What to do in London on a Saturday

Ventil · 12-07-2007, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by James Tringham:
Clearly the National Portrait Gallery followed by dinner at Aubergine.

When he mentioned Victoria that was my first thought as well, but thought it would be a little bit too high brow for this place.

Pol au Pot in Pimlico :thup:

retired_kishnata · 12-07-2007, 05:59 PM

Sam Smiths pubs are fab.

A little London pub crawl around London I did last month.

Quote:

The George Inn

11:00-12:00

Borough High Street, Borough

The most important ancient pubs still standing, The George Inn traces its lineage to at least 1542, the Tabard Inn, from where Chaucer's pilgrims left in Canterbury Tales, was a few doors south (it's gone now). The oldest part of the current structure, a galleried wood-and-brick longhouse, dates to 1677. Shakespeare knew it, and Dickens memorialized it in Little Dorrit, The National Trust now protects it.
Anchor Bankside

12:10-12:40

34 Park Street, Borough

Few pubs meld abundant history with an enviable location as perfectly as the three-story Anchor Bankside whose Thameside patio in sight of St. Paul's dome is perhaps the most agreeable (and popular) spot in London at which to sit a spell with a fresh-pulled pint. There's been a tavern here at least since the 1500s, when Londoners ferried to Southwark to experience bear baiting, brothels and Shakespeare (the playwright surely would have known the place). Diarist Samuel Pepys is said to have watched London burn to the ground from the safety of this bank in 1666, and Samuel Johnson, may have kept a room here while he compiled the first English dictionary.
London Bridge â€“ Bank
Dirty Dicks

13:00-13:30

202 Bishopsgate, City

Nathaniel Bentley was an ironmonger who had a shop in Leadenhall Street. On the eve of his wedding, tragedy struck. His bride-to-be died. So distraught was Nathaniel that he locked up the room in which he had prepared the wedding feast, never to enter it again. A broken man, he neither washed or changed his clothes. When his cats died he just left them. It is thought that Dickens used this tale as the inspiration for Miss Haversham in Great Expectations.
The English love an eccentric and his notoriety meant his business flourished. When Nathaniel retired in 1804, the landlord of the Old Port Wine Shop in Bishopsgate bought the contents lock, stock and dead cats. He put them on display at his pub and renamed it 'Dirty Dick's'.
In 1870 the pub was rebuilt from ground level, the wine vaults are part of the original building. The 'dirty' contents were carefully relocated in the new pub. Sadly it was decided in the mid nineteen-eighties that a clean up was in order and the dirty artefacts were cleared away.
At street level the main bar is a dimly lit, windowless cavern of dark stained wood. There's an abundance of timber beams, panelling and exposed brick. The upstairs bar forms a gallery and the vaulted cellar, which pre-dates the upper floors, houses the restaurant.

The Ten Bells

13:50- 14:20

84 Commercial Street

In the shadow of Christ Church and opposite Spitalfields Market, history is unsure of which of Jack the Ripper's victims he met in the Ten Bells pub, although it was at least one. Was it Annie Chapman who was working as a prostitute in the area during the early hours of 8 September 1888 and was known to be drinking in the Ten Bells about 5am? Perhaps it was Mary Kelly - the last victim - who was butchered in her nearby lodgings in the early hours of 9 November 1888, and whose internal organs had been removed and hung around the room?
Aldgate - Blackfriars
Cockpit

14:40-15:10

7 St. Andrew's Hill, Blackfriars

This pub was built in the 1840's and its name recalls a time when cockfighting was a popular spectacle. The 'sport' was banned in 1849 so its hard to say if the new building lived up to its dubious name, but it is claimed the last, legal cockfight took place here. It was renamed The Three Castles for a while, no doubt to deny its violent past, but has now come clean.
It's a bit of a grubby place, lived-in grubby, not dirty. A good place for a decent pint and a glance at the paper. Today itâ€™s an oddity in the city and will no doubt be 'updated' to be compatible with its new neighbours.
Black Friar

15:20-15:50

174 Queen Victoria Street, Blackfriars

This narrow wedge-shaped pub is jammed against the railway line at Blackfriars. It was built in 1875 near the site of a thirteenth century Dominican Priory, which gives the area its name and was the inspiration for the pubs design.
The Black Friarâ€™s interior is literally a work of art. It was begun in 1904, with sculptors Nathaniel Hitch, Frederick T. Callcott and Henry Poole contributing to its splendour. This pub is a lasting testament to their skill and craftsmanship. In the 1960's Sir John Betjeman, who later became the Poet Laureate, led a campaign to save the Black Friar from demolition.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

16:00 -16:30

145 Fleet St., City of London

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is one of the few pubs in London that can justify the 'Ye Olde' in its name. It was well known in the 17th century and many pubs have previously occupied this site, one of them, the Horn Tavern is recorded in 1538. The earliest incarnation was a guest house belonging to a 13th century Carmelite Monastery, the pub's vaulted cellars are thought to belong to that building. The pub was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and rebuilt the following year.

Olde **** Tavern

16:40-17:10

22 Fleet Street,

The **** crossed the road in 1887 and much of its interior was carefully installed in the new building, including the fireplace, its overmantle and the ornamental cockerel. They are thought to be the work of master carver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721). Gibbons carved wood and stone decorations for many royal houses including Windsor, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. At the other end of Fleet Street is St. Paul's, where Gibbons carved a throne and choir stalls. Perhaps he stayed at the **** and the carvings were payment in kind?
Another twist, this time fate, saw most of the relocated artefacts destroyed in a fire in 1990. There are pre-fire photographs on display and the restoration that followed is a clever disguise. The ****, fireplace and mantle are on the first floor. If it's cordoned off ask for permission to see it.
Every style of building of the past 300 years is in Fleet Street, but the **** Tavern has to be the narrowest. In an attempt to distinguish itself from the gin palace a new style of mock antique or 'olde worlde' pub design was used to re-established wholesome values. Ye Olde **** Tavern is a Victorian fake of Olde England.
Seven Stars

17:20- 17:50

53 Carey Street, Holborn

Hidden away behind the Royal Courts of Justice (High Court) this exceptional little pub is about as quaint as the courts are grand. It was one of a handful of buildings in the area to survive the Great Fire (1666) and in 2002 celebrated its 400th anniversary with a street party.
Cittie of Yorke

18:00 - 18:30

22 High Holborn, Holborn

The site of a pub since the 15th century, the Gray's Inn Coffee Shop was built here in 1695. Coffee was introduced to Britain in the mid 17th century and became the fashionable drink. Many coffee shops were the offshoots of taverns (sound familiar?). They sprang up all over London and sold beer and wine too.
The Coffee Shop was set back from the road, with a garden at the front. This was built upon and after various incarnations and expansions the whole site was redeveloped in the 1920's. What we have today is three distinct bar areas behind a 'Tudor' faÃ§ade.
The front bar is panelled, dark and comfortable. The cellar bar forms the brick foundations of a much older building. The bar to the rear is both fascinating and unique. In a great church-like hall, under a high pitched roof, a long bar counter sits below large oak vats. These are dwarfed by massive wine vats near the entrance, said to hold 1000 gallons each.
On the opposite wall is a series of small cubicles, like confessionals, where it's easy to imagine lawyers in confidential conversation with their clients. Another unique feature is an ingenious triangular stove (c.1815) which stands in the centre of the bar. It has no visible chimney, the smoke is ducted away below the floor.
Some of the fabric of the pub is older than its rebuild date and it's thought that much of it was recycled from its predecessor. It is certainly one of London's most extraordinary and unique pubs. Grade II Listed
Chancery lane â€“ Leicester square
Salisbury

18:40-19:10

90 St. Martins Lane, Covent Garden,

Originally built in 1892 as a restaurant called the Salisbury Stores, evident by the double 'S' etched into the windows, it was transformed six years later into the glittering pub we see today. The 1890's was the boom decade for Victorian pubs and this refurbishment was an expensive and lavish affair.
Huge decorative mirrors, cut and etched glass and gleaming mahogany, created a dazzling and extravagant interior. Perhaps the most extraordinary items are the art nouveau light fittings; beautiful bronze nymph figures support long stemmed flowers, with light bulbs at their centre. These electric lights showed Victorian customers that this was an upmarket and modern pub.
The comparatively less exuberant exterior is decorated with fluted columns and mythical figures. Above the entrance a small canopy is supported by two angels, between them, the Cecil coat of arms. The gentleman on the pub sign is the Marquess of Salisbury, Robert Gasgoyne-Cecil, three times Prime Minister from 1885 to 1902. His family once owned the pub's freehold.
The Lamb and Flag

19:15 - 19:45
Â*
33 Rose Street, Covent Garden

Where Floral Street meets Garrick Lane, Rose Street cuts between the two. There you'll find the Lamb & Flag, a small wooden fronted pub. At over 300 years, it's the oldest in Covent Garden, and possibly one of the oldest in London if claims of a Tudor past are true.
It used to be known as the Bucket of Blood because of the bare-fist fights that were held here. Today the only fight you'll see is the one to get to the busy bar. In 1679, the poet John Dryden is said to have been attacked by hired thugs in the alleyway at the side of the pub and was nearly killed. The upstairs bar is called the Dryden Room, presumably in honour of the man, rather than his beating. It's a good place to escape to when the ground floor bar is heaving.
The Coal Hole

20:00-20:30

91 Strand, London

The Coal Hole occupies a corner of the Savoy Building, designed by Thomas Collcutt. The theme of stone, dark wood and leaded light windows , carries on into the street level bar. The ceiling is very high with heavy black beams. Hanging banners suggest something medieval, but no, it was decorated in 1904. Under the mock beams is a beautiful marble frieze of wistful maidens picking vines.
Beside the bar, in a corner, is a magnificent fireplace, heavily decorated with reliefs of vines. New lighting has brought to life the pubs wonderful features. The gallery, converted from an office, is a good vantage point from which to view the friezes. The rare art nouveau dÃ©cor was a brief interlude between the brashness of the late Victorian gin palaces and mega-pubs, and a new sentimental movement which was to favour the fake "ye olde inn", harking back to more wholesome times.
The cellar bar is open in the evenings and has its own entrance in the Strand. It was in the basement of the pub's former incarnation that the Wolf Club was founded, by actor and lush Edmund Kean. Supposedly a place where hen-pecked husbands could enjoy a sing-song, its real role was less innocent, and involved heavy drinking and loose women.
Red Lion

20:50 - 21:20

48 Parliament Street, Whitehall

As far as location is concerned the Red Lion is hard to beat, midway between the House of Commons and Downing Street. It is the closest to No.10, although it's unlikely you'll see the PM here. Perhaps the odd MP though as it has Parliamentary TV broadcasts from the House (thankfully mute) and there's a division bell for those important votes, so MP's needn't miss a thing.
This is a classic late 19th century pub. The long narrow bar was once divided into Public and Saloon, with the counter running along the back wall serving both. The solid hardwood fittings are broken up by carving or insets of decorative glass. The etched and cut mirrors are beautiful examples of the craft. The remaining wall space is covered with interesting and amusing prints with a political theme.
The Red Lion serves as watering hole and dining room for civil servants and journalists, although the conversation is more likely to be about sport than politics. Curious tourists find there way here too, so it can get very busy especially when Parliament is sitting. Finding a spot to eat can be difficult. There is a dining room upstairs and a cellar bar which are pressed into use at busy times.
St. Stephen's Tavern

21:30 - 22:10
Â*
10 Bridge Street, Westminster,

This corner pub was closed for a decade or so, until one day in 2004 it re-opened, awoken from its slumbers by Dorset brewer Hall & Woodhouse, who have made a magnificent job of restoring this lovely Victorian building.
We can't say how much of the original pub survived, having stood empty for so long, but photographs of 1899 show a brilliantly ornate bar with huge spirit urns on the counter. These have been replaced with similar shaped lights, but otherwise the pub looks very similar.
LAST PUB - The Albert

22:20--------- **

52 Victoria Street, Westminster

A superb example of a Victorian style pub, with many original fittings and beautifully etched windows. The pub has a good selection of draught beers (including Theakstons) and bottled beers. It also has a good reputation for food, with the carvery on the pub's first floor always being a hive of activity.

retired_libbyrelr · 12-07-2007, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Docker:

When he mentioned Victoria that was my first thought as well, but thought it would be a little bit too high brow for this place.

I think when someone says "surely the London Eye and Madame Tussauds can't be all there is to do in London apart from shopping and drinking," you know what you're getting

retired_corzawoodja · 12-07-2007, 08:01 PM

Go to the Wetherspoons opposite Shephards Bush on Central Line.

retired_kishnata · 12-07-2007, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by beffrey:
Go to the Wetherspoons opposite Shephards Bush on Central Line.

The one upstairs in the Shopping Centre? I went there for a few hours before the Muse gig last year. Quite nice.

retired_navy0614 · 12-07-2007, 08:23 PM

Imperial War Museum.

Don't go to the British Museum. It's rubbish.

retired_erynelouise · 12-07-2007, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Docker:

Pol au Pot in Pimlico :thup:

Quite nice and homely, did that place a few years ago but haven't been back.

retired_gonzamy114 · 12-07-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MyTwoJakes:
<BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by Docker:

When he mentioned Victoria that was my first thought as well, but thought it would be a little bit too high brow for this place.

I think when someone says "surely the London Eye and Madame Tussauds can't be all there is to do in London apart from shopping and drinking," you know what you're getting

</BLOCKQUOTE>
Well site seeing really isn't my thing tbh and shopping with two ladies in London defiantly isn't up there, you're thinking why the fcuk am I going for then, going to see an ex work mate who we haven't seen for ages, over a year, have to do other things apart from drinking though as the girls aren't really binge drinkers.

It'll be good to catch up no matter what we get up to really

retired_michael75 · 12-07-2007, 09:25 PM

go to pinner. exciting.

retired_rockstar · 12-07-2007, 11:16 PM

Theatre. Go to BAC and see Masque of the Red Death, and tell me if it's as awesome as I'm led to believe.

What to do in London on a Saturday

Grab a beer, sit back and relax.

What to do in London on a Saturday