LondonCrawling.com - Monopoly Pub Crawl 2000

For a lot of people, the year 2000 crawl on 29th April was the second attempt (my third!). In 1999 we got to 25 pubs only to find the erratic opening hours of a pub on Fleet Street had wrecked our chances. Unlike 1999, I didn't do a dry run, so there was a chance that some of the pubs might be shut.

"For the children"

We met at Tower Hill Underground station between 1020 and 1045 - pretty much on time. 10 of us started. After a quick walk to the bus stop we were on our way (no. 78 for bus fans!). After a small panic that it was going to be shut, we got to the first pub just after 11�

The Green Man, Old Kent Road

Big open place, probably not the sort of place you'd want to be at in the evening, but it was that or the horrific Canterbury Arms that we visited last year. The beer was a bit crap. The hats got their first airing.

We left just before half-eleven, and took the 78 (when we eventually found the bus stop) back across Tower Bridge to Tower Hill, then walked to Fenchurch Street station.

The Raven, Fenchurch Street Station

Typical little station pub. In this pub we discovered that, just like in 1999, we weren't alone in our quest. The rival group of crawlers were Australian, and had T-shirts printed and everything!!

Whitechapel Road was our next destination, taking the District Line from Tower Hill, then fighting through Whitechapel Market.

The Lounge, Whitechapel Road

This one was on our list as the Lord Rodney's Head, but had recently been refitted with nice comfy chairs. The Bar Billiards table that used to be there was gone, but the toilets with ridiculously high urinals remained.

Somehow managing to stick to the schedule, we hopped back on the tube for the long trek to Blackfriars, then a short walk round the corner to Fleet Street.

The Old Bell Tavern, Fleet Street

Putting right the mess-up of 1999, when we were doing great until the point where we found the last pub, on Fleet Street, had closed early, we made sure this year it was done early in the day - it was a case of going in the first one we saw. Luckily the Old Bell was open, and it wasn't too bad. History fans will be delighted to know it was built by Christopher Wren in 1678 for his workers who were rebuilding London after the Great Fire. All irrelevant to us, of course, but at least Fleet Street was out of the way. Expensive food, though.

Continuing the bus-philiac theme that the crawl had for no apparent reason, after a short wait we jumped on the 26 bus for Liverpool Street, taking in the sights of the City of London on the way.

Hamilton Hall, Liverpool Street Station

Hamilton Hall featured in 1999's Monopoly and Circle Line crawls, so it was a familiar sight for many. It was originally the Great Eastern Hotel's ballroom, built in 1901, but was closed from 1939 until Wetherspoons converted it into a pub in 1997.

A 20 minute wait for the 214 bus held us up a bit ("Should've got the Tube!"), but eventually we were on our way to the Angel, Islington. We lost a few people on the short journey between the bus stop and the pub, but everyone made it in the end.

The Angel, Islington High Street

Another Wetherspoons pub. This one opened in 1998, taking over from a yuppie wine bar left over from the 80s called Bartizan. There is a Blue Angel pub across the road, but the Angel itself is the only pub named after the Monopoly square (and road junction) on the whole route.

The next pub was just a five minute walk from the Angel up Pentonville Road.

The Pint Pot, Pentonville Road

A few people decided to rush ahead to this pub to drink a pint rather than a half because of the pub's name. We bumped into the Australians at this pub who clearly had no hope of completing the crawl as they were about four pubs behind. The roof garden was different, and very pleasant, especially as we managed to pick the first hot 'n' sunny weekend of the year.

A short bus ride on the 30 took us to King's Cross. Sadly no repeat of last year's no.73 madness.

The next pub was just a five minute walk from the Angel up Pentonville Road.

Coopers, King's Cross Station

Another average station pub. No leaking roof this time. The other group of crawlers were arriving as we were leaving, and we never saw them again.

A short walk across the road took us to the next pub.

The Euston Flyer, Euston Road

We were still sticking to the schedule a third of the way through the crawl, and no one had dropped out yet. We were in and out quite swiftly, although a few people had got held up ordering food from Burger King.

Back on the bus, we took the 30 all the way to Baker Street station, then walked to Marylebone station.

The Victoria and Albert, Marylebone Station

A better than average station pub, thanks to the lounge room adjacent to the bar. We got a little bit behind schedule at this point because the place was so comfortable.

We walked back round to Baker Street station, then got the Jubilee Line to Bond Street.

The Hog in the Pound, South Molton Street

The first 'cheat' of the day. There is no Bond Street in central London (nearest are in Chiswick, Ealing or Stratford), but there is a New Bond Street and an Old Bond Street - we can only presume one of these is the intended Monopoly street. As neither of these have a pub, I decided the best alternative, rather than do a pub near to Old Bond Street as in 1998 and 1999, was to do this pub right next to Bond Street station (named after a street that doesn't exist�). We had about half an hour til we had to be at the halfway point, two pubs away.

Back to the tube station, we took the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road station, at the eastern end of Oxford Street.

The Tottenham, Oxford Street

Surprisingly not as busy as it could have been, the Tottenham is the only pub on Oxford Street. Nothing special, and we didn't stay long as we had just 10 minutes to get to the 5pm meet-up point.

A brisk walk through the back streets of Soho got us to our halfway point virtually on time at 5pm.

The Fanfare and Firkin, Great Marlborough Street

There is no Marlborough Street in central London, so presumably it was made 'Great' later on. The only Firkin pub of the day; when we left, the pub had received its own Pub Crawl sticker. A fitting farewell from one of the few constants of our Monopoly crawls 1998-2000 - it changed its name and look later in 2000. We were joined at this halfway point by five evening crawlers.Did you know? All of the 'orange' streets have police stations on them.

At this point the route plan went out if the window, and we headed down Regent Street to the next pub.

Cheers, Regent Street

The theme pub where 'everyone knows your name'. Except they don't. A sprawling loud pub looking nothing like its Boston TV namesake, serving overpriced bottled beer. Luckily, it diodn't take as long for everyone to get served as on previous attempts.

The stroll round the corner to Swallow Street revealed a pleasant surprise.

The Swallow Street Bar, Swallow Street

The bar we'd be crying out for. No more quick overpriced drinks in the basement of Bentley's Cabin anymore, as this smart new bar had sneaked in right on the corner of the Vine Street we were here for.

Drunk warning: at this point I was sufficiently drunk to not remember fully exactly what we did. My route had been rewritten by other drunk crawlers who thought they knew better, and no one else seems to remember the route we took either. This will never happen again! Anyway, what I think happened is...

We walked back up Regent Street, then left into the heart of Mayfair.

The Red Lion, Waverton Street

A decent little pub deep within Mayfair, and not at all like other pubs in the area. Quite a find.

We walked westwards towards Park Lane for the biggest challenge yet...

Trader Vic's, Hilton Hotel, Park Lane

No one really took it very seriously when I put the Hilton on the list, rather than the usual Old Park Lane easy option. We were actually aiming for the top floor 'Windows' bar but after some negotiation and splitting into smaller groups (which we never really regrouped from) most of us got into the basement tribal-themed Trader Vic's at the Hilton. Not that it was really worth it - drinks were four times the price everywhere else, and one of our number was told in no uncertain terms whilst using the lav that we 'really shouldn't be here'. Damn right - I think next time we should stick with the cheap option...

Increasingly drunk and split into groups of three or four, we continued on to Piccadilly.

First and Last, Dover Street

On arriving at the Pitcher & Piano, the pub we'd done in 1999, we found it to be closed. Luckily, this pub was right next door, and was conveniently open.

We walked down St. James's Street and into Pall Mall (probably!).

The Red Lion, Crown Passage, Pall Mall