Wimbledon Park and back, via the Wandle...

Wimbledon park and back, via the Wandle, Thames, Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common... we walked not far off 20 miles...

The Dove in Hammersmith, on the River Thames, is one of my favourite Fullers pubs, indeed, it's one of my favourite pubs... Great history, great view of the Thames from the back, decent food and ales from Fullers, nowt to dislike about the Dove, but you may well have seen me write about it elsewhere, so no surprise I love this pub...

The City Barge, past the Fullers Brewery in Chiswick, was the pub in 'Help!' The Beatles film, where Ringo fell through a trapdoor in the floor. Locals just call it "The Barge", and it's made up of an older lower bar and a more modern addition. The ales here were Green King IPA, which you'll know I'd ignore, Old Speckled Hen (preferable), and Hardy's and Hanson's Olde Trip (now owned by Green King), which we did drink, not as impressive as I remember, but not bad.

Our real lunchtime destination was the London Apprentice, a Nicholsons pub, I believe; a very nice building, and named after the defence of London from Royalist troops in the English Civil War, ie by the London Apprentices, as well as other Parliamentary troops, of course.

Decent food here, and good ales, some of the usuals, Doom Bar, Pride, TEA and Bombardier, but 2 nice ones for me (though I do like Pride++ too), that is, the excellent Hop Back Summer Lightning, and a new one for me, Gales (OK, Fullers ;-) Spring Sprinter, a 4% pale, light refreshing ale.

We sat outside, watching the swans, ducks, geese and gulls, and the rising Thames, as the tide came in (we escaped before our feet got wet).

OK, our walk included Richmond, Richmond Hill and Richmond Park, and Wimbledon Common, but our later drinking pubs are covered elsewhere, as we visited them on more than one trip... Cheers!