Location, Location, Location

Last week, on a visit to London, we decided to walk over Tower Bridge to the Hand and Marigold in Bermonsdsey, and hence along Tooley Street to the Sun Wharf, a new Wetherspoons, in the former London Dungeon.  In October the tourist hordes have died down somewhat and our walk along Royal Mint St to the rear of the controversial sometime to be Chinese embassy, was an enjoyable one as we checked out yet another high-rise building being squeezed into the smallest of spaces.  On the bridge, gratifyingly, we didn't have to dodge photo taking visitors quite so much.  We noted a foreign, but unidentified warship, moored to HMS Belfast and the ever-changing skyline, before walking along Tower Bridge Rd and its nose to tail city bound traffic.

I have mentioned the Hand and Marigold favourably before and, on this Thursday, late afternoon, it was very quiet.  The friendly barman was line cleaning and mentioned he'd have rather a good porter on soon. Fine by me. In the meantime, a very decent pint of Lacon's Norfolk Gem was no hardship. I liked the taster I had of an Abbeydale beer a lot less and disagreed mildly with mine host about its distinct but denied whiff of vinegar, but all was redeemed by the aforementioned porter, Abyss from Other World Brewing, which hails from near Edinburgh it seems. This was an absolute belter of a beer. Highly recommended, as is the pub.

Moving on along Tooley Street, the Shipwright's Arms may be located in a bustling and increasingly refined area, but it still maintains more than a touch of its working-class roots. 

Inside, the atmosphere is lively, with a mix of commuters and local characters - geezers if you will - mingling around the large circular bar. The traditional woodwork and tiled shipbuilding murals add to the appeal of this classic pub. Outside, in that peculiar London way, we noted drinkers spilling out onto the streets, opting to stand and drink on the pavement rather than squeeze into the packed indoor seating.  The whole thing, inside and out, was going like a fair. It was good to see.

Of course, into each life a little rain must fall. There were three cask beers. Doom Bar and its stablemate Sea Fury along with Southwark Brewing's London Pale Ale which I had (in an abomination of a Sharp's branded glass) and found thin, weedy, and pretty flat. This was a shame, but this pub is better than its beer choice and was enjoyable despite it.

And so to our destination. Just past London Bridge Station which is in itself a railway wonder of the world and sharing its arches, is JDW's newest London pub - well probably - the Sun Wharf.  Inside this is a maze of separate areas which are served by one large and long bar. You could easily get lost inside, though, so packed it was. Exploring was rather difficult, and I'm pretty sure given there was more than one entrance, that I must have missed bits of it.  Service was good, though, and I noted that a couple of staff seemed to have been allocated solely to bring glasses back for washing and to clear and wipe tables. Given the throng inside, they were needed. I had an excellent pint of Buckingham Best, which of course had gone off when I returned for another.

There is little doubt that the Sun Wharf will succeed. It is in a prime position, has more passing trade than you could shake a stick at, and is reasonably priced. It is almost like a giant station bar. I'll still spend more time in the Hand and Marigold though.

Given the traffic, we walked back to Tandleman Towers South, thus missing out on the chance to use our bus passes. I still couldn't identify the unknown warship, given the darkness and the distance.

Unwisely, we called into the Goodman's Field as we passed. That was a bad idea, but overall, albeit by a majority, London cask passed muster.

I have had no end of trouble formatting photos in Blogger recently. It used to be easy, and now it just isn't if you want them to wrap. Apologies.