I could cry in my Craft Beer

Once the Brewery Tap for the old Meantime Brewery.

The Old Brewery is so close to the finish of the walk, from Westminster Abbey to Greenwich, that it would be remiss not to include it in Beer Notes. It should be the perfect place to stop, just through the first gates on the right, after the Cutty Sark, and up towards the Palladian World Heritage Visitor Centre – it is some setting.

The entrance to Greenwich’s Old Brewery Pub and Restaurant is along the colonnade on the left or, through the Visitor Centre where the doors open up to an eating hall that could have been part of the University. All industrial chic with copper barrels and pipes and gauges on one wall that invoked memories of its past life as the Meantime Brewery Tap, when it brewed its world renowned ‘craft beers’ on site.

Walking between the tables leads to a rather sparse room with a bar, a basic drinks server that did little to welcome me with no chairs or tables in which to sip a quiet pint.

It is not quite what I expected after a longish hot walk.

I am not a fan of craft beer (it is normally served too cold for me and reminds me of those distant days drinking Tartan Bitter before I knew any better) but the beers that Meantime brewed at the Brewery Tap were acclaimed and on my bucket list to try but I’ve delayed too long.

Bought out, sold out, Meantime is now part of a conglomerate and the Brewery Tap is Young’s with Young’s Best, a Hawkes Urban Orchard Cherry Cider and normally a guest on offer together with the rows of craft beers and lagers that leave me ‘cold’.

But the secret of the Old Brewery is the outside courtyard. Umbrellas and tables and a continental feel on this hot day with snacks, from the standard Young’s menu, ordered from the bar and perhaps this is the reason for all those cold beers.

Towards the river and through to the colonnade, there are more tables and chairs set for dining and overlook the lawns where once there was a perfect view of the river before Zizzi’s and Nando’s took root during 2012, best to look inwards.

Weekends are busy and full, being so close to the river, and it is a time when seats and tables are difficult to find with people eating and drinking, sharing wine, enjoying an elegant restaurant to while away an afternoon. Such a scene is reminiscent of some fashionable Parisian hotel in St Germain and a few remembered ‘just retired’ lazy days in the summer of 2004 and similarly, the Old Brewery is perfect for what it is and gives just the right sense of occasion.

A pub, not really, despite my predilection for Young’s – indeed, the website makes no mention of beer but food, rum days, Pimm’s days, whisky days and they all seem a better fit for the  Old Brewery than catering for groups of hot walkers eager to talk about a good day’s walk.

I may need to walk a little further for my pint!

Beer Notes will be published in 2019 as a ‘must have’ accompaniment for the discerning walker on ‘Walking 1066 Harold’s Way’ – the Old Brewery, once the brewery tap for the old Meantime Brewery, will be No 16.

www.1066haroldsway.co.uk

CAMRA WhatPub

The Old Brewery is less than 100 metres from the route of 1066 Harold’s Way.

Food:    Yes      Accommodation:         No

The Pepys Building, The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10 9LW

Tel: 020 3437 2222                 https://www.oldbrewerygreenwich.com/

PS: As a footnote, the Thames path between Greenwich and ‘the Dome’ is a series of diversions that avoid all the new building on the riverbank. For Meantime fans, the diversionary route takes you past the new Meantime Brewery, shop and tap with space for tasting but remember that there is a way to go before Lesnes Abbey and I am sure that the weight of full beer bottles increases the more miles you walk.

Deptford Creek Bridged

1066 Harold’s Way Walk 1

This report is taken from the South East Walker which features the new Deptford Creek swing bridge on the Thames Path that will lead over the creek into Greenwich and avoids Creek Road.

It will make life a little easier on Walk 1.

“From the Peter the Great Memorial, cross the Deptford Creek Swing Bridge into Deardnaught Walk that leads to Victoria Parade and continue past Wood Wharf that was once famous as recording studios for bands such as Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden and Dire Straits but is now flats.

Walk towards Greenwich Pier and suddenly, without fanfare, you are in Greenwich, in the square dominated by the Cutty Sark, with views over the Thames and the end of this section.”

South-East Walker No 90 June 2015

A new swing bridge taking the Thames Path over the mouth of Deptford Creek in south east London has opened and means that walkers at this point no longer need to detour away from the river via Creek Road.

The bridge was built by Galliard Homes as part of their New Capital Quay development on the site of Henry VIII’s original Tudor dockyard. The company has since handed over the bridge to the Royal Borough of Greenwich which is now responsible for its operation and upkeep. It was officially opened by Denise Hyland, the leader of the council.

Four electric motors allow the bridge to rotate 110 degrees in two minutes to allow larger vessels to enter or leave Deptford Creek, a process which takes about half an hour and operated by staff from the nearby Creek Road lifting bridge.

http://www.innerlondonramblers.org.uk/images/SouthEastWalker/SEW011_Jun_90.pdf

Another Report at:

http://blogs.greenwich.co.uk/river-watch/new-deptford-creek-swing-bridge-opens-to-the-public/

And Photographs at:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=deptford+creek+swing+bridge&qpvt=deptford+creek+swing+bridge&qpvt=deptford+creek+swing+bridge&FORM=IGRE

Westminster Abbey to Greenwich

The Walk in Pictures  1066 Harold’s Way, Walk 1

Monet’s Inspiration

On the approach to Charing Cross Station, it is worth taking the time to cross the road and walk part way over the Hungerford footbridge.

There is a wonderful view along to Westminster from there and little has changed since Monet painted his ‘The Thames below Westminster’ in 1871– it is good for a photograph.

My walk was in bright sunlight on a summer’s day whereas Monet showed the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge on a misty spring day. They are both contrasted with the a jetty in the foreground that casts broken shadows on the river and new foliage on the trees of the Embankment to the right.

Westminster Abbey to Greenwich

A taster for 1066 Harold’s Way, from the start of the walk, Walk 1 at Westminster Abbey to the finish at Greenwich and a photo album to share the sights of walks to come or reflect on memories at the start of 1066 Harold’s Way.

It is early October in London. Imagine the noise, the smells, the people and the army. Was it wet or was it dry, sunny or cloudy or was an autumnal chill rising from the nearby river? Imagine King Harold, flushed with success from victory in September at Stamford Bridge and ready to face a new challenge against Duke William of Normandy. Harold’s army had already marched over 600 miles, to York and back, and Harold now needed to take his weary troops south to fight yet another battle to save Saxon England – the Battle of Hastings, 14^th October 1066.

I love the smell of London and the sights and sounds of a fresh new morning and I still feel a guilt that I should really be at work. The luxury of a coffee and a Danish at a pavement cafe and whilst others rush, I can think about the day ahead and the miles to walk to Greenwich and on to Battle. It will be a pilgrimage rather than a race, unlike Harold.

First London Bridge, then below Tower Bridge there are the remnants of the once great London Docks that stretched for miles along both sides of the river, St Katherine’s Dock, Limehouse Basin, Russia Dock, Greenland Dock and dominating the skyline – Canary Wharf. Now there are flats, development and re-development.

History is still preserved in The City, Rotherhithe, Deptford and Greenwich. Queenhithe was London’s dock even before William built the Tower and was there when Harold passed on his way. Across the river is Execution Dock where pirates, thieves and mutineers were hanged and the opium dens of the old Chinatown. There are famous pubs to while away the hours and wharves that launched the ships of Captain Cook, the Pilgrim Fathers, Nelson and Drake. Recreate the scenes painted by Turner and Canaletto and take time to stand and stare at a London of a different age.

		1066 Harold’s Way Walk 1 Westminster Abbey to Greenwich VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

1066 Harold’s Way

 

        

Vince Elphick e-mailed to confirm that he had completed Walk 1 Westminster Abbey to Greenwich on Friday 20^th December 2013 – his first steps on 1066 Harold’s Way and has claimed his first 1066 Harold’s Way sticker.

Vince anticipates completing Greenwich to Dartford Walks 2 and 3 together on the 4^th January 2013 when the weather and the floods will hopefully have calmed down.

Lesnes Abbey could be a bit muddy but there are good paths all the way round to the A206 when the path first follows the floodbank round to the blocked and possibly flooded underpass mentioned in Jim’s report, blog 27^th December 2013. The alternative footpath is to cross the A206 and continue to pick up the waymarked path into Dartford.

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