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.

A Pub Ramble from Maida Vale to Paddington

In which we follow a route through central NW London taking in heritage pubs, a bottle shop, a shiny new Wetherspoon's, a monkey puzzle tree, and some fine ales. 

I emerged from the Bakerloo Line into the sunlight at the impressive red-tiled Maida Vale station.

I was here for the now-traditional annual gathering of our CAMRA Oxon-Berks-Bucks regions for a pub crawl ramble around a chosen bit of the capital.
This year: Maida Vale, our route shown on the map below.  The official suggested route finished at the Mad Bishop and Bear at Paddington station but we didn't make it quite that far.
3b,the craft bottle shop, was our own splinter group deviation; the relatively new 'Spoons wasn't a listed 'ramble' stop, so as not to upset the JDW-abstainers and delay them from getting their pint of Fursty Ferret.

Due to my prancing about in central London, I was last to arrive, welcomed by Gareth who was sitting outside watching the roadworks opposite..."Get yourself in there and get a pint of the 'London Lush'."

The Carlton Tavern (33 Carlton Vale, Kilburn, NW6 5EU)
I whittled on about the Carlton Tavern a few months ago. when I was in this neck of the woods making my way back from Hampstead via Kilburn.
It got knocked down, it got up again, as told in the newspaper story here.
Available cask on this visit was Otter 'Bitter' or the aforementioned London Brewing Company 'London Lush'.  The latter was an easy-drinking pale ale brewed with Citra and Comet hops just over six miles away in North Finchley.
Spot the person in the pic below who's not on a CAMRA day out...

It was a fairly long trek from the first to second pub, following Randolph Avenue back past the tube station - a tree-lined street of red bricked mansion blocks (2-bed apartment yours for £1.2 million).  When you're spending money like that you could do with a Grade II-listed Heritage pub as your local.
Ah, here you go...

The Warrington Hotel (93 Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale, W9 1EH)
The exterior of the Warrington gives a clue that it will be spectacular within... ornate columns and mosaic tiled steps leading to the front door.  The main room is to the right: an elaborate lounge of dark reds and browns, with bits of stained glass, a superb carpet, and one of the most eye-catching bar counters you're likely to find.  Semi-circular, it features a canopy above decorated in Art Nouveau style.

If the rich interior still isn't impressing you, the pub was used in episodes of The Sweeney and Minder (an episode called 'The Beer Hunter' which I really must seek out).  Hmmm, perhaps that's not so much of a selling point as Morse is in Oxford.

 

Unfortunately, the beer didn't excel in The Warrington.  Of the three hand pumps, only 'Old Speckled Hen' was in action - in reasonable condition without being exciting.
But the beer plays second fiddle to the privilege of being able to sit in this magnificent building.

A short stroll along Warrington Crescent took us to Pub#3, another heritage delight.

The Price Alfred (5A Formosa Street, Maida Vale, W9 1EE)
This Victorian hostelry dates back to 1856, although it's the refit in 1896 which earns a listing on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors and makes this such a showstopper.
Five separate drinking compartments surround the bar counter. The wooden partitions would once have offered an element of privacy and allowed people to drink in spaces that suited their social standing.  I believe the low doorways between each would have been used by 'potboys' collecting glasses (there being external entrances for each compartment).  But it's fun to stoop through them, even if not a single pub rambler today managed to do so whilst maintaining any cool.

  

This is a Young's house, with 'Bitter' or 'Special' available alongside a Timothy Taylor 'Landlord'.  Special, please, on solid if unspectacular form, but - again - it's the surroundings you're here for anyway.
We managed to grab a table underneath the snob screens, next to a wine-drinking lady snuggled next to her dog, greenhouse hot with the sun beaming through the etched glass windows.

It didn't take too much persuasion to tempt Gareth and Chairman John that we should make a diversion into the craft beer outlet across the road.

Real Drinks (4 Formosa St, London W9 1EE)
This is a small shop/tasting room, with fridges along one side (don't look - your bag will be heavy, your pocket will be light!) and shelves of wine and other beverages along the other.  There was a central table allowing us to perch on high stools and sample a few beers.  Six on tap provided a selection of pale brews from Kernel, Bullhouse, Utopian, Beak, Deya, and Lost & Grounded.

Disappointed not to find anything in darker hues, I delved into the fridge and picked out a bottle of Kernel 'Dunkel', keen to see how one of the original London craft breweries matched up to all the dark lagers I'd been drinking in Bavaria the previous month.
My companions gave the Bullhouse 'Suds' the thumbs-up, and we shared a superb Kernel Irish Whisky barrel aged imperial brown stout.

I do declare I found the most expensive bag of crisps available in any pub nationwide...

I hope they're good - none of us were feeling flush enough to find out.

Another short walk took us to Pub#4.

I didn't recognise the name and thought this may be my first new venue of the afternoon, but this was familiar as soon as I turned the corner.

The Warwick Castle (6 Warwick Place, Maida Vale, W9 2PX)

I don't think I've been here when it's been so busy though.  Three different areas within, all packed and standing-room only, except for some tables at the rear reserved for dining.  There isn't really much I can say about the pub - we squeezed to the bar, got served, and took half pints outside and propped them on a wheelie bin.  We're glamourous pub-crawlers.

The longest walk of the afternoon followed, although it's a pleasing and picturesque one along the Regents Canal...

..taking us from the leafy surrounds of Little Venice to the modern developments at Paddington Basin.
Amongst the food and drink outlets of Merchant Square is one of JD Wetherspoon's recent new openings.

Sir Alexander Fleming (Unit 53, 5 Merchant Square, Paddington, W2 1AS)
Opening the doors for the first time in September '25, this has taken the ground floor glass-fronted space that has already been a trendy bar, then a smokehouse restaurant. Judging by the age of this development, both must have been very short-lived.
Top marks for the friendly staff, efficiently clearing the tables and retained a very new and clean feel to this modern pub.  Top marks for the rarity of 'Spoons toilets on the ground floor which don't require a long trek and signposts helping direct you back to the bar.

It was super-busy as well - folks pouncing upon our table as soon as we got up to leave.
Not before we'd fuelled ourselves with some food and a respectable pint of Goddards 'Fuggle Dee Dum'.

Just time for another shot of the crammed-in shiny modern developments.
One of the remaining Brewdog bars is at the foot of that silver block - but for how long will those 11 sites last?

We left the 21st century towers behind and headed south of Paddington station where the hotels and apartment blocks are from a different era.

Sitting underneath a 1969 residential block was our next pub, The Monkey Puzzle. 

The Monkey Puzzle (30 Southwick Street, Paddington, W2 1JQ)

This proved to be somewhere a little bit different and not what you'd expect from a dull exterior (tree excepted).
The open-plan bar is decorated with a real traditional feel - proper pub carpet - dark wood - areas divided effectively to provide a cosy feel.  And could those be real central London locals sitting at the bar (scowling at me).

Being a Badger pub the beer range was never going to blow us away: 'Tanglefoot' or 'Fursty Ferret'.
Tanglefoots all round, taken to the outdoor table to make the most of the good weather before the sun slipped below the rooftops.

Our next destination was only a short 5-minute walk away...oh, hang on...it was a 15-minute walk away due to Chairman John leading us in the wrong direction.😲

The Victoria (10A Strathearn Place, Paddington, W2 2NH)
As if the two Grade II listed Heritage pubs earlier in the day weren't enough for us, here's a third, this one featuring a stunning interior.
It retains Victorian fittings inside, including ornate wooden bar back and some fantastic globe lights...

We picked the Sambrook's 'Blindside'.
Doh...rugby- themed beer, but it was something a little different from te more frequently found alternatives of London Pride, ESB or Hophead. 

Just as it was getting dark and I was beginning to flag and think about my bus home, we ambled into our final pub of the day.

The Bear (27 Spring Street, Paddington, W2 1JA)
This was another revisit for me, although it turns out to be cheaper when not accompanied by Mrs PropUptheBar ordering 10% sours.
The Bear is part of the The Craft Beer Co chain which started back in 2009 with the opening of the CASK Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico.  An apt place to finish, then, being as CASK was where we began our 2025 ramble.
They added The Bear to their list of locations in 2022, the site having previously been a wine bar and originally a bank.
We stuck with the cask this time, not even venturing a look at the wide range of keg lines.  My last beer of the day was from Chelmsford brewery, a Radio City Beer Works 'Antenna' 4.5% West Coast IPA.  Very good it was, too.

Thanks to the folks who put in the hard work to arrange these rambles, picking the pubs and devising the routes.
A great day out - looking forward to wherever 2027 takes us.