East London Tour

This tour took place on 14th November 2004, accompanied by Alex.

We had journeyed to Leyton, to watch Orient play in the FA Cup first round. They have a very fine Dragon mascot - at least, I think it's a dragon. It might be a griffin. Anyway, we took advantage of our situation to tackle some of the pubs in the East, or more accurately, the North East. Thus...

Princess of Wales, Clapton

If you travel to this establishment from Leyton along the Lea Bridge Road, wait until you've driven through the wasteland preceding Clapton, before getting of the bus. Don't get off the bus and walk. We did this, and it wasn't very scenic - and as Alex had previously mentioned that somewhere in the vicinity was a notorious stretch known as the 'Murder Mile', we were a bit twitchy.

However, the Princess of Wales is profoundly unthreatening. It's a bit of a family Sunday lunch pub. Cocooned, we let the invigorating effects of Ram 'n' Spec go to our heads slightly, and perused the very old A-Z Alex had brought (Black and White, original price 30p), cross-referencing it against The Directory. It looked like we could make a clean sweep of all East End hostelries! For the time being (until we left the pub), our natural cowardice in the face of strange eastern boroughs dwindled.

Coborn Arms, Bow

We got here eventually, after a bus ride through Hackney. Good pub - dartboard, big screen, the usual Young's deal. Slightly local, with lots of mad bingo-hags singing 'American Pie' and suchlike at the next table.

Britannia, Barking

Along the District Line from Bow, so, easy to get to. Absolutely Horrendous path to the pub from the station! Around the back, through the bollards, under the underpass... very quake-worthy. Surviving, we reached the Britannia. This has two bars:

Main bar (probably called the Lounge): largeish bar with tables, knick-knacks, big screen, etc.
'Public' bar: Somewhere for a select group of locals to lurk in, playing pool.

Obviously, we chose the latter.

Alex scored heavily, by relating to the indigenous population what the pint-glass symbol on the satellite TV is for (it probably indicates that the broadcast is being shown in a pub rather than a private home). We got carried away, drank two pints, and scuttled off to Stepney Green.

Queen's Head, Stepney

By this time it was a bit late, and we had a fairly poorly navigated wander from Stepney Green tube to Flamborough Street, home of the Queen's Head. Hard to spot, this one, especially if you're equipped with an ancient A-Z which can only really be read with an magnifying glass.

Anyway, we got there in time for last orders. Slightly scarier and tattier than the other pubs in the tour - the local feel being enhanced by the reverence with which the clientele were watching the remembrance service on TV. Not entirely comfortable, whilst, at the same time, there being nothing really wrong with the place.