It’s an English Pub Life…

I love English pubs and their history which interests me so much that i have a seperate blog post just for the pubs I have either passed by but also sat down and had a pint at

Pubs in england were often the focus of community life in villages, towns and the cities

From these pics, you can see there is quite a bit of difference between all of them and many have been updated due to the fact that they date back so far that they need an update to them or you would have to enter them on a horse!

I visited one of my “locals” in fulham and it was always one of my favourites because it had kept its old look, with all these different levels and little nooks and crannies leading up to them with twisting dark wood stairs, and the bartender told me last year they had done a refurbish and it now has a new modern look to it which changed the whole “medieval pub” feel 😦 made me sad actually…

A bit of pub history… The interesting thing is that it was most likely the romans that brought the pub idea into england when they first invaded in 43ad (they called it the “tabernae”) along with their roman roads and towns and “wine bars” to keep their roman troops happy, but the British did have their own drink which was Ale and this integrated and adapted into the roman tabernae to keep the locals happy, the word TAVERN comes from Tabernae, so its thanks to the Romans yet again! Also PUB is a simplified version of Public house

To give an idea the importance of the pubs and inns in england, in 1577 there were 17,000 alehouses 2000 inns and 400 taverns and that around 1 pub for every 200 people (they also had a smaller population) compared to now it would be around 1 to every 1000 or something like that…

anyways… thats just a brief history of how it started

Ive noted down some of beers I’ve had at a few of the pubs

Trafalgar Square – “The Imperial”

“The Garrick Arms”

“The Bayswater Arms”

“The Goat” – Kensington

“The Hand and Flower”

“The Albion”

“The Melody” – Hammersmith

“Latymers” – Brook Green

“The Distillers” – Hammersmith

“The Old Suffolk Punch”

“The Rylston” – West Brompton

“The Malt House”

“The Kings Head” now “Broadway Pub and Grill”

This is where we used to hang out during the week mainly Thursdays, £5 bottle of rose and £1 bus both ways to get home from claybrook mansion, cheap and easy fun night out! Those were the days…

“Mcgettigans” – Fulham Broadway

“The Slug @ Fulham”

This place was a South American pub when I lived there, now looks like it’s been converted to an Aussie and kiwi pub. These places are dodgy lol just full of heaps of drunk Aussies drinking and dancing to old 80s or Aussie tunes, there used to be so many of these around London now I think there are just a few which is sad as well to areas it was a pretty big thing in London

“The Cock Tavern” – Fulham Broadway

How about that for a pub name?😉

“The Goose” – Fulham

“The Atlas” – West Brompton

“The Prince of Wales” – West Brompton

“Dalys wine bar”

“Essex street Brewery” – Off Fleet st

So cute! These guys had blocked the road to do their traditional dance with their flags, midday drinks and a dance… Cant go wrong there!

“The Tipperary” – Fleet St

“The old Bell” – Fleet Street

“Punch Tavern” – Fleet Street, Holburn

Whiskey, Bloody Mary & Beer (3 of us)

A grade 2 listed public house, was previously called The Crown and Sugarloaf but changed to The Pumch Tavern as the Punch magazine had their offices nearby and the staff would regularly come and drink and dine at the pub they renamed it after them… Bunch of drunks eh! 🥃🍸

“The Rising Sun”

“Ye Olde London” – St Pauls

I watched a bit of the the royal wedding near st Paul’s cathedral here, pretty much it was the only thing people here were talking about, funny, there were some shops that had signs outside saying that you couldn’t talk about the royal wedding or you would be kicked out! 😂

“The Centre Page” – Near st Paul’s cathedral

Grade 2 listed building built in the 19thc. Used to be called The Horn Tavern

“Southwark tavern”

“The George” – Southwark

Another of my favourites.. this place is an authentic 17th C. Coaching inn and pub with a large beer garden which is always full during summer time

“The Horniman” (favourite pub name 😂)

Carlingbeer

This pub is in a former tea house, with beautiful furnishings huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and serves traditional pub food

(Not a good place to bring your first date if you are male 🤓 with a name like that… )

“The Eagle” – North Kensington

Guinness on tap

“The Swan”

Guinness on tap ~ £2.70

“The Tavern” – Cheltenham

The Frog & Fiddle ~ Cheltenham

“Butcombe Rare Breed” ~ £1.90

This place was interesting… Different from the other done up places around Cheltenham, it was more Goth and catered towards students, they didn’t serve any food but you could bring in your own from outside and buy drinks… Good for those on a budget!

“Bottle of Sauce” – Cheltenham

Moonlight ~ £1.90

The Fire Station ~ Cheltenham

“Lawless” Lager ~ £3.20

Was a fire station in 1906 until the 70s recently renovated in past 2 years into the pub and jazz bar that it is now

The Bayshill ~ Cheltenham

Kings Arms ~ Cheltenham

Carling ~ £1.90

“Jessop House” ~ Cheltenham

Biere De Laison ~ Cherry Beer £7

This place was a very funky new age type of bar / pub with eclectic beers a mix of antiques and hippie vibe, haven’t seen a place like this in England in my travels yet so its different for England and more aimed for the uni students

“Tailors” ~ Cheltenham

Carling

This is where the owner was telling me about how her and the staff see spirits / ghosts of a man in the kitchen area at the back which was were the old farm house was in the ancient days and Sir Benjamin Baker lived here, the owner believes it’s him that hangs out at the pub

“The Spectre” ~ Cheltenham

North Cotswold brewery Jumping Jack

“The Old Restoration” ~ Cheltenham Spa

Butcombe

How wonderfully eclectic is this pub! I loved it as soon as I set foot in it! And the bar tender was a nice looking English guy who I chatted to over a few beers about traveling, living in England and rugby, such nice people when I take the time to have a chat…

Theres even a games room here!

“The Duke of Wellington” ~ Bourton on the Water

Bombardier

“Chester House” Bourton on the Water

Cotwolds Whiskey

(My favourite!) Brewed in Bourton on the Water

“Old Manse Hotel” – Bourton on the Water

“Kingsbridge” ~ Bourton on the Water

Hobgoblin

“The Sheep on Sheep Street” ~ Stow-on-the-wold

Brakspear

“Porch House” – Oldest inn in England ~ dating back to 947 ad.

AMSTEL

I didn’t have much choice in this pub so got an Amstel which was £4.40 for a pint, much more expensive than a local beer

Donnington Gold

“The Queens Head Inn” ~ Stow in the Wold

Donnington lager

“The Kings Arms” ~ Stow on the Wold

“The Bell” stow on the wold

Cotswolds premium

“The Porch House” ~ Stow in the Wold

Brakspeare Bitter

I snuck a double shot whiskey in here 😉

“The Walrus & The Carpenter” – Monument

A typical English pub with a downstairs cellar converted to a small bar with awesome sitting area with red couches

Many beers on tap and with old school photos and images on the walls

Found at the end of a quiet alleyway

“The Pommelers Rest” – Tower Hill

I decided to try out the Windsor Knot which is limited edition for the royal wedding… Ok ok I couldn’t beat them so I joined them! Was light and easy to drink

“The Wheatsheaf” – Borough Market

Enteredborough market – the markets are closed but all is open around it, love how there is so much life in London every day

Tried the London Lager here £3 half pint it’s a pretty hip place

Also had another cheeky half pint of Camden Hells (sounding like a Londoner already)

This place is going off!

“The Market Porter” – Borough Market

Right next door to the last pub I was at… Competition much? Not in London! Everyone is outside enjoying the weather… The inside of the pub is empty as

An old building with different rooms and real old fashioned I’m loving it!

“The Olde Thames Inn”

“The Anchor” ~ Bankside

This place is one of my past favourites because of the layout and rooms, it’s just so old and rickety looking and dark I love it!

“The Sugarloaf”

Old school pub near monument

On the wall it has this quote:

“Cannon Street originally called Candelwick Street in 1190 was named after the candle makers who lived in the area. This name changed 60 times before the 17th C.”

Dinner! Lentil pot pie… Dang I miss pub food and not only that it’s 9:17pm and it’s still light outside!

“The Golden Fleece”

What I love about London… It really doesn’t matter how old you are or how many kids you have or what your status is… Everyone takes the time to go out and have a drink with matea after work… There is a group in this pub who are well in their 60s men and women and they are drinking their pants off! It’s Monday night too… Ahhh London!

“The Duke”

“The Lady of Ottoline”

“The Dolphin Tavern”

“The Enterprise”

Right across the street from the dolphin is the enterprise – just as cosy

“The Jack Horner”

Had an awesome English pie here with Ale! Damn I feel British 😂

“Rising Sun”

Just a block up from Jack Horner

The Greens Victoria

the Euston flyer

The Lillie laterry

The William Morris

I used to live in Hammersmith and would use this pub as a meeting point because it was close to my home and also cheap as!

My dinner was amazing! It cost me £6.10 for an awesome crispy chicken burger and chips and a pint of my choice of beer… That’s $12 Aussie dollars!! Wth… How good is that? We pay that much in aus to just breathe the air