What is the future for pubs in the UK? Photo credit: Ewan-M / Flickr

From Charles Dickens to Eastenders, pubs are certainly a defining and historic aspect of British culture. Famous for their quirky names, wooden interiors and rows of brass beer taps, they are a familiar and well-loved institution. But according to recent figures, the future of the ‘local boozer’ is in a perilous state.

The Campaign for Real Ale says two pubs are shutting down in the UK every day. Another survey by the British Beer and Pub Association found that some 1,300 pubs were closed in 2010, with London being one of the worst regions.

A combination of factors seems to be responsible for this astonishing trend – rising beer duty and overhead costs, faltering economic growth and changing consumer tastes. Alcohol price wars in supermarkets and declining disposable income have forced people to seek entertainment elsewhere.

However, there could be a silver lining: microbreweries are experiencing a revival, as demand for crafted cask ale is booming. In the capital, microbreweries are now open for business in Greenwich, Twickenham, Battersea and Camden.

Will this be enough to save Britain’s pubs? The First Pint investigates whether there is still hope for these iconic venues.

Filming locations:
Sambrook’s Brewery – Unit 1 & 2 Yelverton Road, Battersea, London SW11 3QG
The Bricklayer’s Arms – 32 Waterman Street, Putney, London SW15 1DD
Society Bar & Restaurant – 33 Blackfriars Lane, London EC4V 6EP
The Prince Arthur – 80-82 Eversholt Street, Euston, London NW1 1BX

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Just because you live in a city doesn't mean you can't get a whiff of the countryside. Photo credit: Glyn Baker/Creative Commons

Are you stuck in London while all your friends have escaped to Ibiza or Mexico for the combined Easter and Royal Wedding holiday? Fear not. Whether you’re into Jesus or Kate Middleton or none of the above, there are plenty of things to do over Easter in the world’s greatest city. Here are a few of our suggestions.

Go to a city farm

It’s lambing season, and the city farms are great little pockets in which you can escape the huzzle and buzzle of city for a day. City farms rely on volunteers, so if you’re up for some hands-on farming, you’ve come to the right place. We recommend Hackney City Farm, which is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am-4.30 pm. Feeding time is at 4 pm.

Go egg hunting

At The First Pint, we have our own take on this activity. We are doing an ‘egg hunt’ of the tackiest Royal Wedding souvenirs we can find, and we welcome you all to participate. The results will be displayed in a slideshow as our gift to the royal soon-to-be newly-weds. Send us your pictures to editorial@thefirstpint.co.uk

For the children and the brave, there is a rodent hunt at the Clink Prison Museum in Southwark until Monday 25 April. They didn’t have Easter Eggs in medieval prisons, you see.

English spring. Photo credit: Ian Bretton/creative commons

Relax on a carpet of bluebells

Go to Osterley Park to see the ground covered in bluebells – the epiphany of English Spring time. Entrance to the park is free, but there is a charge of £9.20 if you want to enter the Osterley Park House, one of the last surviving country estates in London. Take the tube to Osterley station and walk for 13 minutes to get to the park. Otherwise, check out our favourite parks for a spring picnic.

Add a bit of Jesus to your life

We think Handel’s Messiah by candlelight at St-Martin-in-the-Fields sounds like a perfect way to embrace the religious aspect of this holiday – whether you’re a believer or not. The concert is on at 7.30pm on Monday 25 April. Nearest tube station: Charing Cross or Leicester Square

The connoisseurs have kept the Kernel Brewery secret. Photo credit: Kathrine Anker

Explore some hops and malts

The First Pint has a soft spot for – well – pints, and London has plenty on offer in this department. Our most recent discovery is the Kernel Brewery, which is only open on Saturdays from 9am to 3pm. The rest of the time they are busy brewing their unique and flavourful stouts, porters and pale ales. Kernel Brewery is well hidden in 98 Druid Street, under the unassuming railway arches near London Bridge. This gem is worth going to, not just for the tasty pints but also for the amazing cream doughnuts at the St John’s bakery.

We hope you’ll enjoy this great time to explore London. Feel free to leave your own tips on how to spend the holidays in the comment box below.

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Sam Smith's pubs are London's best kept secret: cheap pints and a great atmosphere to boot. Photo Credit: Kathrine Anker

In the heart of London, from the small alleys of Soho to the larger boulevards of High Holborn, lies one of London cheapest pub crawls.

The Samuel Smith old brewery, popularly known as Sam Smith’s, was established in 1758, in North Yorkshire and is now well known all over the UK as it operates over 300 pubs scattered around Britain.

A good way to have a taste of Sam Smith’s pubs is to start your journey in Oxford Circus. Going down Kingly Street, stopping at number 14, you’ll find the Red Lion pub.

Going into a Sam Smith’s pub always procures a mixed feeling. At first it feels like entering a western saloon, with swinging wooden doors and large glass windows, but the wooden tables and the red carpets matched with dimmed lights give the sensation of being in a mysterious Irish joint and an 18^th century Wild West brothel at the same time.

All Sam Smith’s pubs are built the same way: the counter being the most important it is always located in the middle, carving the spaces around it in different compartments. Sometimes you can’t even go from one compartment to the other without having to step outside. It has to be said: Sam Smith’s pubs are dazzling puzzles.

At the bar, apart from the usual drinks, you have a choice of two Ales, a few lagers and ciders brewed by Sam Smith’s. The flagship drink of the Sam Smith’s brewery is the Old Bitter, which has a taste of dirty water, but nobody complains because it’s only £2 a pint.

From Oxford Circus to Carnaby Street

See if you can find Brian, one of the regulars of the Glasshouse Stores. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

After the Red Lion head to the John Snow in Broadwick Street. On your way you’ll cross Carnaby Street where the lights are so bright that you’ll swear it’s daytime even in the wee hours of the morning.

To fully enjoy the John Snow it is better to head directly to the second floor. Firstly, your drink will be served in a proper glass and not in a plastic cup and secondly, the staff turn out to be less stressed and therefore more accessible.

The next stop is Brewer Street, a five minute walk towards Piccadilly Circus. There, one after the other, you’ll find: The Glasshouse Store, the Duke Of Argyll and the White Horse (turning right on Rupert Street).

The Glasshouse Store looks small at first but if you wander downstairs you’ll discover a large cellar and a second bar. On a lucky night, Brian, a regular, might be sitting in the corner of the counter. Even when drunk and rowdy, Brian is always keen to share all the latest news about English football, politics and general gossip.

The Duke Of Argyll looks more like a gambling house than a pub: large round dirty tables with lots of people running around. The bartender even looks as if he’s 12 years old but apparently nobody seems to mind. It’s important to know that the Duke Of Argyll takes cash only.

By the time you get to the White House, the taste of the Old Bitter might have turned from dirty water to sweat. Fortunately enough the next stop is out of Soho which offers an occasion to walk the alcohol out.

The Crown and the Princess

Walking out of the White Horse, turn onto Old Compton Street, one of Soho’s lively streets that will cheer up even the moodiest of spirits. Turn left on Charing Cross Road and carry on until you reach New Oxford Street, where you’ll find the Crown. It’s one of Sam Smith’s smallest pubs, built as a long corridor leading to a back door and an outside area. It is a nice space to enjoy a beer under the stars on those hotter nights.

Sam Smith's pubs are also known for their eclectic architecture. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

The last two stops are situated in High Holborn, the Princess Louise near the Holborn tube station and the Cittie of Yorke next to the Chancery Lane Station.

They are probably the two most interesting pubs in terms of architecture: the Princess Louise is built like an elegant glass spider: the bar is an island in the middle of the room from which blurry glass walls escape to divide the room in different smaller spaces.

The Cittie of Yorke on the other hand is built as if a train had crashed into a brewery. At the top of the room the walls are decorated with barrels and a small balcony running along the room. Downstairs around the tables small train compartments offer more private spaces.

Sam Smith’s pubs can be enjoyed one after the other or one at a time, but the interest lies in their architecture and decoration, as well as their prices rather than in the quality of their beers.

Sam Smith enthusiasts can also visit the Sam Smith’s forum, the unofficial place to chat and find out more about this intriguing brewery and pubs.

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Join The First Pint's quest to find the best underground pubs in Central London. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Pub-crawl with The First Pint through the streets of Soho, Fitzorovia and Covent Garden in an amazing quest for the best (and most hidden) underground pubs of Central London.

Our underground pub crawl tour starts from one of the quietest places in Fitzrovia, the Bourne & Hollingsworth pub, (28 Rathbone Place, W1T 1JF), a few yards from Tottenham Court Road tube station. This basement cocktail is of course tucked down a perilous, winding flight of stairs, and features some of the most decadent wallpapers decorations of all times, giving you the feeling of being in a private members’ club or, alternatively, in your granny’s house. It’s a cocktail bar, so don’t even bother asking for beer: you’ll find only a lonely Asahi tap on the bar. The atmosphere is absolutely intimate and the prices are good for being in the very heart of London.

You’ll more likely to find a better atmosphere few steps far from Bourne & Hollingworth pub, at Jerusalem Bar & Restaurant, in Fitzrovia (198 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JL), well hidden down a staircase that leads you beneath the pavement of Shaftesbury Avenue. You need to be eagle-eyed to spot the entrance, on the left side of the road walking from Oxford Street towards Bourne & Hollingsworth pub. Once inside, it feels like being in a sort of hidden dungeon full of treasures: soft lights, chandeliers spreading a mild red light all over the place. Bring over your girlfriend and have a candlelight dinner with her sunk in one of the comfy sofas scattered all over the huge bar. The place’s stone walls give it just the right atmosphere for a relaxed chill-out night to wash away the daily stress.

Perfect, posh, trendy and alternative, its only weak points are prices and beer: although they serve ales in bottles, the choice at the tap is poor, including average lagers like Amstel, Murphy’s, etc. Burgers and nachos portions are just huge, but expect expensive prices – roughly, if hungry, you probably are going to pay around £7 to get filled up. Cocktails tend to be quite expensive, too.

Triscia’s: Italian underground heaven

Member's only Triscia's will give you a taste of Italy... underground! Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Next stop is the real surprise of our underground pubs crawling tour. Walking down Greek Street from Soho Square, there’s only one bar really worth popping in, but it is just impossible to spot it unless you’re a local or you already knew about it: the doorbell is hidden inside the letter box! The First Pint managed to get in anyway.

Shuffled discretely inside house-door number 57 to find the splendid, hidden-away New Evaristo Club (57 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 3DX).  Although it is (primarily) a members only bar, Triscia, owner and the ever-present bar tender of this tiny, little jewel of Soho, will be happy to welcome you even if not a member yet. In fact, it’s known to locals only as Triscia’s.  Her late Italian husband opened it 68 years ago, trying to recreate the real Italian bar atmosphere. And he succeeded indeed.

If you have never been in Italy, just swing by at Triscia’s to get a feeling of what a real Italian bar is: old people playing a quiet game of Dinari, drinking beer from their bottles of Peroni, photos of Sinatra, Schillachi, some shady looking suited types lining the wall and a pleasant, never-stopping chatter sound hanging over the place. Customers are both Italian and Londoners, going crazy on Wednesday nights when a guy with a recorder comes in and pumps up some good rock & roll music from the 60s along with swing and blues hits. Open seven days a week, from 5.30pm to 1am, its tiny smoking area outside is just the perfect gathering place: be aware you are going to meet random people by the dozen just lighting up a cigarette.

A taste of Hanway Street

Troy 22, a nice place for merry-making and song-singing! Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Proceed then to Hanway Street, the last resource for those of you who need a last late night sip  in Soho. Get lost into this tiny hidden alley, real backbone of Oxford Street booze, getting off from Oxford Street. You’ll find the On The Beat second-hand record store, probably the best in town, and the Bradley’s Spanish Bar, one of our favourite West End boozers.

Try not to miss an electric purple sign “The Bar”: those steps will lead you straight down into a world where the clocks stopped many years ago and things will appear frozen in time. The vintage atmosphere you can breath at The Bar club is made precious by the music, especially when the DJ delivers out loud the best soul from the 60s and the 70s, doo-wop and funk. Open until 3am on weekdays as well as on Fridays and Saturdays, the drinks come for reasonable prices and the friendly, talkative staff makes it the perfect last call for night-owls or hammered people who just need a place to rest.

Walk few steps round the corner and you’ll find Troy 22, The First Pint’s golden suggestion for our aficionados. Don’t make the mistake of walking up the near-vertical stairs: remember to always go underground! Upstairs you’ll find a relaxing urban lounge when you can chill out listening to some real good rock & roll hit of the good old days, while it is downstairs where the magic is hidden. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll find some artist sitting at the bench, sipping his beer and playing his warm flamenco on his Spanish guitar. It is a Spanish bar indeed, an underground intimate treasure where lights are low and streams of sangria flow like rivers (you can get a jug for just £15). This Spanish cove is cloaked by a surreal atmosphere, and it has so much character that even the loo is worth a picture.

Cocktails and Hip-hop Karaoke

Whether it be contemplative chill-out sessions or raucous beer drinking, underground is the way to go. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Finally, don’t miss Freud bar in Covent Garden (198 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JL), located just few hundred meters from Friendly Society basement gay club. Opened in 1986, it is definitely the best cocktail bar in London, a hidden one-room cellar where some 15 types of bottled beer are stored, including Efes, Kasteel Cru and Zywiec. Wine starts at a bargain £3.15 a glass. Be willing to spend an average of £6-7 for your cocktail, but after this experience no other cocktail besides Freud‘s ones will ever touch your lips.

Ranging from the classic Mojito to the Homeboy, the fear-inducing Zombie, and the straight-forward Perfect Pimms, our platinum tip is the Long Island Iced Tea. Simply wonderful. If you don’t drink alcohol or you are fasting, don’t worry, you’ll be able to get also delicious lunches and great coffee and teas on request. Open every night until 11pm, it stays open longer on Thursdays (until 12pm), Fridays and Saturdays (until 1am).

End the underground pub crawling at The Social club where, as you can read in its manifesto, great music and better booze are provided. It is traditionally the place where bands in London have their first concert ever, but as the owner of the place would put it, according to Rebecca (an artist working there), “We just play fucking good music.” If you ever dreamed “about being Tupac Shakur even if you’re white,” as we have been told, don’t miss Thursday’s Hip-hop karaoke night, one of the funniest in London. Crazy reggae and Ska nights (“it feels like being in the 80s,” we hear) are the perfect way to finish off dancing after the tour the force that has just been proposed.

Locals do suggest other places around, like Black’s member’s club and Jerry’s, equipped with an encyclopaedic collection of liqueurs, but The First Pint reporter was out of commission by the end of this insane tour to check them out. So it’s up to you to give them a try and give us a real good feedback!
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Other unmissable underground pubs in London:

– Underwriter – 15 St. Mary Axe. Closest Tube station: Liverpool Street.

– Shunt Vaults Members’ bar, deep in the tunnels under London Bridge Station. The entrance is a little door on Joiner Street in London Bridge Tube Station.

– Ginglik in Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8PH.

– Three Blind Mice Bar – 5 Ravey Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 4QW.

– Buffalo Bar – 259 Upper Street, Highbury & Islington, London, N1 1RU.

– Underground Bar – LSE Students Union, East Building, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Closest Tube station: Temple/Holborn/Covent Garden.

– Lounge Bohemia – 1 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 3EJ.

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I Love East London is a great place to go to see up-and-coming bands

I ♥ East London is a new exciting event concept that took over East London in June. The idea behind it is to showcase up-and-coming East London music on the first Thursday every month. The next I ♥ East London event is on Thursday 4 November, and we made sure that The First Pint’s readers get a discount on the love.

I ♥ East London’s spokesperson Lizette Meinholt said: “We had an exciting launch night in June with special guests The Horrors doing a 90 minute DJ set for the night! Since then, we have had some great acts come and play for us: The Coolness, Islington Boys Club, Daytona Lights, ReMake ReModel, Black Daniel, Mafia Lights, Edit/Select, The First Loves, Waxhouse, Glitches and No Cars.”

The event originally took place on the first Thursday of every month at East London’s cool and popular venue CAMP Basement (City Arts and Music Project) but it has now moved to a more historic venue in East London music: the Rhythm Factory beside Aldgate East Station.

With the new venue comes a new concept. Some great deals on drinks (£2.50 for a bottle of Stella, £2.50 for house mixer), some great deals on entry (£4 students, £5 flyer, £8 at the door) and you’re extra lucky if you’re an East London band – then you get in for free! As they say at I ♥ East London, “We always love to hear about different artistic ideas and we are more than happy to let anyone showcase whatever they fancy at our nights! That’s just how we roll!”

If you’re not a cool East London hipster with your own synth band, fear not. The First Pint has managed to ensure all First Pint readers the cheapest ticket option – £4 – even if you’re not a student.

To  get your cheap tickets, go to our exclusive ticket link.

Alternatively, get your name on the First Pint guest list by emailing promotions@eliminatorexpo.com

I ♥ East London
The Rhythm Factory
16-18 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1EW

Doors open at 8pm.

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The Jerusalem Tavern does not seem to have changed since the 1700s. Photo credit: Neil MacWilliams /flickr

If while wandering in Clerkenwell you end up losing yourself in a small street named Britton Street, you must know that it is faith that brought you here. You are about to discover one of London’s diamonds.

Nestled between white front doors of offices, you will notice a green frontage with old windows. It is the Jerusalem Tavern. The entrance door is one of those thin pieces of wood with a fragile handle. It never closes properly. Like a constant welcome, the kind of door tired travelers like to encounter after a hard journey.

Once inside it is an entirely new journey that starts.

At first you might be struck by the simplicity of the space: no TV, no music, just good and real Ale with a smell from the past that makes the mind wonder. And there is a lot to wonder about.

Saints and Salesmen

The history of the Tavern is chaotic and directly linked to the history of the Priory of St. John. The Priory was founded in 1140 and was the home of the order of Knights Hospitallers. It is not clear when exactly the Tavern first opened but its first location was in the Jerusalem Passage north of the Priory. It stayed there until 1758 when it was demolished to be replaced by a school.

The name was then acquired by William Newell, owner of the Red Lion at the corner of Clerkenwell Green and the Red Lion Street (that was later renamed Britton Street). Newell wanted to change his pub’s name because at the time there were more than one Red Lion in the area. So in 1759 the Jerusalem Tavern reopened before closing again in 1794.

There are no records of the exact date of the third opening, but by 1801 the Jerusalem Tavern was already a lively place under the St John’s Gate. It stayed there for more than a century until it closed in 1915. The latest incarnation of The Jerusalem Tavern only reappeared in 1996 when John Murphy bought the premises of 55 Britton Street to open a pub where he could sell the Ales from his brewery: St Peters Brewery.

It’s all about the Ale

The Jerusalem Tavern is the only pub in the UK that sells the precious liquid from St. Peters Brewery. Of course visitors can choose to drink wine or ciders, but the place lives for one thing only: the Ales. At lunchtime an interesting variety of meals are on offer, ranging between £7 and £10. The afternoons are peaceful and quiet in the Jerusalem.  “But once work hours ends the placed gets packed in no time,” explains Sam, Barman at the tavern.

The tavern is one of the last standing Pubs in the essence of the word “pub”: it is where nothing more than a good drink and good company matters.  So if you want to travel in time, by yourself or with friend, do not hesitate to head to Jerusalem. It is open from Monday to Friday, from 11am to 11pm.

The Jerusalem Tavern

55 Britton Street
London EC1M 5UQ
020 7490 4281

Nearest Tube: Farringdon

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Feathertastic Notthing Hill Carnival. Photo: Vanja Merrild

Bank Holiday August Weekend in London means one thing -  a feast of feathers, eye-popping costumes, mouth-watering smells and hundreds of thousands partying on the streets of West London. It’s Notting Hill Carnival time.

An end of summer institution, the Afro-Carribbean Carnival was first held in 1966 in an effort to promote cultural unity at a time when race relations were particularly strained in Britain. It has now grown into one of the biggest street festivals in Europe and attracts up to one million festival-goers. If you’re a Carnival virgin, then fear not, help is at hand. The First Pint has put together a guide on how to tackle the festival.

WHEN:

Sunday 29th is the more family-oriented day with a shorter parade route and more child-focused activities. Monday 30th is when the main parade takes place and draws the biggest crowds – this is definitely one for the adults. Festivities start early and last until after 8pm and there’s plenty of after-parties on with celebrations continuing well into the small hours.

PARADE:

The parades kick off at 10am on both days and are the highlight of the Carnival. The ‘mas’ (masquerade) parade is a sea of vibrant colours, feathers, sequins and dance routines with bands varying from groups of thirty to three hundred. The parade winds its way from Ladbroke Grove up Westbourne Grove onto Chepstow Road and finishes up at Westbourne Park. There’s plenty of food stalls and static sound systems on the roads criss-crossing the parade route in case you get bored.

Norman Jay and the Good Times Sound System. Photo: Vanja Merrild

MUSIC:

While there are plenty of traditional Carribbean styles on offer, recent years have seen the addition of more sound systems and genres of music. Amongst the steel pans, Soca DJs and Samba dancers, are stages such as Norman Jay and The Good Times Sound System playing a mixutre of funk, soul, disco and house. There’s also plenty of jazz, reggae, ska, dubstep and drum and bass.

Check The Carnival website here for a list of soundsystems: http://www.thecarnival.tv/bands/ssystems.htm

FOOD:

Another star attraction, the food at Notting Hill is not your average street party fare. The streets are lined with stalls selling jerk chicken, goat curry, peas and rice and fried plantain. In keeping with the Carribbean theme – Red stripe lager and rum punch are the beverages of choice – though bringing your own booze is recommended if only to avoid queues and save cash.

GETTING THERE:

Travelling to Carnival is half the fun – it’s not everyday you get thousands of Londoners headed to the same party. The party starts on the buses and trains and the crowds pile on in greater numbers as you get closer to the Carnival.
But you do need to plan your journey beforehand – some of the tube stations are closed for the weekend and the streets in and around the carnival area are closed off to traffic.

TFL have got a special carnival journey planner so you can work out the best route and check times: TFL Notting Hill Carnvial Planner

One piece of advice though – try and make the last tube. Getting the nightbus back from Carnival can take ages and it’s definitely not as much fun as getting there.

The Party Tube. Photo:Vanja Merrild

AND FINALLY…

With huge crowds come the usual long toilet queues, bad phone reception and opportunistic pick-pockets.

Make arrangements to meet friends beforehand – the phone reception is patchy-to-none and trying to meet people there is a logistical nightmare.

For more information on the festival check the following websites:

http://www.thecarnival.tv/info/main.htm

http://notting-hill.london.myvillage.com/community:carnival

and for afterparties:

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/

Enjoy!

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The sign outside the Fullers Brewery. Photo: Faisal Latif

Admittedly this is a great way for Fullers to advertise their product, but the brewery tour is a unique experience. You’re walking around a working brewery so from the moment you step past the 200 year old wisteria and on to the factory floor you are in someone’s workspace. This also means you get to wear a nifty orange vest to make sure no one mistakes you for any thing other than a member of a tour.

The tour starts off next to the Thames. No, the brewery does not use that water, not because it’s gross but because it is salt water. The water they use to make the beer comes from the main London supply.

Currently the brewery is owned and operated by two of the original three families, Fuller and Turner, Smith was bought out several years ago. The First Pint was lucky enough meet a gentleman whose family worked in the brewery for generations.

Jim Lockie worked at Fullers for 43 years as a driver, delivering and loading the casks to pubs owned by the company. He was on the tour because his son, who does not work at the brewery, wanted to visit and look around. Jim said: “Of course it’s all different now.”

A different lorry from what Jim used but still a Fullers delivery truck. Photo: Alissa Smith

His family began working in the brewery in 1870 with his grandfather and the family’s traditional occupation endured until 1994 when Jim retired. “Between the blokes who worked there they’d say that there were so many Lockie’s working here it should be called Fullers Smith Turners and Lockie.”

During the time that Jim worked in the brewery it was a wet brewery, which meant that each worker was given an allowance of three pints a day direct from the freshly brewed stock. But as a lorry driver, Jim would have his first pint before he left on his first delivery at around noon and then another at each pub, though he admitted to sometimes having two.

Generally though, your tour of the brewery will only have the tour guide to tell you entertaining stories or facts about the beer. For example I was informed that you need four things to have a great pint of English ale:

- To be in England
- Get a good brewery
- A good landlord (one who keeps the pipes clean)
- A good drinker

A cask of Fullers should be drunk with in three or four weeks and four to five days once opened in the pub. They produce one million pints a week in the four or five batches they make in a day.

At the end of the cacophony of smells and noises that you are bombarded with in the brewery you are taken back to a small museum where you get to try the beer if you’ve paid for that exciting experience. The tour could last as long as the group wants but the shorter the tour, the more time you have to drink, so keep that in mind.

While you can call to set up a tour for that day, its recommended that you sign up via the website before hand because they only do five tours a day and even then that’s only on the weekdays. This of course makes it difficult for the workers of London to get down there and try almost every single beer that Fullers makes.

If you do go, be warned, if you don’t have a good meal before the tour you might get a little buzzed at the end.

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It's park time, and London is full of good places to go. Photo: Kathrine Anker

Now that Londoners can proudly brag that they have survived the gloomy months of winter, it’s easy enough to decide on a break from meals in front of the TV or computer screen. Sandwiches packed in aluminium foil, pasta salad in plastic containers, a basket of apples and muffins: all are snacks that can be ready for a picnic. However, the decision is not about what to eat but where to take your packed lunch.

The plethora of green spaces in London is unlike that of any big city in the world. Perhaps this has to do with the need to provide open areas to people who otherwise spend their days in crammed flats, narrow streets, and overcrowded restaurants. If you are looking to go beyond your local courtyard and are willing to make the trip to find the ultimate place for a picnic in London, here are some of the best parks to do it in:

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Regents Park

Bring out the twine basket and the red and white picnic blanket for the most idyllic space in the city to have a picnic. From the elegant fountains to the neatly-kept paths, bridges and ponds, this Royal park evokes all the glory of an esoteric affair. Among its attractions are Queen Mary’s Gardens, which are planted with rose bushes that should bloom any minute now, any minute… Until they do, you can always take a stroll around the Zoo, located at the northern tip of the 166-acre park.

Hyde Park

Londoners enjoying spring with a picnic in Regents Park. Photo credit: Lorena Fernández

It’s ice cream time! Event though this park is not really the place one goes to with a packed lunch, it’s the place where most people who have been on a shopping frenzy in Oxford Street can take a break and enjoy wide areas of green carpet that are not for sale. The noisy traffic circulating around the park is hard to ignore, but if you walk west past the Serpentine, you’ll find Kensington Gardens, which is much more tranquil space. On both of these adjacent parks you’ll find plenty of people playing sports. Don’t feel bad if a ball falls on your picnic- join the game!

Victoria Park

Feeling it’s about time to gather up the group, get some booze, and head to the park? Located in East London, these 86 acres of public land is a great place to chill on a Saturday afternoon. There is a small picnic area with tables and benches and if you’re just looking for a space to spread out, there are plenty of shady spots under big trees. Expect a lot of dogs, a lot of balls flying around, and a lot of people.

Alexandra Park

Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as it is fondly nicknamed in North London. Photo credit: Duncan Harris

Grab food at the farmer’s market and hike up for a good view. This may not be the easiest place to get to in the city, but if you manage the hike – or the W7 bus from Finsbury Park Station, easier – the view and calm atmosphere of this park can be a good place for a date. Also, you could take a look at Alexandra Palace and decide for yourself if it’s cool or weird.

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath is huge, and you can spend an entire day walking through it, discovering the bygone grand times of the Kenwood House or taking in the stunning view of the city centre from Parliament Hill. Hampstead Heath also has a lido and three ponds, one for men, one for women and a mixed one, for those times when it’s just too hot to be anywhere else but in the water. You can enter the park from many different points on the Northern Line, such as Hampstead, Belsize Park, Kentish Town and Highgate.

Osterley Park

Osterley Palace is pleasing to the eye, and there is a terrific view of it from the park. Photo: Kathrine Anker

Hidden in the South West corner of the Picadilly Line, Osterley Park doesn’t get as much attention as its more centrally located competitors. This makes it all the more pleasing to discover how rural it feels once you get there. Cows are grazing on a field that surrounds the park, and there is a little shop with farm products near the pretty palace and the manicured ponds in the park. In the spring, Osterley Park is known for its many bluebells.

Do you have any other pictures or ideas for picnics in parks? Please let us know at street.talk@thefirstpint.co.uk!

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Dress up in orange and join the Dutch celebration! Photo credit: Alexandra Zeevalkink

This Saturday will see Trafalgar Square transformed into a mini-Holland to celebrate Queensday – the birthday of the Dutch Queen. From 12pm to 8pm Holland lovers can indulge in Dutch snacks, dance to Dutch music, learn how to make their own clogs (extremely useful), enter a cycling competition to win their own bike and most importantly, party like there’s no tomorrow.

Queensday, or Koninginnedag, is traditionally the nation’s biggest celebratory holiday. Young and old take to the streets, all dressed in orange, to drink, dance and party. Nothing is too crazy on this day.

If you celebrate on Trafalgar Square you will  be treated to live music from great Dutch bands such as Go Back to the Zoo, Postman, Zuco 103 and DI-RECT. In between sets, DJs will keep the crowd happy.

If you are bored with dancing and singing you can visit some of the market stalls to shop for Dutch liquorice or weird Dutch hats which you can wear again when Holland wins the World Cup (we think positive).

The party starts tonight!

For those that are so excited that they want to start the party tonight Hollandclubbing.com is organising the Holland House club night. Some of Holland’s best house music DJs will perform at The Arches (Southwark Street, SE1). Afrojack, Mason, Michel de Hey, Wouter de Moor, Shermanology and Groovenatics will all be there. But be aware, you need to pay to get in. Prebookers can buy their £10 pound tickets on Hollandclubbing.com and buying a ticket at the door will set you back £15.

More to look forward to…

Queensday is normally celebrated on 30 April but because of the bank holiday weekend it is brought forward. For party lovers this could be considered a gift from above since on Friday 30 April there will be more partying going on. Dutch pub De Hems on Macclesfield Street (just off Shaftesbury Avenue) organises another Queensday party and asks people to come dressed in orange and try some of the many Dutch beers.

Not Dutch?

Queensday is a party for all, not just Dutch people. Dress up in anything orange and you are part of the gang. And if you drink some Dutch beers, some Flugels (nasty Dutch shots) or Jenever (even nastier Dutch shots) you’ll soon be talking double Dutch.

What about Dutch food, I hear you say? Dutch cuisine might not have conquered the world but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any nice Dutch snacks. Try poffertjes, little mini pancakes which are served with butter and powdered sugar. Other things you should really try are bitterballen and frikandellen – little Dutch meat snacks that make tapas look boring. And, maybe needless to say, try some of the famous Dutch cheeses. Trust me, they beat English cheddar!

Read more from The First Pint, the international's guide to all that London offers.