wandering around the recreations of Pudding Street as the Great Fire started and Whitechapel as Jack the Ripper eyed up their next victim.  Yet exploring the pokey corners and various seating areas of the new pub and you realise how misleading those twists and turns and set designs were.

The London Dungeon was based here from 1974 until 2013 when it moved to County Hall.  Wetherspoon's spent £2.75 million converting the vacant space into a pub, opening in autumn 2025.
You'll find lots of brickwork, lots of little exposed ductwork, and lots of little seating areas hidden around corners.  The table plan must have been a headache for the staff on day one.

£4.05 for the guest cask puts this right at the higher end of the JDW pricing scale.
From a choice including a couple of Sambrook's, Windsor and Eton and Brewsters beers, I picked the ever-reliable Salopian.
'1000 Yard Stare'.  The pump-clip suggests it's named after warfare-induced trauma rather than the Slough shoegaze band who my perpetually stoned mate at Uni was a big fan of. 
The 5.2% ABV was bold for 11:30am, but I still think I made the best choice as this American hopped golden ale was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Despite the warren-like layout, I failed to find a cosy corner and ended up on a high table by the archway window where I could check for a break in the rain.

After a quick stroll around London Market - busy as ever - I made my way up Borough High Street to GBG 2026 newbie The Blue Maid.

The Blue Maid (173 Borough High Street, Borough, London, SE1 1HR)
I must have walked past this and ignored it dozens of times.  It's been around a while, first recorded as a pub in 1542 and receiving a mention in Dickens' Little Dorrit.
It hasn't had an illustrious recent past, spending time as a shisha bar and restaurant before closing in 2019.  It's the 2025 reopening which has whisked it into the Beer Guide. 

Being as I rocked up not long after midday, there were only a couple of customers who'd beaten me here, the barman with enough time on his hands to do a little jig to the The Cribs 'Men's Needs'.
Three cask ales from Pillars, Five Points and Burning Sky.  Loads on the keg list, Brighton's Unbarrd (who were involved in the reopening of the pub) featuring heavily alongside the likes of Anspach & Hobday and Kernel.
The intriguing 'Cold Porter' by London brewery Pillars for me.

"A lager in porter's clothing" according to the brewery website, which goes into great detail about the style.  It's a sensible strength Baltic porter - a dunkel to some - an enjoyable brew with subtle coffee and chocolate notes.
The Cribs were followed by the Wombats, Bloc Party and Jamie T, on a playlist created by someone stuck in 2007. 

The Blue Maid didn't stay quite as quiet as in my picture, although the folks dressed in office attire all seemed to prefer the outdoor seating under the awnings despite the rotten weather.
I appreciate a few more punters would make for a bit more atmosphere, but I enjoyed my porter and snuck a bespoke beermat into my pocket, so I was happy.

A little further up the road, past Bermondsey tube station, is the multi-award winning Royal Oak.

The Royal Oak (44 Tabard Street, Borough, London, SE1 4JU)
When Harvey's Brewery acquired this Victorian corner pub in 1997 it was in a run-down sorry state of disrepair.  I think the refurbishment, to a style befitting it's 1850s origins, looks pretty good.

The main entrance leads to a porch with an old off-sales hatch, doors leading in either direction to two rooms separated by a spectacular central bar.
Plenty of Harvey's to pick from, with 'XX', 'Armada', 'Sussex Best', 'Sisters', and 'Old Ale' on offer.  I almost went Old Ale, then spotted this...

Wow!  A dark 5.8% malty brew with a burnt smoky flavour - the 'Bonfire Boy' was beer of the day, hands down.
The next customer in, wheeling his luggage behind him, bonded with the chap behind the bar over Falkirk roots.  He declared the Guinness here on top form, picked the seat next to mine and chatting to me about worldwide adventures, train fares and pubs.
Whoever knew the Scots could be so friendly?

My next stop was a bit of an unknown quantity, picked purely because I was passing close by, it promised a local cask ale, and had plentiful picnic benches outside, which would be useful if the weather took an abrupt turn for the better.

The Roebuck (50 Great Dover Street, Borough, London, SE1 4YG)
An inn has existed on this spot on the London to Dover road since at least 1732, although the Victorian bull-nosed flat-iron building we see today dates to 1892.  It was elaborately designed by architect Edgar Augustine Hawkins with red brick frontage, green domed roof and Dutch gables.

It turned out to be a very typically gentrified pub.  Open-plan, familiar paint colours, abundant plant life, a pricey but interesting food menu.
Beer-wise, the choice was pale ales from Southwark or Big Smoke, or a best bitter from Five Points.

The Five Points for me - on average form.
The Roebuck is certainly worth a look, but it wasn't somewhere I wanted to linger on this occasion.

Departing the Roebuck, I walked to the end of Great Dover Street and turned left at the New Kent Road roundabout.  This bit of my route was bereft of real ale pubs, but I was passing The George which had a Heritage star.
And a description on the CAMRA website that demanded investigation:
"Ungentrified local custom"

The George (40 Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey, SE1 4TR)
Just in case the grey skies didn't foil the perfect pub picture, the scaffolders have paid the George a visit.
The first thing of note was some lovely 'Truman's Burton Brewed Beers' windows.  There are three ways in, my route through the door on the corner labelled 'Saloon Bar' with additional "Our Toilets Are For Customers Only" signage. 

It doesn't matter what door you go through - the interior is now open plan, enabling you to circumnavigate the central bar.
It's rather lovely.  A grand peninsula counter, lots of wood, magnificent stained glass on the doors to the Office and Ladies (the Gents either didn't warrant an elaborate bit of glass or have broken theirs).

The best features are preserved from the 1930's Truman's rebuild of this corner pub, when they opted to replace the former mid-19th century Sportsman Inn that stood on the site.
Just don't come in expecting exotic craft beer...

I took a seat on the fine benches at the side of the room with radiators behind them - they must be on a great energy tariff as my £3.20 for a pint of John Smiths Smooth is unlikely to cover the toasty heat which demanded outdoor layers be stripped off.

Albert Hammond, Diiv, and Husbands on the sound system confirmed we'd moved forward a decade from the Blue Maid.
The TVs were showing the horse racing channel, but you already knew that.
There were ten or so locals dotted around, half them depositing a shopping bag on a chair before doing the rounds.
"Stop asking if I'm alright," the wine-quaffing lady nearest to me reprimanded her friends, before declaring "Victoria married the most handsome man on the planet."

Prince Albert? David Beckham? David Mitchell? I shall never know.

It was a short hike down the road to reach the turn for Bermondsey Street where I was heading back into cask ale and Beer Guide territory.

The Hand & Marigold (244 Bermondsey Street, Bermondsey-West, London, SE1 3UH)
This Victorian street corner local was constructed around the end of the 19th century.  It took the name from an older hostelry that traded in several locations nearby, named after the ladies who strode out onto the Thames Marshes nearby to pick flowers.  Hunting for marigolds to pick by the Thames in 2026 is likely to end in disappointment.

I entered to Lynrd Skynrd, a friendly welcome, and a choice of ales that required a bit more decision making than the Strongbow-John Smiths conundrum in the George.

The one with the castle on the pump clip, please.  (What, not the dinosaur?!)
My Leigh-on-Sea Brewery 'Castle Black' was a super porter, packing in plenty of flavour for a sub 4% strength.
The keg list was impressive too, including beers from Kernel, Cloudwater, Two Flints and Utopian, a green hopped brew from Anspach & Hobday or sour from Pastore.  The kind of pub where you could very sensibly assess the increasingly heavy rain outside and elect to spend the rest of the afternoon in.

More folks arrived as I sat to one side enjoying a fine beer and a bit of Tom Petty and Blue Öyster Cult.
But I must move on.

The walk down Bermondsey Street confirmed that this is a bit of South London that has well and truly become gentrified...Gail's bakery, ramen, hip coffee shops, seafood and wine bar, pricey hair salons.
And an art gallery ready to be badly photographed..

I walked up this street in October 2025 on my way between Southwark Brewery and The Trinity.  How did I not notice the gallery?
This time I decided to pop my head in.  Nice ceiling display of umbrellas on the main thoroughfare - they'd come in handy with the weather London was experiencing on this day - are they for sale?

Modern art is sometimes challenging.

What an incredible venue, though...

Pulling my hood up, I trundled on to  the bottom of Bermondsey Street and under the railway lines...

Back on the southern side of the station I was close to the Shipwright Arms, somewhere I did visit years ago but it - or at least it's immediate surroundings - have changed beyond recognition.

The Shipwrights Arms (88 Tooley Street, London Bridge, SE1 2TF)
Another Victorian inn, this time dating back to 1884 when George Treacher oversaw the construction of this blue and brick inn with a Caryatid figure supporting the corner bay window.  Or the "bird with one tit out above the door" as I found it described elsewhere - not the kind of uncouth wording you'd ever get on this blog.

At the bar was a relatively rare sighting these days of Doom Bar, but I picked the 'London Pale Ale' from Southwark, brewed just down the road in the railway arches.

"Are you staying inside?" asked the bubbly young lady serving me, despite the need for outdoor plastic pint pots being minimal in the miserable weather. "Silly question, but you never know."
Kelly Rowland's 'Motivational' blasted from the speakers too loudly, competing with the babble of tipsy conversation from the big groups.

The arrival of Wetherspoon's doesn't appear to have affected the Shipwright's pre-train-trip business too much, judging by the crowd on my visit.
The island bar is wonderful. The beer quality good, if not great.  Not a place to finish your Southwark explorations if you're looking for a peaceful pint, though.

It doesn't seem five minutes since I was posting pictures from London with glorious blue sky over the Thames.
I think my luck with the weather has changed for the rest of 2026...

Halloween Post - The Old George

Another year, another box of pumpkins in the supermarket, another killer on the loose in a Scream sequel, and more dubious PropUptheBar Halloween nonsense.  Sticking in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, this post features a pub that doesn't look at all creepy and possibly isn't haunted.  Business as usual, then.
The Old George is a contender for oldest pub in the city, the historic coaching inn dating back to 1582.  It's set back from the street on its own cobbled yard accessed from Cloth Market or High Bridge.

The Old George (Old George Yard, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1EZ)
This old inn is famously connected to Charles I, being as it is said to be where he sunk a few pints in 1646 whist imprisoned within the Newcastle city walls.  Charles surrendered in Newark and was brought to Newcastle which was under Scottish control at the time.  He was held at the New Place, a mansion owned by the Anderson family and allowed a fair bit of freedom to go and play golf and bowls, muse over the odd game of chess and pop out for a drink in the local.
His favourite chair - well, a replica of it - sits in the pub.

People have reported seeing the spectral outline of Charles appear in that very chair.
On one occasion, motion sensors were triggered in succession at night as though someone was walking through the rooms, CCTV revealing not a soul in sight, but a ghostly orb of light on the screen.

Charles I is also said to haunt Christ Church College and the Bodleian Library in Oxford, The Banqueting House in Whitehall, Dover Castle and Painswick Court House in Gloucestershire.
After all the hard work of being a monarch, he's certainly doing a lot of travelling and haunting and getting little rest in the afterlife.

Other than the one-time King, people have also seen a phantom man who appears with a dog at the bar then vanishes into thin air, as well as hearing mysterious footsteps and whispers and seeing ghostly faces appear at the windows.

I visited the George on a wet Thursday evening which had deterred anyone from sitting out on the cobbled yard.

There were enough people inside to make a racket (especially the groups sat closest to the bar, a fair number of pints and shots into the evening judging by the empties and the necessity to shout at one another). Not enough folk to call it busy but enough to deter any ghosts and mask any mysterious footsteps and noises.

Three cask ales on the bar: Anarchy 'Blonde Star', Consett 'Red Dust', and this...

I do much prefer that older pump clip.
Not that it guarantees better beer, mind - Bass of the 'rougher' variety.  Passable, not great.
After a stroll around the pub, I settled in the quieter lower section to one side.

I figured a rainy night was perfect to visit a haunted pub.
But in the case of the Old George, fans of the paranormal would probably be best to call in just after opening when the rooms are still quiet and perhaps Sky Sports News hasn't been switched on yet.
Another Halloween post and another pub that wasn't in the least bit spooky.

Tyneside Pub Explorations Part 2

I finished the last post striding down the hill from the Seven Stars to catch the Shields ferry.  Turned out I had lots of time to spare before the next crossing, so I could have drank my beer at leisure, could have listened to the whole of Telegraph Road and probably could have squeezed in Sultans of Swing whilst I was at it.

In my humble opinion, the £7.50 Day Pass becomes great value for money once you incorporate the ferry into your travel plans.  I spent ten minutes with a big grin being battered by wind on the upper deck.

On the other side of the Tyne, it was just a short walk from the jetty to the Steamboat.

The Steamboat (27 Mill Dam, South Shields NE33 1EQ)

It's a looker isn't it?

Narrowing to the front on the junction of cobbled streets, with striking ground floor panelled frontage and a decent hanging basket display.

Stepping inside, I found a sturdy cask selection: 'Abbott' for the purists, 'Double Maxim' for the brown ale fans, Castle Eden for anyone wanting a resurrected local brewery, Anarchy the 'craft ale' option with a silly name.

Why am I such a sucker for a silly name?!  My Anarchy 'Jaissle I Can Boogie' was disappointing.  Not in great condition (but not quite bad enough to confidently return) which shouldn't be the case for somewhere with a Telegraph Best Pubs sticker.

The chap at the jukebox entered a selection heavy on the Insipiral Carpets.
I grabbed a comfy seat and enjoyed the great surroundings more than I did my pale ale.

Moving on, I found my way past the considerable building works of central South Shields to the Metro station where I caught the first train in the direction of Newcastle.
Next stop: Felling.
The chapel-like original station is much more appealing than the new one - dating back to 1842 this is Tyneside's oldest surviving railway station.

Just a few minutes further down the road is sometime Beer Guide entry the Old Fox, picked by me because it was on the Gateshead Pub Month leaflet that I'd picked up the previous day.

The Old Fox (10-14 Carlisle St, Felling, NE10 0HQ)
The Old Fox started life as the Station Hotel, later becoming known affectionately as 'Herbie's' after 50s landlord Herbie Hardwick.  In more recent years it has become a respected local music venue which explains the spartan furniture and big open space in front of the window ready for the next live act to set up.
I guess you kinda get away with it when you're a music venue but, crikey, the Old Fox smelt!
Wet dog, years of beer spilt on the carpet, sweaty blokes (or was that just me?), vintage toilet aroma.  It's just as well Google doesn't offer an immersive experience to capture the sights, sounds and smells.

Of the five cask ales available (Plum Porter, Jarl, Ossett, Anarchy and Wylam) I picked the Wylam 'Magick'.  A pleasant Amarillo hopped pale ale in good condition.
The All American Rejects played from the speakers, the small dog raced around the floor in pursuit of a toy, the locals at the bar put the world to rights.

Nice pub in need of an airing and some shake n vac.
Just a couple of doors down the road is the Wheatsheaf.

The Wheatsheaf (26 Carlisle St, Felling, NE10 0HQ)

This end-of-terrace pub is most notable for the Edwardian Arts & Crafts frontage which was added in a 1907 refurb.  It looks great, especially the recessed doorway behind a pillar and tiled step.

Unfortunately the scaffolders have conspired to foil my pub picture.

And the interior doesn't jump out as a Heritage pub.

The Wheatsheaf couldn't be more different from the Old Fox.  With comfy cushioned bench seating it was bright, airy, and full of cheery folk and chatter.
Once I'd marvelled the CAMRA clock above the bar, I turned my attention to the handpumps: Ossett 'White Rat' and 'Silver King', Allendale Wagtail, Firebrick 'Propa Belta'.

I opted for the local Firebrick, whose tap room I'd hoped to make it to, but time didn't permit.  Just £4 a pint for a tasty session IPA, enjoyed in thoroughly comfortable surroundings.

Back on the Metro I headed straight to Newcastle Central, then under the bridge in search of a micro in a railway arch.

Beer Street (Arch 10 Forth St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3NZ)
Opened in 2018, I thought this was a cracking little bar.
On cask I found a Wiper & True pale ale, the Hadrian Border 'Oktoberfest' which I'd enjoyed in Gateshead the previous day, and some Sureshot murk.
The Sureshot 'Desperate Dan Appreciation Society' for me - on the pricey side, but quite superb.

Just two other customers who instantly struck up a conversation and wanted to know everywhere I'd been.  I don't think they were too impressed with me getting North and South Shields mixed up, but they did seem impressed at how much I'd squeezed in.  They warned me that Newcastle on a weekend night isn't for the faint hearted and has some sights to behold.  Can't be more eye-opening than our walk through Leeds on a Saturday night, surely.
I was recommended the Mosaic Bar (next time) and told to steer clear of the Victoria Comet ("unaffectionately known as the spit and vomit").

The soundtrack was dominated by indie blokes with guitars - The Kooks, The Libertines, The Stone Roses...
I liked it - a great micro that's well worth the short stroll from the central station.

Plus, if you're looking for Newcastle stickers in the WC, I reckon Beer Street is going to take some beating.

More central micro action?
I walked past the Victoria Comet, a Nicolson's that looked absolutely fine to me, then through the central streets to Eldon Square.

I could see the outdoor customers but the entrance to the Wobbly Duck wasn't immediately obvious.  I was in danger of ending up in Salon Sugar by mistake.
Ah-ha, that looks right...

The Wobbly Duck (4 Old Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7JG)

Wow - a rare PropUptheBar busy pub visit. 
Set down in the basement with wooden barrels as a ceiling, exposed brickwork, and a sepia rustic feel, this micro was full of customers and a hubbub of chatter.
Opened in the summer of 2021, it's actually run by the same folks as Beer Street and the Old Fox, so I was doing a good job of patronising their venues on this day.

The cask choice included beers from Two By Two, Tartarus, Black Jack and two that had come a long way: Verdant and Dorking Brewery.
The stout from Tartarus that I really wanted was declared finished mid-pour, so I ended up with a 'Leap Frog Pale' from Byker local Two By Two.
Which I drank pretty fast because I was wondering if there'd be a glorious sunset from the Free Trade and several people had beady eyes on the stools around a beer barrel where I'd fluked a seat.

One final trip on the Metro to Byker.
Dark clouds to the west and no sunset...

Free Trade Inn (12 St. Lawrence Rd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 1AP) 
The Free Trade is an ale-drinkers institution in a magnificent elevated spot above the Tyne. 
This was a Newcastle revisit for me, so no waffle about it.
Comfy, bustling, big choice of beers - from which I picked a great Left Handed Giant / Tileys collab green hopped ale.

Let's go and see where they brew that Two By Two murk, just five minutes on foot from the Free Trade.

Two By Two Brewery Taproom (Unit 8, Morley's Yard, Byker, NE6 1PQ)
Two By Two was founded by Rob MacLeod who began by borrowing brewing time at other local micros before setting up a 5-barrel plant of his own in Wallsend in 2014.  Those murky pale ales were popular enough to warrant a doubling in size of the kit in 2018, then a move to the current Byker site in 2022. 

Okay, so sitting on trestle tables in an industrial unit isn't for everyone.
And the beer list was a bit hazy pale heavy.
But - as I've said many a time - I'm a sucker for sitting in a shed by shiny brewing kit and enjoyed coming here for more 'Leap Frog Pale', Good value at £4.20 for cask ale here, with two to pick from alongside a longer keg list.

You'll also find current Good Beer Guide entry Brinkburn St Brewery just around the corner and the smart and stylish Full Circle Brewery tap room under 10-minutes walk away, making this a good bit of the city to visit for beers at source.
Both visited at other times during my stay in the city.

   

Well, that was a fair loop of the Tyne.
Social clubs, Spoons, micros, a spot of pub heritage, and brewery taps.
And I could do it all over again and pick a completely different set of venues.  Tyneside is great for pubs - pity it's so far away.