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QPR / Fulham
I could be so good for you - Kenny, 1979.
So our trip to 'Fulham' in fact sees us visiting Loftus Road, home of Queen's Park Rangers. Isn't football a marvellous game these days? Lord knows, I'm not about to shed a tear over Craven Cottage. The old Cottage itself may have been a cutely anachronistic sight, but I will not mourn the open terrace (on which it always seemed to be raining), the portaloos or the over aggressive security which made Craven Cottage the only ground I've ever been thrown out of. But there was something undeniably evocative about its riverside location, and the walk through the park to get there. Besides this, wasn't it nice when clubs played on their own grounds? Remember those days? Sure, it's hard to feel much sympathy with the arriviste neo-Fulham fans who jumped on board the bandwagon a handful of years ago and were happy to go where the money took them, but before that Fulham were a proper football club with proper supporters, and for years the biggest battle they faced was to keep their ground. They thought they'd won. Now, it seems, having achieved a level of league football that once seemed scarcely credible, their precious field of dreams has been easily lost. By coincidence, of course, it's prime land made lucrative by gentrification. Make of that what you will. Still, a museum may be squeezed in amongst the apartments. Call this progress? I don't, and if I was a Fulham fan I'd now be feeling angry and cheated. What price life in the bottom half of the Premier when you can look forward to seasons as tenants on someone else's ground? Is all that history negotiable against a current slice of the nearly big time? I worry about Fulham. The club is currently homeless, and history shows that any club without a ground is on dodgy ground. If nothing else, the golden rule has been proved that you don't move unless you've got somewhere to move to.
Perhaps, if there's justice, Fulham will be relegated and play the new Milton Keynes Franchise in the battle of football's lost souls.
Ah well, and so to QPR, who play in either Shepherd’s Bush or White City, depending on where you're coming from. It’s impossible, of course, to hear the words ‘Shepherd’s Bush' without launching into the theme tune from ‘Steptoe and Son’ and thinking of Oil Drum Lane, while ‘White City’ is somehow redolent of a 1950s world of rationing and false hopes. And just look at the names of the streets round here: Bloemfontein Road, India Way, South Africa Road. It positively reeks of Empire. Indeed, although you kind of know that the ground is on Loftus Road, it isn’t; the club’s offices, and therefore postal address, are on South Africa Road. Perhaps it was thought politic to conceal this in the days of Apartheid? Anyway, temporarily putting pointless conjecture to one side, let us proceed.
First we should tackle the practicalities of how to get there. This is easy: use the Underground. You normally have two options. The Central Line, that red strip that makes its uncertain way beneath London’s busy West End, would get you to White City, from where the ground is a short step across Wood Lane and down South Africa Road off India Road. For our February 2003 visit, of course, ignore this. The newly privatised tube is having a bad year so far. Following the accident at Chancery Lane, the key London artery of the Central Line remains closed, and will not now re-open until Burnley have come and gone. So it's the Hammersmith and City line, then. From this cheerfully pink, irregularly served line, you’ll want Shepherd’s Bush, thence west along Uxbridge Road and up Bloemfontein Road / Bloemfontein Avenue for the away end. Either that or get some kind of bus.
Having cleared up the mundane transport issues, we now proceed to the far more interesting topic of drinking options. You should make every effort to seek out beer from the two main London brewers, Fuller’s and Young’s. Follow our advice and they will be hard to avoid. In fact, if you don’t like Fuller’s, you’re in trouble.
Shepherd’s Bush
The home of the mythical Steptoes is quite a heavily pubbed area, although quality is not what it was. The focal point is Shepherd's Bush Green, around which cluster lots of food places and some poor pubs. Best around here used to be a Wetherspoon's place, one of the better of the chain, called the Moon on the Green on Uxbridge Road. It offered decent beer, a cosy upstairs frequented by locals and a comfortable downstairs room, but I have it in my mind that it's changed hands and is now something else, so forget that.
Shepherd’s Bush also houses the Empire, a former TV theatre that is now a reasonable music venue haunted by the ghost of Wogan (the proximity of the BBC to QPR is well known). You never know, if there’s a decent band on it might be a option (although not even many Burnley away performances are as shambolic and frustrating as Cornershop once were here). Anyway, for current purposes you are, of course, aware that pubs near music venues are always crap, and after a few years the venue now seems to have worked that reverse magic. The Fringe and Firkin on Goldhawk Road - never a good pub - is now an O'Neills, which means no beer, and there's also one of those awful 'Australian' places, presumably just to make London's bar staff feel at home. Perhaps its staffed by English people.
Better in my book to press on down Goldhawk Road towards the Crown and Sceptre on Melina Road. This is generally described as a backstreet pub, and they're not kidding. It's on a dead end off a side street. From Goldhawk Road turn off on Cathnor Road, then follow the corner round, or from Uxbridge Road - if you're coming from the Hammersmith and City Line - take Boscombe Road until it runs out. It's been a while, as this is not my turf and I don't often pass by, but on past visits it's always been very much a locals pub, but has sold exceptionally good pints of Fuller's. I don’t know what it's like on matchdays, but a couple of sources have described it as football and away fan friendly.
From here the ground is the other side of Uxbridge Road, as described above. Give yourself ten minutes. If you’re looking for food, the stretch of Uxbridge Road by the ground is incredibly cosmopolitan, offering a United Nations of takeaways.
Hammersmith
For some reason Hammersmith has long been one of London's best drinking areas, and there are still pubs which remain thankfully full of normal people. It's perhaps half an hour’s walk south of the ground, or two stops down from Shepherd's Bush on the Hammersmith and City Line. It's also served by District and Piccadilly Lines. Without wanting to sound like a trainspotter, once again the lines don't connect, and are on opposite sides of the road.
One close pub to the station, turning left from the District / Piccadilly Line stops and right out of the Hammersmith and City Line is a Wetherspoon's, the William Morris, on Swan Island, King Street. This is a big pub, and not particularly inspiring in decor, but I've occasionally called in for a convenient pint and I've found the service better than the normal tardy Wetherspoon's effort, the beer range above average and the quality of the beer very good. I recently had an excellent pint of Nimmo's XXXX in here. Clientele is substantially working class.
A little further down busy King Street is the Hammersmith Ram, which has also in the past been known as the Builders Arms. This is a large and long Young's pub. We have used this as a meeting pub prior to QPR away in the past, and the management seemed reasonably tolerant of football fans, although they would not allow children in. However, it seems to have changed hands once or twice since then. When passing recently I had a look in, and it had the feel of a place which had seen better days. The pub was beginning to look tatty and a little uncared for, and the beer wasn't great either. Food is also available here.
Further down King Street, across the road, is the Salutation, a Fuller's pub. This looks inviting from the outside, with its attractive purple ceramic exterior, but inside it’s frankly a bit of an unprepossessing dump.
If you're walking north to the ground from here there are other possibilities en route, including the Crown and Sceptre, above. Or on Annersley Road, which you should hit going north from King Street, you’ll find the Andover Arms, again a Fuller's pub. The walk here is positively green, almost rural, although admittedly the pub wasn’t the easiest to find (from King Street take Cambridge Grove, Glenthorne Road left, then Banim Road - got that?), and inside it has the ambience of a country pub, warm, cosy and floridly decorated. I liked it. Some local fans drink in here before the game, so when they leave, you need to. Allow twenty minutes, and it’s a straight line north to the ground (up Brackenbury Road, across Goldhawk Road, up Conningham Road and across Uxbridge Road).
Or from Hammersmith Broadway you could head up Shepherd's Bush Road, which will take you past, and while you're about it, into, the Brook Green Tavern. This is, happily, a Young's pub, and the purveyor of a decent pint of it too, but I hate the way it looks, with oppressive, heavy red and gold decoration, and too many bloody sofas. The middle class seem to have conquered this pub, and there is a corresponding danger that you may be exposed to loud, vacuous and narcissistic conversation. There's a hotel above the pub, doubtless of high quality. There are also many little hotels converted from tall terraces on this stretch of Shepherd's Bush Road, and if you carry on walking past them, you will get to the edge of Shepherd’s Bush Green nearest the ground, and onto Uxbridge Road, down which you need to head left.
Alternatively, this part of London being close to the Thames, you might want to sip a contemplative pint down by the river. Staying on the District Line one more stop will take you to Ravenscourt Park tube, from where you can head south down Rivercourt Road to Upper Mall, on the very banks of the Thames. Here, the Dove is an old Fuller's pub, with a few centuries of history behind it and a pleasant view in front of it. This is an excellent pub tucked into an obscure corner. The bar is in a dark room with a low ceiling, while the pub opens out onto a riverside patio. They also do Saturday food, served from a counter so it comes quickly.
There are other, if not better, options close to the river. If you follow Upper Mall west towards Chiswick, you'll pass another riverside pub, the Old Ship, although I’ve never been in, and then you come to the evocatively named Black Lion Lane, leading away from the Thames. The Black Lion is a possible stop here, while further up the Cross Keys is, yes, yet another Fuller's pub. We had a pint in the Cross Keys in 2000 before wandering over to the Dove, and it was a large, tidy and comfortable pub, with big screen Sky TV, if you’re looking for that kind of thing, set in a quiet area which has the feel of a village.
Alternatively, in the other direction there are two pubs close by Hammersmith Bridge, the Blue Anchor and the Rutland Arms, which both apparently sell Courage in plastic glasses, if you’re feeling unfussy.
Notting Hill Gate
Well yes, I normally steer very clear of this now thoroughly gentrified part of town, which has come to epitomise the very essence of middle class London wankery. Walking round here, I almost expect to be asked for my papers. However, it's possible you'll be rattling through on the tube and decide it's time for a pint, in which case you can bail out and walk round the back of the station onto the pleasantly mewsy Uxbridge Street, where you'll find the Uxbridge Arms. This is a comfortable and decent pub, selling Brakspears on my last visit, which alas isn't brewed in Henley anymore. The pub, of course, tries to be upmarket and has aspirational prices. Excellent floral displays outside, as I recall.
The Cock and Bottle on Needham Road is a good locals' pub on an obscure street. An excellent pint of Brakspears was available when I last visited, although again that was in the days before they 'moved' the brewery (it isn't just football grounds that get that treatment).
Kensington
Alternatively, you may wish to have a shufty round the kind of area which thinks the above location terribly common. This is not exactly near the ground, but if you're looking to stretch yourself this is a better bet than the beer desert north of Loftus Road, where Willesden, Wormwood Scrubs and something called North Kensington are hardly enticing. Should a tour of Portillo's seat appeal to you, expect to pay stupendous prices.
The Churchill Arms (what else?) on Kensington Church Street, down from Notting Hill Gate tube, will sell you Fuller's. It's a highly cluttered pub filled with all manner of stuff, the landlord is eccentric and the Thai food is apparently authentic. Oh, and the beer is absolutely first rate. Recommended, if you don't mind posh people.
Another favourite nearby pub of mine is the Britannia on Allen Street, a classic Young's house down off Kensington High Street, left from Kensington High Street tube. This is a place to sit and think. NB: neither this or the Churchill are by any stretch of the imagination football pubs.
If you carry on west from here you'll hit Warwick Road, with two decent pubs, one Young's, one Fuller's, side by side. These are the Britannia Tap and the Warwick Arms respectively.
If for some reason you're changing trains at the busy interchange of Earl's Court and fancy a quick one, a basic Fuller's pub called the Magpie more or less outside the station is handy.
Paddington / Edgware Road
This isn't realistically on the agenda unless you've got an evening to spare, but it's a good drinking area if you're looking for somewhere reasonably central to return to. Yer Hammersmith and City Line will take you there.
The recent redevelopment of Paddington Station led to the construction of a new pub on the station itself, upstairs from the concourse, albeit with the perplexing name of the Mad Bishop and Bear. Okay, so new pubs on stations are not the finest, but the plus points are that it sells Fuller's and a guest beer, is open all day, offers food, and even the easily lost can find it. The beer range includes the widest selection of Fuller’s and the guest is usually from somewhere small. Quality is high. The menu is good, with big plates of snacks and dips to share. To their credit, they do succeed in creating a genuine pub ambience, such that when you leave it’s something of a shock to emerge from what you thought of as a pub onto an escalator down to the station. I like this place more than I ought.
After that, it may make sense to cover the area around Paddington and Edgware Road, which could well include some of the following.
The Archery Tavern on Bathurst Street is a rare London pub for the Badger Brewery, and inside is woody and welcoming. I like this place, the beer is good, and only the prices are unfriendly. This was long the last stop on any journey from Bristol, back when we used to go there, but it can be somewhat elusive. If you're anywhere around the collection of streets called Sussex something south of the station you’re close. Look for a mews surprisingly stabling horses or an ugly hotel and you're there.
Adjacent, on Strathearn Place, is the Victoria, where you can call if you haven't absolutely had enough Fuller's by now. Personally, I couldn’t stand the place when I visited. It has an odd wedge shape and uses the space very badly, such that you always seem to be having to squeeze past somebody. Plus the crowd was pretentious and the beer wasn't that good. But don’t let me out you off.
On the other side of Edgware Road, better bets are the Wargrave Arms on Brendon Street, a long and ever busy Young's house, which was being done up on our last visit, and the Harcourt Arms on Harcourt Street, a comfortable and seemingly always too warm pub where you ought to get a good but overpriced pint of Adnams.
A personal favourite is the Beehive on Homer Street, a tiny but ever so friendly place, which has never seemed to mind however intoxicated we were, and as it was our last pub after the QPR game in 2000, we were. Beer is usually Fuller’s, Young’s and Boddington’s, and if there’s half a dozen of you, you’ll fill it.
And that really is enough. After that, it's probably time to go home.
The ground
An odd place. You can’t help but be aware that a few years ago this was considered to be one of the more developed premier league grounds, which forces you to reflect on how standards have changed. It’s a drab and claustrophobic box lacking both visual appeal and legroom. Inside the ground, dull blue predominates. Food facilities are inadequate, and if you can’t get anything, count yourself lucky. A pasty was the only form of sustenance available long before half time on our visit in 2000, and what a ghastly lump of dry pastry and stodgy filling it was. Don’t count on leaving in a hurry either. If you’re down the right side lower tier, you’re going to be stuck in a long queue trying to file its way from the ground. The away end consists of an upper and lower tier, and for once you’re better off in the lower; from the upper tier, where the seats are cheaper, you can’t see the goal line from many places, and you may find yourself straining for a view of the nearer goal. As this was the end we scored the game’s only goal at in 2000, you do have to ask yourself whether the Pound saved represented value for money.
Outside it’s one of those grounds where you know it’s there but you can struggle to find the entrance, so completely is it surrounded by blocks of flats and rows of houses. This is not a prosperous area. And drinking options by the ground are nil. Reports from those who didn't have the sense to follow our guide last time were that there was no real beer to be found. The best suggested was the Springbok on South Africa Road, which at least apparently has a good atmosphere and a chippy close by, if nothing fit for drinking.
It's possible that you might want to do something really wacky, and start off your drinking in the area around Craven Cottage before taking the trail trodden often by Fulham supporters. We cater for all sorts, so if that grabs your fancy, click here for our original Fulham drinking guide. I wonder if we'll ever need to update that page?
Firmo
Last visited (QPR) October 2000
Last updated February 2003
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