Barnes Tour

This tour took place on 20th May 2004, accompanied by Matt.

We tried to think of somewhere that was new, and where it would be pleasant to sit in the sun. The best we could manage was Barnes.

Matt scouted valiantly in advance, without the benefit of a map or any sense of direction. I followed (about half an hour behind, on the train), equipped with a mini A-Z. Despite extensive phoning and consultation, I managed to send him in the wrong direction, so by the time I got to Barnes station (instead of Barnes Bridge, which would have been better), he had just about made it back there Oops.

Barnes is very South-West London, like Richmond, but maybe a bit more Rugby Union. The sort of place which has small boutiques named after trendy coffees:
Picture of Latte Boutique

White Hart, Barnes

Consumed: Two Ram 'n' Spec, and some other stuff..

Here's a photo of the White Hart:
Picture of the White Hart

This looked great as we approached, from the point of view of riverside drinks. Nothing really wrong with it, but was frequented mainly by people wearing Rugby shirts, with sunglasses ornamentally perched on there heads. Here's a shot of me trying not to look awkward as Matt pushes the magic photo buttons:

Bull's Head, Barnes

Two Ram 'n' Specs.

Apparently they play a fair amount of Blues-Jazz here, or possibly Jazz-Blues. They also serve Thai food. Nicer than the White Hart.

Coach and Horses, Barnes

Bottle of Double Chocolate Stout for Matt. I went for a pint of 'Elysium', which turns out to have an Elderberry content. Without wishing to be indelicate, I was reminded of it for several days afterwards.

A clear winner of the Barnes trilogy - the least Barnes-ish out of the lot, for starters. Reminiscent of the Dog 'n' Bull in Croydon in terms of feel and clientele. Also has an outside bit, which seemed to be nicer than the competing Beer-Yards, although we didn't investigate. Even without these qualities, the presence of a small reading library featuring airport thrillers and miscellanous reference works would have swung it:
Picture of Reading Library