The pub is the place to go this year! After such a long time indoors, we decided it was time for us to break free and refresh ourselves with some nice drinks. Luckily for us, London holds almost 5,000 pubs, which gave us a lot of different places to choose from. Along with double decker buses and the red telephone booths, pubs represent a huge cultural part of England. We thought this Historic Pub Tour of London was the best way for us to enjoy a day out in the capital and discover the many secrets of the city.
We were fortunate enough to visit some of London’s oldest and most traditional pubs where intriguing, unexplained stories took place, famous individuals last saw each other and history was made. Drinks were served throughout the entire tour, which we were definitely not complaining about - never say no to a fresh beer or cider!
Let’s go! The first pub we went to was the Cittie of Yorke, one of the oldest and most well-known pubs of London, which initially started in the early 1400’s. When we entered the tavern, our first reaction was ‘wow!’ We instantly felt that we were in the 15th century and were expecting Henry VIII to make an appearance. It was surreal! The pub also had old wooden booths for people to talk privately if needed, which was fascinating. Maybe we sat right where Dylan Thomas wrote his most famous work…
After 6 centuries of history, we had to head off to our second stop, The Seven Stars pub, which is located right behind the Supreme Court of London. Fun fact: The Supreme Court of London is still operating today! With a little international touch, The Seven Stars was named to attract Dutch sailors due the seven provinces of the Netherlands. We were intrigued and wanted to take a photo with one of them, but we were sadly advised to go to the graveyard as their time was almost 3 centuries ago.
Following that episode of Thriller, we walked next to LSE University, the House of Sirius Black and the Green Park, to reach our third stop, The Crosse Keys. This pub was built in the mid 1900’s during a slum clearance, when unexpected political decisions were made to cover up the deaths of certain people … well, that’s weird. However, compared to the previous pubs we had been to this was slightly smaller, and had a completely different style; a mix between the late 1800’s and late 70’/80’s, which we felt was very welcoming and creative.
To finish off after a 5-minutewalk through Covent Garden and traditional boutiques, we reached our fourth and final stop. Known as ‘the bucket of blood’, this well-hidden tavern is now recognised as The Lamb and Flag Pub. Here, we sorrowfully terminated our adventure and drinks. Compared to the other pubs, The Lamb and Flag was much narrower and more open.
Thanks for reading!
This Historic Pub Tour was so much fun, as we felt we were getting rewarded with a drink every time we learned a new piece of history… but on a real note, it was so worth it as we got to visit multiple parts of London all in one afternoon, and had a guide telling us all about the history of the monuments with all their secrets, which was very interesting. Big thanks to our tour guide George, who gave us a wonderful experience!
