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| The Old Bell - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
EARLY ON in our pre-planning for this vacation, I floated the idea of a "pub crawl." We agreed we would set aside a day for just that. I don't remember how many pubs we eventually stopped in, but there were a few. There was history for all them which made it fun and interesting, also. Their interiors remained mostly unchanged from the days when they first opened. At one of them, we shared a traditional British Pub Food Plate (including a Scotch Egg, Pork Pie, and some wonderful artisan cheeses). Knowing this was going to be a long day (I am pretty sure we started sometime late morning), culminating with reservations in one of those somewhat famous London Pubs, Todd wisely set our pace by starting with a 1/2 pint. I followed his lead, and that worked well for us all day. He and I stuck to beer. The girls had a variety of other cocktails. It was thoroughly enjoyable.
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| St. Paul's Cathedral - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved |
STUDENTS OF history know that the city of London was originally built by the Romans (Londinium) beginning shortly after the birth of Christ. The Roman settlement grew into a city over the years and survived through the "Dark Ages," and into the Renaissance. Those students also know that in the late 17th Century, the ancient walled portion of the city was nearly completely destroyed by "The Great Fire of London." While there are undoubtely a lot of people who figured into the rebuilding of the great city, one stands out in history: Christopher Wren. Widely credited with a "plan" for rebuilding the city, Wren was involved in a great number of the building projects in London at that time. As is the case for most historical great cities, the central architectural focus was generally the church. In London, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London it the magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral. Shortly before the great fire, Wren was commissioned to re-build the church. The original St. Paul's church was built there around 600 A.D. The fire swept the city just as Wren brought his first plans to the powers that be, destroying much of the church, but leaving its steeple and some building around it intact. Wren remained and became the principal architect of the Cathedral (as well as being involved in the design and construction of over 50 other churches, and a few other notable projects involving castles and other municipal buildings). The new cathedral got its own Baroque style dome, but the original steeple was left intact as part of the grounds.
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| Remnants of the original (pre-fire) St. Paul's Church - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved |
WHAT IN the world, you may wonder, does any of this have to do with a "pub crawl?" These massive construction projects require artisans and workers. Wren realized that in order for them to be in the city and working on the churches, there would have to be infrastructure to feed and house them. So even before they could begin construction of the church, they built a handful of pubs (short for "Public House"). All of them are within close walking distance from the cathedral. Which makes for a pretty easy, and (weather permitting) enjoyable walking/pub crawl tour of the city. And that is what we did. The weather cooperated splendidly for us. We rode the Tube from Paddington to one of the stops near St. Paul's, and began our great adventure.
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| "The Wedding Church" - St. Bride's - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved |
I AM going by memory, here, so I likely won't get the exact order correct (trust me, after a few pints, it doesn't matter 😁) but we hit most of our pre-planned goals. We started with The Old Bell, which has entrances on Fleet Street and around the back. The Bell was built on the site of a previous tavern (The Swan) which was destroyed along with most of the rest of the city by the fire. Wren re-built it shortly after the fire. My notes indicate that at the time it was actually built to accomodate artisans working on a different church just up the street from St. Paul's (St. Bride's church, which has served as the inspiration for the design of many wedding cakes over the years - hence, its nickname: "The Wedding Church").
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| The Old Bell Tavern - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
THE OLD Bell had what was a more or less typical old British Pub vibe, we were to find, as we hopped from one to another. We liked it. The dark wood interior is certainly "period" (Wren was known for his "Baroque" style architecture), and played (sometimes) dramatically with the sunlight (when present). It does make casual photography in these places problematic, though. I basically only made "smart phone" photos inside these places. The exteriors were a different story. Almost always adorned with colorful flowers, the "old school" facades create picturesque looks. But this was a pub crawl day, and I didn't even carry the camera with me. I figured I could rely on my phone for any photos I wanted to take, especially knowing I would only be able to use that on interiors.
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| The Old Bell - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
OUR NEXT destination was Ye Olde Watling, just up the street. Equally "clubby" and dark, it certainly met our expectations. We tried, whenever we could, to sample the local brews and ales.
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| Ye Olde Watling - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
I FIRST spotted this pub in 2021, from a distance, while standing in front of the certainly overshadowing St. Paul's Cathedral entrance. But it stuck in my mind and planted the first germ of a possible "pub crawl." The name and the look drew my attention, however briefly, and I told myself I would be back there one day. Today was the day. 😊
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| Ye Olde Watling - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
SEVERAL OF the pubs we visited had spaces where people would often gather just outside on the sidewalk for a drink. It was oddly random, but some of the pubs were very crowded, while others (like The Old Bell, for instance) were essentially empty. Unlike the gentlemen here, we were somehow able to find a seat in this one.
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| Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
YE OLDE Cheshire Cheese, was again just up Fleet Street (less than a block from The Old Bell). We had passed it during our 2021 walking tour, and - taken by the unique name - I photographed the sign on the alleyway entrance, just beyond Williamson's Tavern which would be our next stop after this one. On this trip, I really noted the front entrance for the first time, but I wanted to show the others the alleyway entrance so we walked around the corner and went in that way.
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| Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
ONE ONLINE description I found said this one is "probably the most famous pub in the world." Not sure I buy that, but it certainly does have a certain cache'. The same writeup describes it as one of London's few reamining 17th Century Chophouses. Again, rebuilt after the fire, it was known to have been frequented by the likes of Charles Dickens, W.B Yeats, and Mark Twain, and was even feature in Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities." There are actually several rooms in the Cheese. We found the cellar room and it was appropriately atmospheric. Having sampled several drinks so far this morning, we decided this was the place to get some food. We ordered a kind of "variety plate," that I would guess is popular among us tourists. Touristy or not, it was very tasty! 😋We didn't leave anything on the plate. Pidtured are Pork Pie (we cut it in quarters, as we did later with the Scotch Egg, also), Scotch Egg, artisan cheeses and bread, and a couple "chutney" type spreads.
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| Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
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| Williamson's Tavern - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved |
IT PROBABLY goes without saying that you should take much of what you read online with a proverbial "grain of salt." As wonderful a resource as it is, there is much misinformation and also opinion (disguised as fact) there. Again, one resource describes Williamson's Tavern thusly: "From the outside, the building does not seek attention from the visitor, but its interior is well worth the visit." Hmnn. It is true that it does not have a "Fleet Street presence," and is somewhat tucked away back in the alleyway. But from our perspective, we found the exterior attractive and very much inviting.
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| Williamson's Tavern - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
THE INTERIOR was - more than any of the others so far - brighter and more "airy," with a more "modern-traditional" sweeping bar design. The decor and the personnel in the pub were cordial and welcoming. Personally, from an aesthetics point of view, I found this one to among my favorites. Indeed when we walked past it in 2021, I knew I would be back to sit and have a beer one day. And I did.
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| Williamson's Tavern - London, England (that's Todd buying us drinks. Nice and generous guy 😀) Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
WE STILL had a couple others on our "list" for the day. The Blackfriar has a more distinctive exterior look, and color scheme. It was next. One of those buildings built at the peak of an angled intersection, it is impossible to miss as you walk by. Which may explain why (though my photo doesn't really show it) this one was completely packed! Standing room only inside and in most of the relatively large outside area with tables. We didn't let that stop us from partaking, however.
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| The Blackfriar Pub - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
AROUND THAT corner and up the street to the right, under the overpass, was our next stop, The Cockpit. Unsurprisingly, this part of the city is known as "Blackfriars." The street we sought was another left turn onto St. Andrews Hill. From the photograph, it feels quite ritzy, with the St. Andrews Hill name feeling appropriately posh.
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| St. Andrews Hill - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
THE COCKPIT's, exterior is, likewise, pretty ritzy looking. There is a saying: "looks can be deceiving." 😏 The Cockpit's interior is what could only be described in America as a "dive bar." It is a bit of a shock walking in off that street. Don't get me wrong. I don't have any problem at all with "dive bars." They certainly have their own atmosphere and can often be a lot of fun. This one is. In spite of the "decor," it has a family feel to it and we - of course - enjoyed yet another 1/2 pint while we took it all in. Not shockingly, the pub - formerly a gatehouse to the Blackfriars Monastery - was later a spot that hosted cockfighting. Hence its namesake.
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| The Cockpit Pub - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
WHEW. THAT was a long pub crawl and a long day. We were pretty much "pubbed out." But it turns out we were not yet finished. 😊 Some good prior research by Todd and Heather had turned up a couple great restaurant suggestions. Tonight, we had reservations at one of them; yet another Pub/Tavern: The Ship Tavern. They determined that it got good reviews and booked the reservation weeks before we all arrived in London. Not sure what we were thinking, but we decided to walk there. It wasn't really such a bad idea at the time. On the map, it is about 1 mile from The Cockpit. Having been on our feet with a few beers in us, it felt like a lot more than a mile. Our thinking was we would go for a while and if the spirit (see what I did there?) moved us and we saw yet another pub, we would stop, rest and refresh. And guess what?
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| The Viaduct Tavern - London, England Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved |
THE VIADUCT Tavern wasn't even on our radar. But we spotted it from across the street and, like a magnet, we were drawn in. It had its own gin brand, and we (my wife and I) are gin drinkers so of course we had to try it. It was good.
EXHAUSTED AND hungry, we finally arrived at our Ship Tavern. We knew the way home would be Uber, and looked forward to a relaxing and enjoyable meal. We were a bit early for our reservation and our table wasn't quite ready for us. But hey, we were on a pub crawl, after all, so we ordered a beer and sat at the bar to wait. At the street level, The Ship was yet another pub, much like many of those we had been in already during the week. But upstairs, the restaurant was another story. It was obvious, as we ascended the stairs, by the smell, that we were in for a great dining experience. The entrance was down an alley and I didn't really bother to try to get a shot of the Tavern itself. But it is worth the visit. We had a great meal, and headed home to a much anticipated, good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be our last day in London, and we had the Churchill War rooms ahead of us, and then an Indian Food restaurant that Todd and Heather had also scoped out pre-trip.