Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

06 June 2021

Greenwich, Poplar & Limehouse - Friday 28 May 2021

 

Another fine day in London Docklands. It took a little while to find the Leon in the Lower Mall of Jubilee Place at Canary Wharf but it was worth the effort. An interesting walk along dock sides and then via Roffey Street and St John's Park to Folly House Beach at low water. It was a surprise to find there were single bricks and rusty nails amidst the sand, shingle, flotsam and jetsam on the beach looking towards the Greenwich Peninsula. 

To find sheep grazing on the big field at Mudchute Park was another surprise and it was like being in the countryside for the walk from the Pier Street entrance to the exit near Mudchute DLR which leads to Millwall Park.

Once across Manchester Road it was on to Greenwich through the foot tunnel from Island Gardens (which overlooks the Thames with panoramic views towards Greenwich - photo above).

No visit to Greenwich is complete without a sight of the restored Cutty Sark and conveniently, the Greenwich entrance to the foot tunnel is very close to the historic sailing ship. After stops for coffee and lunch (The Andes Empanadas from Greenwich Market) it was time to return to the Thames.

Following the riverside footpath east in front of the Old Royal Naval College and past the Admiral Lord Nelson statue led to the side of the Trafalgar Tavern bedecked with flowers. The roof terrace was covered by tarpaulins but has previously been accessible to customers.

In May 2020, Boak and Bailey tweeted 'Reading about The Trafalgar Tavern at Greenwich, South East London, built in 1839. It seems to have closed at some point before World War I before being converted into a military hospital in 1915. It didn't reopen until 1965. That's quite a hiatus.'

Photo: wikiart.org
The view from the river frontage of the Trafalgar Tavern was painted by James Tissot c. 1878. Lucy Paquette writes 'The Trafalgar Tavern was one of four riverside inns operating at that time; all were known for their whitebait dinners – for diners with the means to enjoy them.'

The pedestrian route then goes behind the Trafalgar Tavern and the entrance to the Yacht is adjacent to the rear entrance of the Trafalgar Tavern.

The Cutty Sark

Continuing along Crane Street, one reaches Highbridge Wharf, giving river views again in front of the historic Trinity Hospital. Once past the front of Greenwich power station, with its disused coal jetty, you reach Ballast Quay, the location of the Cutty Sark, a Young's pub.

Andrew Grumbridge (Dulwich Raider) and Vincent Raison (Dirty South) describe the Cutty Sark in the Ales of the Riverbank chapter of their (recommended) book 'Today South London, Tomorrow South London': 'The Cutty Sark has it all. Several ales, a stone floor, a huge ancient fireplace downstairs and the Crow's Nest room on the third floor with superb views of the river - and there are plenty of tables by the water, across the cobbled street.'

On our visit, there was only one table by the river free so obviously we finally stopped for a beer. A half pint of Young's Ordinary, once brewed in Wandsworth, was £2.50 and disappointingly, served in a lager glass. However, it tasted fine and was served in good condition. 

After this refreshment we could have continued along the west bank of the Greenwich Peninsula to reach the O2 but instead we caught a 188 bus from Trafalgar Road towards North Greenwich as far the Millennium Village, Oval Square stop which is opposite the entrance to Southern Park.

A footpath leads to a boardwalk over wetlands with handrails through a wooded area with views of a lake at the edge of the Greenwich Millenium Village. This leads to the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park on the eastern side of the Greenwich Peninsula. It is another green oasis worth seeking out in London. 

Thanks to John Rogers, author of This Other London, for sharing a video of his Greenwich Peninsula 'New London' walk on YouTube in April 2021. This was the inspiration for a holiday in Docklands and the chance to follow in his footsteps. 

Reaching the Olympian Way footpath and cyclepath, next to the river Thames, you can see the Thames Barrier to the east. We headed north towards the O2 with new residential tower blocks on the left and the Thames on the right with views across to Trinity Buoy Wharf. 

Quantum Cloud by Antony Gormley
There were sculpture artworks by the river to admire, part of  The Line, a dedicated public art walk. 
As we made a circuit of the O2 along the riverside path and then 'inland' to North Greenwich station, we saw more sculptures, including A Slice of Reality by Richard Wilson.

The Festival Inn, Poplar

Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower in distance
After some delay at North Greenwich bus station we boarded the first 108 bus bound for Stratford via the Blackwall Tunnel. Typically, two more 108 buses came along soon afterwards. We got off at Chrisp Street Market in Poplar.
It was 5.30pm and most of the market stalls had been packed away. There was a long queue at a bank cashpoint machine. It could have been a world away from Canary Wharf although it's only a mile away.
The reason for visiting this area, rebuilt as the Lansbury Estate for the Festival of Britain in 1951, was to see the Festival Inn, recently featured in a blog post by Boak & Bailey as 'the first significant post-war pub'.

Two of the side windows of the single storey section, fronting Kerbey Street, featured the Festival of Britain symbol. A Scotsman was involved in a lively discussion at the main entrance to this part of the pub, fronting the pedestrian precinct. The door of the Kerbey Street entrance was propped open allowing a view inside of floorboards, wooden furniture and wood panelling with pictures hung at a high level. Several interior photos and a plan are included on CAMRA's Pub Heritage website page for the Festival Inn. It would be nice to venture inside the pub on a future visit to East London.

The Grapes, Limehouse

The Travelodge hotel was within walking distance, east along the busy East India Dock Road, with stops en route to photograph Frederick Gibberd's Chrisp Street Market clock tower and Erno Goldfinger's 26 storey Balfron Tower
To reach the Grapes for an 8pm table booking, Google maps suggested a 115 bus to Limehouse Town Hall or Docklands Light Railway to Westferry but instead we took the D3 bus from East India station to Westferry Circus and then walked along the riverside path and over the footbridge at Limekiln Dock (where the photo above was taken) before reaching Narrow Street a short distance from the historic pub.
A blue plaque above the door of the Grapes shows the pub dates from 1583. A sign at the entrance asks customers to wait to be seated and we were welcomed by the friendly Sergio who showed us to a table between the bar and the door to the balcony that overlooks the river Thames. 
After Sergio feigned disappointment that we did not accept his suggestion of whisky to drink, we ordered pints of Adnams Ghost Ship instead. Athough our first pints may have been from near the end of the barrel, its taste and condition was better than my previous experiences of this beer served from cask or bottle. 
Each table had a small laminated mini tapas menu with tempting choices. The Fish and Chips, chosen from the blackboard, as a main course was accompanied by mashed peas and a creamy coleslaw. The chips had been salted already so the absence of a salt cellar was not an issue. Sergio or his efficient and tireless female colleague had to fetch all the dishes from the narrow staircase leading to the restaurant and kitchen upstairs. 
A vantage point, from the table beside the bar, provided the chance to take a photo of the bar counter and the small front area beyond now busy with customers. The prints and pictures on the claret coloured walls include portraits of past visitors to the pub including Charles Dickens. Further pints of Ghost Ship, now pulled from a fresh cask were the perfect accompaniment to an evening at The Grapes with its jovial atmosphere and memorably high standards.
After settling our bill with Sergio, it was easy to retrace our steps east along the river Thames to Westferry Circus and catch a D3 bus back to East India station and then a short walk to the hotel.


09 August 2012

Great British Beer Festival - London Olympia 2012

A ticket to the Trade Session at the Great British Beer Festival gives the holder admittance to the festival for up to five hours before it opens to the public at 5pm on the opening Tuesday - 7 August 2012.
Twitter came to my rescue in the shape of Rob Derbyshire (@BGRTRob) who kindly posted a spare ticket to me so that I could attend.
I travelled from Newbury to Olympia via Paddington with Rick Wyatt, cider maker, and Roy Bailey, writer and former cider / perry maker. Rick was carrying two bottles of cider with him (Berkshire Gold - 500ml and Abbey Gold - 750ml) to give to Paul Scrivens, chairman and cider contact of the Reading CAMRA branch.
Rick Wyatt, Paul Scrivens & Roy Bailey
Adrian Bean, chairman of West Berkshire CAMRA branch was working at the Hutton Bar and suggested a visit to the upper floor of Olympia from the staircase nearby. From the upper floor you get a good view of the ground floor including a huge poster encouraging people to sign the e-petition protesting at the beer duty escalator.

At the Dunlop bar, where I had just ordered a Mallinson's Citra, I met Dickie Bird, the Elland Brewery company secretary. Beyond the Pale was the beer from Elland brewery at this bar. I pointed out Arkell's Wiltshire Gold to him and mentioned that it was brewed in a tower brewery. Dickie explained that Elland Brewery is all on one level and relies on pumps for transfer. He also pointed out that Empire Brewery, next on the alphabetical brewery list on this bar was also situated near to Elland Brewery and that West Yorkshire has more breweries than any other county. 
Pete Brown, the author of several books about beer, was placing flyers for his new book 'Shakespeare's Local' on tables. This will cover five centuries of history seen through one extraordinary pub. I interrupted him to take a photo with the current issue of 'Ullage' (West Berkshire CAMRA newsletter).

Now it was time to find Andy Parker, another Twitter contact (@tabamatu) who had texted me his whereabouts from a table near the bar with American cask and bottled beers. Arriving early at the festival is always a good idea as you can find a seat at a table and have a base to leave any books, bottles etc.. This was also an opportunity to meet Jane (@i96jms) who kindly took some of the photos in this post.
We ordered Dark Drake a stout from Dancing Duck brewery at the Davis bar and Andy introduced me to Mike from Buxton brewery. Mike and Andy discussed the merits of Axe Edge, the brewery's double IPA hopped with Amarillo, Citra and Nelson Sauvin. Matt from Hawkshead brewery joined us and the group expanded further with Zak Avery the beer writer and specialist beer retailer and Yan from Pivovar the beer bar company. This mix shows how useful it can be to be able to visit the trade session and meet people from the brewing and blogging spheres. However, you need good hearing to keep up with the conversation especially when the Skinners Brewery drummers march past at regular intervals, led by Betty Stoggs!
When our beers had gone we headed for the Brains brewery bar which included two beers from the new craft brewery which can handle smaller quantities. Weiss Weiss Baby is their first weissbeer, exclusively launched at the festival. Barry Island IPA was created by Simon Martin (@RealAleToday) the real ale and craft beer reviewer on YouTube. 
We ordered Barry Island IPA and when I got my camera out to take a photo of the pump clips, Jane organised a photo of us at the bar.
Tim Thomas & Andy Parker (drinking Brains Barry Island IPA)
Andy spotted Marverine Cole (@BeerBeauty) nearby and I was honoured by a lovely greeting from her when she recognised me as someone who had contacted her about meeting up at the festival. Jane kindly took a photo of us and I was able to give Marverine a copy of 'Ullage' newsletter.
It had been a good choice to order Barry Island IPA earlier as Simon Martin was near us and Simon told us how he had spent a day at the Cardiff brewery when the beer was brewed according to his specification. Rob Derbyshire, who had supplied my trade session ticket, was keen to do a joint beer review with Simon so I was enlisted as the camera operator and we set off for the Ruth bar to get another beer. We chose American cask beers with Geary's Pale Ale for me, Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown Ale for Andy and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous for Rob and Simon to do their joint review. Rob and Simon gave an entertaining review and awarded top marks to the beer while I tried to keep the camera steady. Afterwards I took my own photo of them.
Rob Derbyshire & Simon Martin (after reviewing Stone - Sublimely  Self-Righteous)
I spent the rest of the day with CAMRA friends including beer writer Jeff Evans (@insidebeer), Oxford Drinker editor (Steven Green) and Delia Allott from Binghams Brewery. I had two good beers from the Champion  Beer of Britain bar - Little Valley Hebden's Wheat (Silver in Speciality Beer category) and Dark Star American Pale Ale (Gold in Golden Ales category and Bronze overall). 
Skinner's Cornish Knocker Ale, Dark Star American Pale Ale & Dunham Massey Chocolate Cherry Mild at CBOB bar
I was also given a taste of the Champion Beer of Britain 2012 - Coniston brewery's No. 9 Barley Wine. The final beer was one of my favourites of the day - Infinity by Blue Monkey from Richards bar.
Tim Thomas visited the Great British Beer Festival 2012 organised by the Campaign for Real Ale on Tuesday 7 August as a guest of Rob Derbyshire. Thanks also to Andy Parker for a bottle to take home (Kopikat - Imperial Vanilla Coffee Stout from Summer Wine Brewery) and for introductions and to Jane for photos.