On 31 July, some members of CAMRA’s Kingston & Leatherhead branch decided to have a Wandsworth Wander or, possibly, it was a Putney Pootle or even a Fulham Fling.
Our first stop was Sambrook’s Brewery Tap to which a number of us arrived early! David Bunyan asked if Duncan, the brewery’s managing director, was around and indeed he was. To our delight, he popped down for a quick chat. As others arrived, we also met Derek Prentice, who brewed with distinction for Truman’s, Young’s and, more recently, Wimbledon Brewery. As it was a Friday, Derek was one of a group of former Young’s employees having their monthly ‘last Friday of the month’ get-together. On the beer front, the cask lager, Back Heel, went down well.
The next planned port of call was the Cat’s Back, a Harvey’s pub but, zut alors, it wasn’t going to open until 4pm. A bit of a surprise on a Friday but maybe it reflects the struggles some pubs are having. (The pub tenants handed the keys back a couple of days later and are now looking for a new team to take over). As we were passing the Hop Pole, a Shepherd Neame pub, a few of us stopped for a pint of Master Brew while the rest took a bus to the Rocket, just off Putney High Street. This is a riverside Wetherspoons where the Surrey Hills Three Peaks scored ‘excellent’ under the new CAMRA beer scoring system. It was also the start of Spoons’ cider festival and the Farmer Jim Prickly Pear perry was very quaffable.
Next stop was a perennial favourite, the Bricklayer’s Arms. Five beers were on offer with Kent brewery’s The Quiet American proving popular.
Across Putney Bridge and into Fulham, we entered the King’s Arms, the only Wadworth pub in London. Only the Golden Horizon was on, but it was of ‘very good’ quality. It’s a large pub and it was very pleasant on a warm day to sit in the inner courtyard area.
Finally, it was a brief stumble to the Eight Bells, just outside Putney Bridge station. Of the fine selection at this traditional pub, which offers CAMRA discount, our beer of choice was Lacons Legacy, again in great condition.
All in all, it was a great day: not a bad beer and sparkling conversation among convivial company!
Keith Richardson