Sunday 25 July 2021

25/07/21 - Upper Holloway Pub Crawl

Distance - 3 Miles

Pubs - 5

Biblical Rain Sunday, as this day shall be known.  Having walked Isleworth, I emerged at Leicester Square tube to be faced with this.  

London Rain
What will end first, the rain or my patience at hiding under a Pret Brolly

Surprisingly, I do make it back to Archway for a lazy Sunday Evening of Good Beer Guide Pub (other pubs may apply) Ticking.

Shaftesbury Tavern, Hornsey Road

Shaftesbury Tavern
Handsome

Worth the walk for a GBG Tick #568.  It provided excellent London Pride and my tea, where I am just in time for the 7pm closing of the Thai restaurant serving within.  They do not skimp on portions.  Its a wonder I managed to drag myself off the Chesterfield sofa to continue the walk.

Shaftesbury Tavern
CAMRA Interior of Historic Importance

Other things of interest?  A free jukebox that worked as well as the one in the Temple Bar, Manchester.  I was there for an hour.  No PJ Harvey was played.

Landseer Arms, Landseer Road

I wasn't sure it would be open (google is never that helpful).  My initial joy at seeing a full table of hipster yoof was dashed by them being the staff.  The pub is closed due to flooding.

Not surprising.  This is the retweet I sent to the Chairman of the Dubious GBG Tick committee to see if I could have a waiver.


Image stolen from the Internet.

Landseer Arms
Also - I had searched Twitter for LDN Storms.  I do not follow Tits McGee

St Johns Tavern, Junction Road

GBG Tick #570.  Yes, I claimed the Landseer Arms.

This is the worst of all possible Gastropubs.  I felt completely in the way here, sitting at a table set up for diners in a room full of diners.

Five Points XPA was a decent pint and you cannot accuse the Guide of using no other criteria than "Good Beer".

StJohns
Another lifted photo - Head Chef was dicking around with the awning as I left

Old Mother Red Cap, Holloway Road

A twitter recommendation that I could not ignore.  It is dangerously close to Archway Premier Inn, where I am very much enjoying the air conditioning, at the expense of a drip akin to Chinese Water Torture.


As close to an Irish Pub Experience I have had since charging around Dublin looking for the greatest hostelries available to man.

Mother Red Cap
Too full of Thai to contemplate a Guinness

The Archway Tavern, Navigator Square

Another Twitter resource that I use in the Smoke is @BeerGuideLondon.  Not that I needed any help in finding this huge pub, directly outside the Tube and Lenny's favourite budget hotel.

Archway Tavern
Magnificent Pub

I managed to get in just before closing, when the keg dispensers were getting a thorough cleaning and the only other sentient life is an Eastern European Bouncer whose appearance and accent meant he couldn't have picked a better vocation.  Oh, and a large very friendly Boxer (dog, not pugilist).

Stiegl on draft, complete with presentation chalice.  My Son's favourite.  Suddenly, my hobby made sense to him.

I spent a while looking for decent photos on the web and found a bit of history that I thought I would share.  

The interior is the cover of the Kinks Album, Muswell Hillibillies.

Muswell Hillibillies
Pub Life 1971

And look at this photo of it's yester-year glory.

Archway Tavern
Pre-Predestrianisation of Navigation Square



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