Greenwich, Poplar & Limehouse - Friday 28 May 2021

 

Another fine day in London Docklands. It took a little while to find the Leon in the Lower Mall of Jubilee Place at Canary Wharf but it was worth the effort. An interesting walk along dock sides and then via Roffey Street and St John's Park to Folly House Beach at low water. It was a surprise to find there were single bricks and rusty nails amidst the sand, shingle, flotsam and jetsam on the beach looking towards the Greenwich Peninsula. 

To find sheep grazing on the big field at Mudchute Park was another surprise and it was like being in the countryside for the walk from the Pier Street entrance to the exit near Mudchute DLR which leads to Millwall Park.

Once across Manchester Road it was on to Greenwich through the foot tunnel from Island Gardens (which overlooks the Thames with panoramic views towards Greenwich - photo above).

No visit to Greenwich is complete without a sight of the restored Cutty Sark and conveniently, the Greenwich entrance to the foot tunnel is very close to the historic sailing ship. After stops for coffee and lunch (The Andes Empanadas from Greenwich Market) it was time to return to the Thames.

Following the riverside footpath east in front of the Old Royal Naval College and past the Admiral Lord Nelson statue led to the side of the Trafalgar Tavern bedecked with flowers. The roof terrace was covered by tarpaulins but has previously been accessible to customers.

In May 2020, Boak and Bailey tweeted 'Reading about The Trafalgar Tavern at Greenwich, South East London, built in 1839. It seems to have closed at some point before World War I before being converted into a military hospital in 1915. It didn't reopen until 1965. That's quite a hiatus.'

Photo: wikiart.org

The view from the river frontage of the Trafalgar Tavern was painted by James Tissot c. 1878. Lucy Paquette writes 'The Trafalgar Tavern was one of four riverside inns operating at that time; all were known for their whitebait dinners – for diners with the means to enjoy them.'

The pedestrian route then goes behind the Trafalgar Tavern and the entrance to the Yacht is adjacent to the rear entrance of the Trafalgar Tavern.

The Cutty Sark

Continuing along Crane Street, one reaches Highbridge Wharf, giving river views again in front of the historic Trinity Hospital. Once past the front of Greenwich power station, with its disused coal jetty, you reach Ballast Quay, the location of the Cutty Sark, a Young's pub.

Andrew Grumbridge (Dulwich Raider) and Vincent Raison (Dirty South) describe the Cutty Sark in the Ales of the Riverbank chapter of their (recommended) book 'Today South London, Tomorrow South London': 'The Cutty Sark has it all. Several ales, a stone floor, a huge ancient fireplace downstairs and the Crow's Nest room on the third floor with superb views of the river - and there are plenty of tables by the water, across the cobbled street.'

On our visit, there was only one table by the river free so obviously we finally stopped for a beer. A half pint of Young's Ordinary, once brewed in Wandsworth, was £2.50 and disappointingly, served in a lager glass. However, it tasted fine and was served in good condition. 

After this refreshment we could have continued along the west bank of the Greenwich Peninsula to reach the O2 but instead we caught a 188 bus from Trafalgar Road towards North Greenwich as far the Millennium Village, Oval Square stop which is opposite the entrance to Southern Park.

A footpath leads to a boardwalk over wetlands with handrails through a wooded area with views of a lake at the edge of the Greenwich Millenium Village. This leads to the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park on the eastern side of the Greenwich Peninsula. It is another green oasis worth seeking out in London. 

Thanks to John Rogers, author of This Other London, for sharing a video of his Greenwich Peninsula 'New London' walk on YouTube in April 2021. This was the inspiration for a holiday in Docklands and the chance to follow in his footsteps. 

Reaching the Olympian Way footpath and cyclepath, next to the river Thames, you can see the Thames Barrier to the east. We headed north towards the O2 with new residential tower blocks on the left and the Thames on the right with views across to Trinity Buoy Wharf. 

Quantum Cloud by Antony Gormley

There were sculpture artworks by the river to admire, part of  The Line, a dedicated public art walk. 

As we made a circuit of the O2 along the riverside path and then 'inland' to North Greenwich station, we saw more sculptures, including A Slice of Reality by Richard Wilson.

The Festival Inn, Poplar

Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower in distance

After some delay at North Greenwich bus station we boarded the first 108 bus bound for Stratford via the Blackwall Tunnel. Typically, two more 108 buses came along soon afterwards. We got off at Chrisp Street Market in Poplar.

It was 5.30pm and most of the market stalls had been packed away. There was a long queue at a bank cashpoint machine. It could have been a world away from Canary Wharf although it's only a mile away.

The reason for visiting this area, rebuilt as the Lansbury Estate for the Festival of Britain in 1951, was to see the Festival Inn, recently featured in a blog post by Boak & Bailey as 'the first significant post-war pub'.

Two of the side windows of the single storey section, fronting Kerbey Street, featured the Festival of Britain symbol. A Scotsman was involved in a lively discussion at the main entrance to this part of the pub, fronting the pedestrian precinct. The door of the Kerbey Street entrance was propped open allowing a view inside of floorboards, wooden furniture and wood panelling with pictures hung at a high level. Several interior photos and a plan are included on CAMRA's Pub Heritage website page for the Festival Inn. It would be nice to venture inside the pub on a future visit to East London.

The Grapes, Limehouse

The Travelodge hotel was within walking distance, east along the busy East India Dock Road, with stops en route to photograph Frederick Gibberd's Chrisp Street Market clock tower and Erno Goldfinger's 26 storey Balfron Tower. 

To reach the Grapes for an 8pm table booking, Google maps suggested a 115 bus to Limehouse Town Hall or Docklands Light Railway to Westferry but instead we took the D3 bus from East India station to Westferry Circus and then walked along the riverside path and over the footbridge at Limekiln Dock (where the photo above was taken) before reaching Narrow Street a short distance from the historic pub.

A blue plaque above the door of the Grapes shows the pub dates from 1583. A sign at the entrance asks customers to wait to be seated and we were welcomed by the friendly Sergio who showed us to a table between the bar and the door to the balcony that overlooks the river Thames. 

After Sergio feigned disappointment that we did not accept his suggestion of whisky to drink, we ordered pints of Adnams Ghost Ship instead. Athough our first pints may have been from near the end of the barrel, its taste and condition was better than my previous experiences of this beer served from cask or bottle. 

Each table had a small laminated mini tapas menu with tempting choices. The Fish and Chips, chosen from the blackboard, as a main course was accompanied by mashed peas and a creamy coleslaw. The chips had been salted already so the absence of a salt cellar was not an issue. Sergio or his efficient and tireless female colleague had to fetch all the dishes from the narrow staircase leading to the restaurant and kitchen upstairs. 

A vantage point, from the table beside the bar, provided the chance to take a photo of the bar counter and the small front area beyond now busy with customers. The prints and pictures on the claret coloured walls include portraits of past visitors to the pub including Charles Dickens. Further pints of Ghost Ship, now pulled from a fresh cask were the perfect accompaniment to an evening at The Grapes with its jovial atmosphere and memorably high standards.

After settling our bill with Sergio, it was easy to retrace our steps east along the river Thames to Westferry Circus and catch a D3 bus back to East India station and then a short walk to the hotel.

Craft Beer Rising 2014 - Part 1

Steve Kelly and I enjoyed spending an afternoon at the first Craft Beer Rising event at The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London in 2013.
In 2014, I was really pleased when Steve gave me a ticket to the second event at my n0th birthday in February. A few days later, on Saturday 22 February, we caught a train from Newbury changing at Paddington for the tube to Liverpool Street. On the way to the Old Truman Brewery, I stopped to get a coffee and we arrived soon after the 11am opening time. After exchanging tickets for a tasting glass and beer tokens we headed for one of the closest stalls which was Arbor / Wiper and True.

Wiper and True

William (Wiper and True)

While I sipped my coffee, Steve ordered a Fire Plough (5.5% ABV). This smoked porter was a collaboration between Arbor Ales and Wiper and True which Steve (a Bristolian) rated highly.
We questioned William about the distinctive black and white symbols that were visible at the stall and made into badges. He revealed that each symbol is associated with a particular style of beer:

Elephant - IPA

Balloon - Amber ale

Diver's Helmet - Porter

Space Shuttle - Stout

On the Wiper and True website Michael Wiper and William Hartley describe themselves as 'experimenters and inventors - exploring new and delicious beers that we can't wait to share'.
William told us that they started off using other brewers' plant including Cotswold Brewing and Cheddar Ales but that they now have their own 5 barrel kit based at an industrial unit in St Werburghs, between the M32 and Ashley Down in Bristol, north-east of the city centre. They are planning for up to 20 barrels in the future.
The leaflets produced for each of their beers include comprehensive notes about the ingredients used. The leaflets also mention that their bottled beers are bottle conditioned with some yeast left in to allow secondary fermentation. The result of this technique is 'a light fizz that we think provides a more refined texture and mouthfeel'. Most breweries use finings to make their beer clear. This may result in their beer being a bit cloudy but 'we feel that this is a small sacrifice to pay to keep it pure and vegan friendly'.

Truman's

The neon sign at the Truman's stall which was also decorated with feathers and a traditional Truman's pub mirror featuring the black eagle caught my eye.

Truman's Blindside, Attaboy, Runner & Emperor on draught

As well as draught beers from the 'new' Truman's brewery 'established 1666, re-established 2010' now based at The Eyrie, Hackney Wick, there were bottles of London Keeper with individual labels.

Truman's London Keeper - 1880 Double Export Stout, 8% ABV

London Keeper was the first beer to be brewed at The Eyrie in August 2013. Only 2000 75cl bottles were produced.
Steve tried a glass of draught Blindside (4.4% ABV), a golden ale produced in January 2014 for availability during the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship competition. English hops (First Gold, Sovereign and Pilgrim) were used but Steve did not find the taste as hoppy as expected.

Adnams

Just across from Truman's was the Adnams stall and it was time for my first beer, Adnams (Jack Brand) Mosaic pale ale (4.1% ABV), a single hop beer brewed with a relatively new variety of American hops.

Ruth at the Adnam's stall

The heritage of Mosaic hops involves Simcoe and Nugget, giving a flavour similar to Citra. This was an ideal beer to start the day with and Ruth was able to give us a lot of information about the beers available at the stall that included Jack Brand Rye IPA (5% ABV), Jack Brand Dry Hopped Lager (4.2% ABV) which is dry hopped with Galaxy hops from Australia and Adnams Ghost Ship (4.5% ABV), already one of my favourite beers.

Lagunitas

Steve and I were both keen to try the only beer left at the adjacent Lagunitas stall - Lagunitas IPA. Little Sumpin', a seasonal beer, had already sold out.

Ben, Fraser and Steve

Fraser Murray poured our beers and gave us some background gained from his six years experience with the company in Northern California. Lagunitas IPA (6.2% ABV) was the first seasonal beer to be brewed at Petaluma, about 30 miles north of San Francisco, back in 1995.
It was interesting to discover that a 40 foot container load of Lagunitas beer (mainly kegs) arrives in the UK every four weeks after a sea journey involving two oceans via the Panama Canal and lasting 33 days. Lagunitas beer is also shipped to Sweden. The journey time is set to be reduced to 9 days when a second brewery opens in Chicago, enabling a container load to be transported by rail to New Jersey for transhipment to the UK.
The Chicago brewery will also reduce the amount of money spent on diesel fuel for truckloads of beer from California to 40 states in the USA because many journeys will be shorter from Chicago.

Lagunitas bottle top - fridge magnet

Fraser was asked about the relevance of the dog in Lagunitas branding and it turns out that not only is founder, Tony Magee, a dog owner but the brewery is also 'dog friendly'.
I was grateful to Fraser for explaining how to pronounce Lagunitas correctly, La- gun- eee- tas, with emphasis on the third syllable.
Congratulations to Steve on logging Lagunitas IPA as his 1000th unique beer on Untappd. We both liked the hoppy nature of Lagunitas IPA but also found it a bit fizzy on this occasion. This must be a common reaction from real ale drinkers!

To Be Continued in Part 2 ...