Pete Roberts was a member of CAMRA’s East London and City branch whose loves were real ale and rambling, which he would often combine. After his death ELAC branch instigated an annual country ramble to be held in his honour each summer. Recent rambles have included the Leigh-on Sea area and a walk that included glorious countryside and canals around Ware in Hertfordshire. The crucial criterion for each ramble is that it includes a selection of interesting pubs along the way! This year we decided to cross to west London to walk by the Thames! On Saturday 29 June we met up at the Tap on the Line pub right next to Kew Gardens station on what was to be the hottest day of the year to date, with temperatures over 30 degrees C!
The pub is located by the station’s eastbound platform, although there is no access from the platform. The yellow brick building forms part of the original station complex which dates from the 1860s. It was originally the station’s timber steaming hall and later the buffet room before it was finally converted into a pub. It is now a Fuller’s house and a wide selection of their beers was available.
We walked to Kew Green to join the Thames Path for the long walk to Richmond. This took us parallel to Kew Gardens and presented sights like Syon House (the Duke of Northumberland’s London residence) on the opposite bank. Our second pub was the White Swan which is located just off the tow path and is just a short walk from Richmond Green. This small traditional country-style pub with a beamed ceiling was built in 1777 and has a cosy feel to it. It is very much a foodie pub but they also take their beer seriously with four handpumps. We took over their upstairs room for a well deserved rest and drink!
Syon House
We then cut through the centre of Richmond to the top of Richmond Hill to visit the Good Beer Guide listed Roebuck. This 200 year old pub had a good selection of beers on to suit all tastes. It also gave the group the opportunity to admire the view over the Thames which needs to be seen to be believed and has been protected by an act of parliament for the last 104 years. The view has been the subject of a number of Turner paintings.
Going down Richmond Hill and across Petersham Meadows, passing Petersham Nurseries, the London German School, Ham Polo Club and Ham House (National Trust), we rejoined the Thames and walked back to Richmond with the glorious view of Richmond Hill and the Star and Garter building ahead of us, as well as a rowing regatta taking place alongside us on the river. Our next pub was the Victoria Inn at the bottom of Richmond Hill. The smallest pub in Richmond, it was founded in 1850 and is not much more than the size of an average sitting room. It does however have a lovely small courtyard at the back. Although only Young’s Bitter was on, the group appreciated the rest after the long leg of the ramble that had been completed.
The view from Richmond Hil
From there we walked back to Richmond station where we bade farewell to some. Seven remaining intrepid ramblers decided to carry on to the Good Beer Guide listed Mitre where we enjoyed a few good beers sat outside enjoying the early evening sunshine and recovering from our efforts.
After another great day out our thoughts now turn to where we should hold our ramble next year! All members are of course always welcome to join us on our future forays.
Andy Kinch