28/02/20 - Smithfield Pub Crawl

Walk Inspiration - Camra's London Pub Walks - Walk 18
Number of pubs - 6

The meat market by night.

Helpful Ladies point the way to the pub

My walk starts off at the famous Ye Olde Mitre.   A pub worthy of a blog entry on its own, straddling three ongoing tick lists - Len Deighton's Top London Pubs, Evening Standard's Top 50 London Pubs and of course, the Good Beer Guide.

Butchers Hook and Cleaver, 61 West Smithfield Street, Fullers ESB

Got to love the honesty in the pub guide.  It berates the place for its tacky name and suggests that if you are here for the pub architecture, you should move on.

With it's JDW-esque sign paneling, patron's spilling out into the road and those inside who have had too much of the pie and/or ale that this place boasts about so highly, the guide is correct.

Famous for a Mezzanine Floor and little else

Hand and Shears, 1 Middle Street, Timothy Taylor Landlord

This is why I follow these random guides.   This pub is a gem and becomes an instant favourite to be re-visited whenever I am in the area.

Upstairs dart players show that I am in the land of the traditional.

My sort of place

John Betjeman was a pub connoisseur of some note and this was his local, before the noise from the meat juggernauts drove him away.   Given a bit more time, this area will fall silent again and if he was to come back, I don't think the pub will have changed from what he would have remembered.

You could be at any time in the C20th.

An oasis of Calm

With your nan's furniture

A seat at the bar and an excellent choice of two Timothy Taylor ales was simply icing on the cake.

The Hope, Cowcross Street, St Autsell's Tribute

If I was doing this properly, I would have included the Fox and Anchor - but this is a place for breakfast only.

I move on to a handsome looking pub, with some impressive front windows.

No drink riding

Inside presents a large, airy bar and a disappointingly hazy Tribute.

Hope for something better

The Jerusalem Tavern, 55 Briton Street, St Peter Best Bitter

Another authentic, aged pub

I've not heard of St Peter's Brewery - but I do know that this is their only tied pub in London.

So you'd hope for a better kept pint than the swill they served me.    You can tell it was getting late, as on reflection at looking at my pictures, there's no doubt I would have taken this back to get into an argument that "its meant to look like that".

And guess what?   Of course, its in the Good Beer Guide.

Further horror is revealed on checking my bank account following a contactless transaction.

£6.20.   I certainly don't remember order nuts.   So that was a pint then.

How do you like you Best Bitter.  Lifelessly murky?

The pub itself does a good job of going to its distressed ancient look.  It became a pub in 1996.

The Exmouth Arms, Exmouth Market, Camden Hells

A bonus tick on the way back to my friendly Travelodge.   I wasn't going to miss out on this late licenced, former Courage Brewery, green tiled, Good Beer Guide Tick.

Late night capital drinking

A place at the bar was as good a place as any to annoy the other punters.   To be fair, there was plenty of room and it gave me plenty of time to decide that an accompanying Glenfarclas 12 year old would not be a good idea.

I've got a 13 mile walk tomorrow.