[I’ve reposted this post from February 2021 to fix broken image links and also because I have more ‘riveting’ content coming about the National Maritime Museum.]
When I visited the National Maritime Museum a few weeks ago, there were numerous signs on how they were modernising the displays to be more representative and inclusive. This is an interesting interview (in.doc format) which took place last year with Daniel Martin, the Head of Collection Services at the museum and they seem to be pragmatic and forward thinking.
This painting of John Hawkins (1532-1595), in the gallery which is being reviewed, is going to present the museum some problems in terms of its interpretation. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either one of the greatest English naval commandeers that there has been, or he’s one of the men most responsible for starting the slave trade. Which doesn’t even cover that it’s Hawkins and his crew who brought tobacco back, thereby causing no end of addiction issues over the centuries.
There was a Royal Navy cruiser between 1919 and 1947 which was named after Hawkins, which does reflect that his naval prowess likely enabled England to fight off the Spanish Armada. The town of Chatham was so proud of Hawkins that they named a flyover after him, which has only recently been demolished. I’m not sure that flyovers actually need to be named after anyone, but there we go.
There was a book, Devon Seadog, published about John Hawkins in 1907 written by Robert Alfred John Walling and this condemned Hawkins for his involvement in the slave trade (although it made passing note that this often benefited the slave in some ways, which isn’t necessarily an argument that might be pursued today with such vigour) so there has long been condemnation of some of his actions.
Martin mentions in the above interview that it’s not possible to put every viewpoint in 150 words or so, which is challenging with individuals like this. The museum has though made an attempt on its web-site, where it has more space, to tell the story of Hawkins from different perspectives. I’m not sure I envy though the museum in its attempt to tell the story of Hawkins, as it can’t just ignore him as he’s an important naval figure and they’re a maritime museum, but they need to add context as well as to the impact that he had on the world.
How exciting, I’ve never had an e-mail before from TFL telling me how many tube stations I’ve visited in the year. This is a very poor performance for someone who loves London and the underground so much, especially as I did a quiz this weekend on how many tube stations I knew and I think I did rather well (on the same theme, try this…..). Anyway, I aspire to beat 59 tube stations this year 🙂 In other statistics, I made 108 journeys on TFL in the year and made the most in August. I’m sure my two loyal readers will be thrilled to know this. Oh, and if anyone wants an adventure involving craft beer, London breweries and visiting underground stations later in the year, let me know 🙂
I mentioned in a previous post for my two loyal blog readers that I was on razor thin timing for my flight, having left the hotel just 2 hours 30 minutes before take-off. I considered the reality that it might take over an hour to walk to the bus stop, get on the bus and then arrive into Heathrow Central bus station. In reality, it was 11 minutes. But, that meant one thing, I was safely at Heathrow Terminal 3 ready for my British Airways flight to Bucharest. For all of its faults, I’m still keen to use British Airways and I opted for them to get me to Bucharest. Steve had used BA the previous evening, whilst Bev, Susanna and Thim had decided that Ryanair was for them. Bev would use a cattle truck to get there if she could, but I’m surprised that Susanna and Thim weren’t a little more decadent. But, naturally, I didn’t say anything about the matter.
Back to the flight though. The boarding gate process was handled well, there was no wait and there was a seat whilst they called the groups forwards. All very organised and calm, this felt well managed. It’s always pleasant when the boarding process feels calm, sometimes it all feels a little chaotic and stressful.
Here we are on board. I say we, but I primarily mean me and the other passengers. It was an Airbus A320 aircraft, registration G-EUUF (although I need to check this, as two sites have different aircraft registration codes for this flight which I haven’t seen before). Assuming it was G-EUUF, BA have had this plane since new when they purchased it in 2002 and I don’t think it’s one that I’ve been on before (but my records are quite patchy, I didn’t know I was going to become interested in recording this for some time). Once again, I should really get out more…
One of the vestiges of my status with British Airways is that I can still book these for free, so I got an emergency exit row seat. I’ll be back to silver status early next year (the lowest status I can get which gives me lounge access), required given that I do like visiting the airport lounges as I get excited by free cans of Fanta. Also for my comfort, there was no-one on else this row which was quite handy. Especially given that Thim was reporting he had a somewhat less comfortable experience on the Ryanair flight he was on. The seating area was clean and everything worked as it should,
Satisfactory leg room and the cabin crew were pro-active and friendly. There were also working power points on the service which proved handy. The pilots were the usual middle to upper class sounding British Airways flight crew, sounding reassuring and competent. Not that other pilots aren’t competent, it’s just that the announcements made by British Airways crew seem to be so quintessentially British that it fits their brand well.
There were no delays on departing and the passengers all seemed sensible and efficient which meant no issues with people trying to shove large bags in awkwardly to the overhead lockers.
The free snack and water, which I still think is a positive touch rather than the previous effort they had which involved giving passengers absolutely nothing.
And safely into Bucharest, twenty minutes earlier than expected. There was little to report from the flight, which is a positive thing as too much drama on board is often sub-optimal. I had mentioned to Bev that I didn’t want her, Susanna and Thim waiting for me as they got in 90 minutes earlier, but that was good since they didn’t bother anyway. Once again, I didn’t comment negatively on that situation. On the matter of the weather, it looked just a little bleak, but the temperature was fine for my needs and the rain wasn’t too bad.
I won’t go on about the European Union as my thoughts on this are well known to my two loyal blog readers (and for anyone else, #iameuropean) and EU citizens were able to breeze through passport control. Those from the UK had a much longer wait which was sub-optimal. Anyway, I was again impressed with British Airways, everything worked as it should, everything was clean, the crew were friendly and the service was efficient. The flight cost £42 each way, which I think is very reasonable, especially as I used Avios from previous flights to reduce that to £24 each way. All rather lovely.
I admit to being slightly, but just slightly, geeky about London transport. Buses, trains, trams, underground services all hold some excitement and I’ve been following the introduction of TFL’s Superloop services. I decided to wait for a short while to get service SL9 which is the orbital route from Harrow to Heathrow Airport.
And here it is, the SL9. Admittedly, this isn’t really that exciting, it’s a standard bus that until recently was just branded the X140. For anyone further interested there’s more on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Superloop, with the new system being a little complex if I’m being honest. Or, at least, it seems complex to me which might be a different thing.
For the purposes of the trip to Bucharest, it took five minutes to get into Heathrow’s central bus terminal and the service wasn’t too crowded.
I like on-line quizzes, although not real-life ones as I realise how little I know compared to others, but this trending London Metro Memory game is just the sort of thing that I should be good at. It’s a memory test to remember every one of London’s stations and I confess that I haven’t done as well I would have liked. I got to 40% and then thought that was enough, I wasn’t getting anything more.
The game can be played at https://london.metro-memory.com/. I think I need to study the map for longer when I’m next on the network, I’m sure I should be able to get to 50%!
I’ve been meaning to visit this pub for a while, it’s a testament to the stubbornness of local heroes, rightly belligerent councils and loyal beer drinkers. The pub was illegally demolished in 2015 and nearly nothing was left standing. Pressure was brought to bear and the end result, after much legal wrangling, was that the pub had to be entirely rebuilt brick by brick. The difference in brickwork is visible, the section on the right is original and everything else is rebuilt. The local pressure group, the Rebuild the Carlton Tavern campaign, were praiseworthy of the restoration, although the developers CTLX decided not to attend the reopening.
I would have never have known that this wasn’t a traditional pub, the internal recreation is sensitive and apparently nearly identical to what was here before. Some parts of the previous building, such as fireplaces and some of the bricks, were reused, and fortunately efforts had already been made to detail the interior and its decorative elements which made the restoration easier. The venue is also listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another little tick on my attempt to visit every Good Beer Guide listed pub in the country.
The toilets are down those steps to the right and nearly none of this survived other than the back wall. The pub had first been constructed between 1920 and 1921 by the Charrington Brewery, whose name is still outside the pub.
But back to the present, there were three real ales available, and I haven’t tried any of them before, so that was something of a novelty.
I went for the ‘Flying the Mags’ from London Brewing Co, a rich and creamy mild that was well kept and at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature. The service was polite and personable, with the environment feeling warm and comfortable. I liked this pub, it felt very much at ease with itself and it’s hard to imagine how close the community was to losing this. There are numerous community events, quite a substantial menu and the prices charged were very reasonable. I’m glad that I visited and this is a perfect model for what I think should happen at the Crooked House, a pub where there was a mysterious fire a few weeks ago.
Wooo, a new project for me! I’m aware I haven’t finished some of the other little endeavours that I’ve started, but I will get there eventually. My new riveting project for my two loyal readers involves me noting the best, or indeed just interesting (to me), pubs at every stop along the Hammersmith & City line. All 29 of them….. I will be doing this using a combination of Untappd, the Good Beer Guide and also my own endeavours.
With no disrespect to Crewe, but I couldn’t find much to excite and delight me on the Monday afternoon that I was there. There were no museums, Good Beer Guide pubs or craft beer bars open, although there was a micropub which looked marvellous if it had been open. There wasn’t even a JD Wetherspoon pub in the town, it’s shut. It meant the limit of my expedition, and it’s over a mile to the centre from the railway station, was a sub-optimal Poundbakery visit. Also, apologies for the slightly blurry photos, that’s partly a result of the greasy bakes from the aforementioned location.
As an aside, and it was rebuilt in 1880, but the Crewe Arms Hotel was built in 1838 and is the first specially built railway hotel. Queen Victoria stayed there on numerous occasions and it’s still in use as a hotel today.
There’s a pleasant waiting room at Crewe railway station. There was no town at Crewe until the railway boom built a junction here and the railway station was first constructed in 1837. It was rebuilt in 1867 and then extensively remodelled in 1984.
The interior of the railway station and this was nearly all shut down around fifteen years ago when there were plans to move to a new building which would be nearer to Crewe. There were meant to be HS2 services from Crewe, but the whole project is currently up in the air.
As a fun fact, there are seven rail operators which operate services to Crewe, which is the joint highest in the country.
The West Midlands Train service that I was booked onto arrives.
Seats were shoved in, it wasn’t overly clean and there were no power points. However, the journey was on time and only cost £10.20 which all felt quite reasonable. I moan quite a lot about this trying to five seats in across, not least on this blog, and I’m sure my two loyal readers are tired of hearing about it. But it all feels sub-optimal, it makes the aisle quite narrow and the seats are hopeless for anyone who is slightly larger.
Happy memories of Rugeley from a previous GeoGuessr expedition with Nathan.
And safely into London Euston with its shiny new boards. I still liked the old ones as I could read them more easily, but maybe I’m just old fashioned now I’ve reached 24.
I’m going to bring the Liverpool weekend story to an end here. I had a marvellous evening in London with a visit to the Craft Beer Co at Holborn, before getting the train back to Norwich. All tired at the end of it, but it had been a really quite marvellous weekend. Thanks to Steve, Susan and Bev for their company and I’m already looking forward to the next set of adventures. The trip to Bucharest with Bev and Steve, amongst others, is already booked and I hope that Bev in particular will be well behaved.
It’s no secret that one of my favourite things are train trips out and expeditions to London are high up on the list. In a bid to stay in touch with developments in London’s craft brewing scene, I started this marvellous ‘Dine with Des’ concept where we go to London, go on a walk led by Des (saves me doing it) and then I take over with the bar and beer section of the evening. Although we dodged the rail strikes with this trip, we didn’t manage to avoid the dreaded rail replacement buses, meaning I had to get up at 06:00 to get to Norwich railway station. As some slightly poor planning on my part, I had only returned from London at just after midnight the previous day, so this was all a little sub-optimal. But I like adventures and drama, so all to the good.
It was a small group due to people working, being ill or needing a nap, so four of us were setting off on the expedition this time. Steve, Kate and Ray were all on time, looking eager and downing coffee in a bid to feel awake. The rail replacement bus was early and full, so off we went.
Safely at Ipswich railway station, around thirty minutes early, with numerous passengers commenting just how quick it had all been. It’s a slight mystery to me why there’s no bus from Norwich to Ipswich, especially given how relatively expensive the rail journey is.
I had a free sausage roll with O2 rewards, so I decided that everyone could wait for me as I’m always thoughtful and aware of others. In my usual manner, I was something of an inspiration as then Ray and Steve joined the queue for their own quality baked goods purchases from Greggs.
That was a successful mission. We then boarded the train to London Liverpool Street, being momentarily concerned that Britain’s loudest family were seated near to us, but then God smiled on us and they moved. We met with Tim in Colchester, adding to our ranks.
We walked to Moorgate and then got on the Northern Line. I’d add that it was too hot, something which I’m aware I do mention from time to time, but standing at the end of the carriage meant that I got something of a draft to cool me down a little.
We got to the start point of the walk 30 minutes early, but I refused to accept the thanks of the group for this impeccable and competent leadership. But they insisted, so I did. Steve, Ray and Tim decided to go and sit in the warmth to wait, whereas I went to find a cold, miserable and damp place to sit as it was too bloody hot.
Here he is, the mythical figure that he appears to have become in some quarters of the Ramblers, the main man Des.
Starting our walk, Des pointed out the Archway Tavern which was constructed in 1888, although it was on the site of an older coaching inn. It’s had a period of instability and closure, but it’s now open again. I’m afraid that my music knowledge is generally poor, mainly limited to the Wurzels, 1990s Britpop and Scooter, but I’ve heard of the Kinks and Des said that the pub is featured on their ‘Muswell Hillbillies’ album cover.
Our walk was along the former route of the Hackney Brook, one of the series of expeditions where we walk along the course of a former river being moderately disappointed that we never see any water. Sometimes people get excited when they see a drain and hear water, but Des usually just explains that it’s just a drain and nothing to do with the former river. But, the point is to experience the excitement of urban walking, Des’s marvellous tour leading and the excitement of knowing that pubs are coming up at the end of the walk. Here we are at the entrance to Whittington Park, named after the former London mayor Dick Whittington.
Here’s the park which is 11 acres in size. It was first opened in 1954 and then extended again in 1973.
We haven’t got a bloody clue whether or not this is true, but Des says that this is where the river started. I sometimes think he just points randomly at things, but I’d never put that in writing of course. Des is a true entertainer who treats London as his stage, so to be honest, I just assume he’s right as it’s better to be taken in by the magic.
This is the Odeon Cinema on Islington Road and it’s a beautiful structure, built as the Gaumont between 1937 and 1938 and it was in its heyday enormously popular with its single screen accommodating up to 3,000 people. Times changed, the cinema was split up into smaller screens and things declined somewhat before the building itself was in some trouble. However, a recent restoration has taken place and it’s standing proud again.
As I discussed earlier, my music knowledge is limited and so I’ve never heard of Joe Meek (1929-1967). He was apparently a brilliant sound engineer who pioneered numerous musical practices, although he said about the Beatles “they’re just another bunch of noise, copying other people’s music”.
This is where Joe Meek lived and Des was telling this positive story about his abilities. He then said that Meek was a troubled figure, which was certainly true as on 3 February 1967 he shot his landlady and then himself at this property. That was somewhat of a darker story than I had anticipated when we stopped here.
We then walked by the front of Arsenal’s new football ground.
I think this is Dennis Bergkamp. Ray was reminiscing at this point about when he watched Arsenal play in the 1960s.
And Bob Wilson, I recognised him even without just reading his name by his photo. There’s some good news about my getting more engaged with football incidentally, I now know the names of over half the Everton squad. I’ll be as good a football commentator at Bob Wilson before you know it and might even make it to a match.
Arsenal tube station, opened in 1906 as Gillespie Road, but then renamed as Arsenal in 1932 meaning it’s the only underground station which is named after a football club (handy information for a pub quiz there). It’s literally opposite Highbury, which is where Arsenal played between 1913 and 2006, and around a five minute walk from the new stadium.
And there’s the old stadium, which has now been turned into housing. Some of the original stand is still, well, standing.
As I didn’t want to traipse a bag around all day, I risked there being a food option near to wherever Des declared it was lunch. I was surprised and delighted to discover that there was a Sainsburys next to Clissold Park, so my meal deal was safely acquired. Thanks also to Kate who kindly offered to put my jacket in her bag all day, only realising that I had a heavy battery pack in the pocket which she then had to traipse around. She was very kind and said that it was her pleasure, so I’m glad that I could do something nice for someone.
And here’s our river, or at least, a sign saying pipe. I felt something of a connection with the Hackney Brook at this stage, it felt so near. Des destroyed the magic a little by saying that someone could have moved this sign at some stage, but I had to clutch onto what evidence I could about this river.
We made a slight diversion to look at this pumping station, a grand building which is now mostly used as the Castle Climbing Centre.
Next to this centre is the New River which opened in 1613 and is technically neither new, nor a river. We got excited as it was some water to look at, but it wasn’t part of the Hackney Brook, so we didn’t look at it for too long.
We retraced our steps to look at the ponds at Clissold Park and these actually were part of the Hackney Brook at one point, although water is no longer supplied to it from the river.
A quick trip to Abney Park cemetery, one of London’s “magnificent seven” cemeteries. It’s also partly an arboretum and nearly 200,000 people have been buried there.
Then we realised we couldn’t get out of the back of the cemetery due to building work, so we spent a little more time walking in the shade. By this time it was slightly less hot than earlier on, which was something of a relief. We then marched into Hackney and beyond, before the walk ended near to the River Lea. It was another marvellous walk, as the history of urban areas is one of my favourite subjects and Des is fiercely knowledgeable about so much of the city’s heritage. Indeed, he has been on TV a lot recently, so he’s something of a talent.
That meant the next part of the day switched to me and visiting some of the bars of London. This is Beer Merchants Tap, which I’ve visited before and is something of a personal favourite.
I went for the ‘Coconut Coffee Stout’ from Lervig and this was undeniably delightful. It seemed a little thin at first for a 12.8% ABV beer, but it had light flavours with a full body, then aftertastes of bourbon and coconut. This was a decadent way to start proceedings and I think Ray was particularly enjoying the venue. It was decided, mostly by me, that we’d sit inside in the cold rather than outside in the warm, and I was pleased with that decisive decision. I also encouraged Ray to get more involved with his Untappd account which he set up three years ago and never used. I hope that he does use it more, but either way, it means another friend on Untappd and I eagerly add people to make myself feel popular….
We then got the Overground back to Hackney, and this was a return visit for me to the Hackney Church Brew Co.
I went for two halves, the ‘What’s in the Box’ was hazy, fruity and smooth. I thought that there was a taste of apricot in this, whereas Kate thought that there was elderflower, but I wasn’t overly bothered as this was a rather delightful beer. I also went for the Temptation, which is in the above photo, which offered a sour hit of mango. Not as rounded as I’d ideally like, but still very drinkable.
The Deviant and Dandy Brewery is a location that I’ve wanted to visit for a while, but it’s either been closed or I just haven’t had time. I was a little disappointed that they were having dispense problems, meaning that I was a little limited to just the ‘It was a Good Day’ hazy IPA, although this piney beer didn’t disappoint. The service was friendly and the surroundings were comfortable, so it was an enjoyable place to visit and I’ll likely go back.
The brewery set-up, housed in the railway arch and they say that they have “a fearless disregard for taking risks”.
I then marched us to Forest Road Brewing as time was getting limited and we still needed to order food. I had been excited to come here for the first time, until I got here and remembered that I’ve been here with Liam. But, nonetheless, it was still exciting as I don’t get out much.
They appeared to have had a busy day and so beers were running out, but the Work IPA was agreeable enough. The pizza was very much needed and I very much enjoyed this, the toppings were generous and full of flavour. It was generously sized and Des enjoyed trying his pizza so much he lobbed it on the floor. This isn’t something that I’d be guilty of personally, I don’t drop food. Well, I might lob vegetable and fruit on the floor, but that’s a slightly different matter.
Once again, I appointed Steve as a responsible adult to get us back to Liverpool Street as we didn’t have much time to get our train back to Norwich. We got a bus to Whitechapel and then jumped on the Elizabeth Line ensuring that we arrived in time to get a seat and get ourselves comfortable for the long expedition back to Norwich. We had a situation at Whitechapel on the platform where they were making announcements for someone to stop leaning on the glass panels next to the track. They were describing this guy and his clothing, but he was standing next to us and wearing headphones so he couldn’t hear it. Ray told him, but I’m not sure that the passenger was thrilled at this intervention, although it the right thing to do.
Our first adventure was to get the Greater Anglia train to Audley End. The train was too hot which was very much sub-optimal and I think it’s fair to say that after an early morning, a day of walking and then an evening of drinking, we were quite tired. The loud and excitable passengers sitting opposite livened things up no end, I think that’s a polite way of putting that. I was pleased that Kate and Steve were nearer to them, I leaned against the wall planning my email to Greater Anglia about their hot train. I won’t write it, but it stops me from getting annoyed.
Safely in Audley End, we then got the replacement bus service to Cambridge. I was deeply unimpressed with this driver, he had no idea how many people he let on his coach and mid journey he unnecessarily shouted at a passenger to sit down forgetting that there weren’t any seats for them to sit on. Unimpressive, that passenger took it well, but others would have perhaps be less forgiving.
Safely at Cambridge railway station for the last part of our journey into Norwich. We were definitely all tired at this point, it was a trek of just over three hours back from London, but secretly I love this whole extra adventure element. We got back safely just after midnight, all I think rather content. Three of us walked home, whilst Steve went off on a scooter and I’m pleased to report that no incidents took place with him storming down the road at 12mph.
All in all, another quite marvellous day and thanks to everyone who came along, as well of course to Des, the very popular walk leader. I gave him a well deserved 9 out of 10, he lost a point for the hot weather and not supplying unlimited doughnuts. Everyone else gave him 10 out of 10, but I don’t think that sufficiently inspires him for perfection….. And, great news, there will be another one! It’s likely going to involve the Bermondsey Beer Mile which I’ve done many times, but I’m always up for a London adventure and I can definitely be tempted back to the Bermondsey area.
Apologies for the interruption to my slow and grinding write-up of the Liverpool weekend, I’ll get back to that now to ensure that my two loyal readers aren’t left waiting unnecessarily.
Des credits much of the inspiration for his lost river series to this book ‘London’s Hidden Rivers: A walker’s guide to the subterranean waterways of London’ by David Fathers, who sometimes comes on these walks. It’s a highly recommended title for anyone interested in the subject.
Another one ticked off in my never-ending quest to visit every Good Beer Guide pub in the country…. This Skinners’ Arms is located on Judd Street, near to King’s Cross railway station, with the road name being relevant here as its commemorates Sir Andrew Judd, the donor of the estate to the Skinners’ Company.
The bar, tastefully decorated and with some suitable heritage elements. There were six real ales on which was an excellent selection, although there was nothing overly decadent there was at least Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.
There hasn’t been any excessive attempt to modernise the interior design and it’s all the better for that. They were serving food when I arrived and are meant to until 20:30, but before that time was reached a gentleman who sat down and was waiting for table service was told that they had stopped serving. He looked disappointed but left quietly, I felt quite sorry for him. Anyway, the food prices are around £12 to £15 for main courses which is reasonable for the King’s Cross area and the reviews for food are generally very positive.
I went for the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, a reliable beer that was well kept and at the appropriate temperature.
The King’s Cross area has seen many traditional elements swept away, but the Skinners’ Arms hasn’t lost its heart. The interior was warm and comfortable, allowing customers to forget just what a busy part of London they’re located in. The service was efficient and polite, with the atmosphere feeling inviting.
Fair enough…..
Having a little look at the reviews, a customer posted:
“Very patronising and horrible bartenders who might be the 2 managers? In there 50’s lecturing on how I should relax! I was just looking arround to find a sit quietly. But I’m speedy in nature which is how I am and love being speedy it suits my adhd energy, so I walk and move fast and I am fidgetty. Slowing down stresses me out, it’s a constrain. Felt very regretful to have come here and being received by somone who suggest that I tone down my rhythm. Not coming back here”
There’s likely an interesting back story here, but it sounds as if this customer presented something of a challenge to the management. They weren’t disappointed at his announcement that he wasn’t returning, noting:
“Chooc – probably for the best”.
Actually, they’re quite forthright, another customer posted:
“Rude manager wouldn’t let me finish my coffee as I walked in before trying to order a pint so I won’t be coming back here. Weird vibes from him as well made me feel unwelcome. Plenty other good pubs around so I’d not bother with this one.”
This sounds like the customer walked in with a coffee from another venue and was annoyed that the manager wasn’t impressed. The pub certainly aren’t very apologetic and I think they sound right:
“Matthew – I think you going elsewhere is a grand idea”
Another customer posted, and I’d note that most reviews are positive, with a rather direct:
“Poor service and rude staff. Would give zero stars if possible.”
This is one of the best replies that I’ve seen on Google:
“Tom – I think Google should have minus star ratings – then you could really vent your feelings”
That’s a classy response. I already liked this venue, but I liked them a bit more after reading this.
Overall, I very much liked this pub and its traditional interior design. There was a choice of beers, the prices were moderate for central London and the staff for friendly. A worthy addition to the Good Beer Guide and certainly worth visiting for anyone who needs to get a train from Euston or King’s Cross St Pancras.
