A Septic's Trip to the UK

One of my favourite London pubs is (was) The Cockpit near St Pauls Cathedral, been a few years since I was last in there so not sure if it's still open?
https://londonist.com/pubs/the-cockpit

Another is St Stephen's Tavern opposite the Houses Of Parliament - popped in late one evening just before closing time and had to barge this guy out of the way to get to the bar only turned out to be John Burcow The Speaker of the House of Commons lol
http://ststephenstavern.co.uk/

The Jugged Hare Victoria is another one, proper Fullers pub (the brewery is just down the road)
https://www.juggedharevictoria.co.uk/

I don't work in London so much these days but these were among my favourites a few years ago.

My only tip is to save at least half of the money you have available for when you visit London because it's one hell of an expensive place to stay, eat and drink!

I've stayed there for work, but the last time I went to London for "pleasure" was when I was dragged down there by my parents to visit the Festival of Britain Exhibition in 1951.

I don't think it's improved any as a place to live and apart from the "London Eye" all the visitor attractions (Tower of London, Buck Palace, Albert Hall etc etc) will be exactly the same ...

... but the queues will be at least a 1,000% longer!

Always remember being dragged into a wine bar by my colleagues a few years ago, there was a ray of light..."Doom Bar" on the Ale's chalk board, so I begrudgingly paid my £5.50 only for the barman to reach down into the fridge and pull a bottle out

Dutto said:

My only tip is to save at least half of the money you have available for when you visit London because it's one hell of an expensive place to stay, eat and drink!

I've stayed there for work, but the last time I went to London for "pleasure" was when I was dragged down there by my parents to visit the Festival of Britain Exhibition in 1951.

I don't think it's improved any as a place to live and apart from the "London Eye" all the visitor attractions (Tower of London, Buck Palace, Albert Hall etc etc) will be exactly the same ...

... but the queues will be at least a 1,000% longer!

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Try a lazy day in Greenwich some day, it's a lot more pleasant than central. Plenty of tourist attractions still, but not quite as packed out usually, with the bonus of plenty of pubs (I've mentioned The Cutty Sark before), a really good Chinese noodle house on School St (Chinese people actually eat there! Which is always a good sign... Ignore how grumpy the staff are, you'd be grumpy living in London too. lol), a nice park to sit in (and watch the parrots...) and if push comes to shove there's always the McDonalds.... lol The foot tunnel is well worth a visit if you have even a passing interest in amazing engineering. Avoid the crowds, get on the river bus (the smarter office workers do this, relaxing on their way home from work, rather than joining the cram) there and back rather than catching the underground, it just adds to the enjoyment.

Can someone explain what a septic is? Has been bothering me since this thread started

xozzx said:

Can someone explain what a septic is? Has been bothering me since this thread started

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I am so glad someone else asked it has saved me asking.

Maybe it was supposed to be - A Sceptics Trip to the UK

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Septic Tank = yank

you and chippy are maybe a bit too far north to have heard the phrase

dan125 said:

you and chippy are maybe a bit too far north to have heard the phrase

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You got that right.

With London being the best city in the world and centre of the universe, there are some pretty decent places to drink and eat.

My favourite places:

Euston Tap: just outside Euston Station, it's a tiny pub built into an old arch column. It gets crowded quickly but opposite is another open bar people don't seem to know about (also part of the Euston tap). Really good for craft beer/real ale and not too expensive (for London) either.

Bermondsey beer mile: a road with quite a few breweries along it, most of which are fantastic. There's Anspach & Hobday, BBNo, Kernel, Partizan, a bit further down is Fourpure. There is also an East London beer mile quite similar with some good breweries. Nearby is a great food market.

Queen's Head: It's in Holborn which is really central. Not the largest no. of taps but still a good select which is good quality, and a good collection of cans for not too much. Their food is pretty good as well.

The Dovetail: Speciality Belgian bar in Clerkenwell. A fantastic selection of Belgian beers, and the food is really good too. It's really near a Brewdog which I don't personally rate but a lot of people love. Similarly, there's a Belgian/Dutch bar called the Lowlander Cafe in Covent Garden. Not been for a while.

dan125 said:

Septic Tank = yank

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Oooh! That hurt! I'm offended and I'm not even a Yank!

jceg316 said:

With London being the best city in the world and centre of the universe, ........

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Talking of being offended ...

... and there's no need to say any more!

If in doubt search out a Wetherspoons...they usually have some half decent beers on at very good prices.

Dutto said:

Oooh! That hurt! I'm offended and I'm not even a Yank!



Talking of being offended ...

... and there's no need to say any more!

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It makes me chuckle, although maybe I shouldn't, I'd better take a butcher's at my list of cockney rhyming slang again...

Dutto said:

Oooh! That hurt! I'm offended and I'm not even a Yank!



Talking of being offended ...

... and there's no need to say any more!

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No offence intended - just standard cockerney parlance me old china.
I first heard it on a building site in London circa 1996.

Try Torquay on your travels too. Lived there for a year. Crab from Brixham is lovely. The weather is generally mild. Known as the English riviera. They even have palm trees!

brumbrew said:

.......... Crab from Brixham is lovely. .........

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Yeah right! A lot of sailors have discovered the crabs from Brixham! Here's the graffiti from a toilet door (all in different pens I might add) that best describes the problem of crabs:

1. "It's no use standing on the seat, the crabs in here can jump three feet!"
2. "It's no use going to the one next door, the crabs in there jump two feet more!"
3. "Sir, I do believe you are a liar, crabs I know can jump much higher!"

Enjoy!

Another couple of London pubs;

The Princess Louise at High Holborn. Beautiful Victorian gin palace with lots of good beers on tap - even the men's toilets are listed!

The Old Bank of England - right next to the Royal Courts of Justice. Exactly as the name suggests, it was the former Bank of England and the decor is incredible! Now a Fullers pub.

So you are not going to Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds......

Focussing on the beer side - you can get reasonable food in some of these places too:

London - The Harp in Covent Garden, Nag's Head in Knightsbridge (no mobile phones), Cask in Pimlico
York - York Tap on the railway station, Maltings near the station, The Blue Bell (tiny, but fantastic)