First, a brief introduction to the Circle Line itself, courtesy of this diagram which comes from the very useful London Underground site.
The premise of the Circle Line crawl is therefore a simple one: go round the line, stopping at every station for a drink in a convenient pub.
Although in essence a straightforward undertaking, constraints of time, the amount of alcohol to be consumed, and the irritating tendency of some pubs to be closed even when they could be open all make it an interesting challenge. The aim of this guide is to help people who would like to take up that challenge, perhaps making the difference between success and failure by removing some of the nastier surprises.
The guide is broadly in two parts. First are some general thoughts on relevant issues. Then comes a station-by-station guide with directions to suitable pubs. This is not an exhaustive list of possibilities! Generally, I've just listed a single choice. Although for a few stops I have listed alternatives, where perhaps pubs have been unreliable in the past or where we have tended to go slightly further to a pub which we happen to find nice.
If you refer back to the diagram above, you will see that the Circle Line, while not actually circular, does form a loop on which there are 27 stations. The line is entirely within zone 1, and a circuit takes, at least in theory, 50 minutes.
You will also notice two stations with restricted opening hours. Temple is closed on Sundays, and Cannon Street is open on weekdays until 9.30pm but closed at weekends.
Personally, I have always organised Circle Line crawls on Saturdays, and have felt entirely comfortable simply ignoring Cannon Street. Purists may want to differ; the easy way out is therefore, for those who have the leisure time, to use a weekday. I have, for completeness, made pub suggestions below.
My own view, in addition, is that to 'do' the Circle Line properly one must finish at the same station from which one started. No doubt there will be those who disagree, and they are welcome to do so.
One of the big difficulties is that a number of the stations are in the City of London, and by and large people go there during the week to work but leave the place somewhat empty at the weekend. This means that most of the pubs either only open on Saturday morning, or more commonly don't open at all. This is not helpful.
There is therefore a good argument for getting the section between Farringdon and Mansion House/Blackfriars out of the way as early as possible. In practice, we find that starting at King's Cross and going clockwise works very well, as it also has the advantage of leaving all the easiest stops (broadly, measuring difficulty in terms of distance from station to pub) until last. Given that King's Cross is on so many lines, bus routes, etc I would certainly recommend this to anyone.
If determined to go anticlockwise, I would probably suggest starting at Embankment.
Note that the above comments assume that you will return to the starting point (and drink!) at the end. If you are not going to do that then you could start one later, either at Farringdon or Temple depending on direction.
The following is presented on the basis that, despite it potentially being a little quicker in a couple of places to walk or take a bus between pubs, you will do the decent thing and always include a tube journey, thus ensuring that by the end you have travelled every segment of track around the loop. Again, some people may not consider this important, but since there won't be many places where you will be able to save much time it doesn't undermine the calculations much.
Starting at 11am, as you would be wise to, a sensible target is to reach the last pub by 10.30pm, leaving 11 and a half hours for all the travelling and 26 drinks (assuming no Cannon Street).
We are told to expect to spend 50 minutes actually travelling on trains. London Underground also suggest that a typical Saturday wait for a train will be around 5 minutes. Over 26 stops that makes 2 hours and 10 minutes. Total time either on platforms or trains is therefore 3 hours.
Experience also tells us that the total time required for walking between pubs and platforms is around 3 hours, but varies and can easily reach 3 and a half hours.
Dividing the time that's left gives around 12-13 minutes per pub. Note that everything gets slower later in the day, so it's best to start going a bit quicker than that.
To get a real feel for how the time works, look at timings from past crawls. Note in particular the prompt starts (Coopers in King's Cross is open for non-alcoholic sales before 11am so you can be at the bar waiting for the stroke of 11)!
A note on temporary conditions: during the construction work at King's Cross and St. Pancras, there are sometimes weekend closures of parts of the Circle Line (e.g. between Baker Street and Farringdon, or between Baker Street and Aldgate). This is a Bad Thing. When this happens there is usually a replacement bus service, but of course it's slower, and you'll have to make allowances for this. But do check the up-to-date situation...
With 27 stops, you're looking at half pints. Even so, this is a fair amount if you're not well in practice. Beer is not the only drink in town, of course: the whole crawl has been done on Scotch whisky and on Archers peach schnapps, both of which reduce the sheer volume of liquid. At the other extreme, it has regularly been done by a non-drinker on coke.
While those pure options are all daunting in their own way, I've always felt that the important thing is to get everyone safely to the end. If that means the odd non-alcoholic drink for someone, I for one will not hold it against them.
Eating is very important, too. We never set aside explicit breaks for food, but there are a number of places where it is easy to grab a sandwich or similar without holding things up (hint: drink beer fast and buy food while everyone else finishes).
From the Circle Line platforms, turn left at the top of the first stairs and follow the passage, keeping the ticket halls for the deep lines to your right. Go up the stairs at the end to the mainline station concourse. Head straight forward up the left hand edge of the platform area (platform 8). Coopers (formerly the York Tavern) is a short way on the left.
Turn right out of the station, along Cowcross Street. After about 40 yards you will reach the crossroads with Farringdon Road. The Sir John Oldcastle is on the far right corner.
Turn left out of the station, along Aldersgate Street. After about 150 yards you will see The Shakespeare on the opposite side of the road, on the corner of Fann Street.
Turn right at the top of the obvious stairs to exit onto Moorgate, and turn left up the street. After 100 yards, turn right at the traffic lights into South Place. After another 100 yards, look for The Red Lion on the corner of Wilson Street and Eldon Place (which South Place becomes when it goes down to one-way).
Make your way from the underground ticket hall up onto the mainline station concourse. You need to get to the upper level, so turn right and make for the stairs. At the top of the stairs, a quick right-left combo will bring you to Hamilton Hall, in the corner. If you've not been there before, look at the ceiling.
Turn left out of the station. This is Aldgate High Street. In a straight line ahead of you is Whitechapel High Street. Unfortunately you will have to make your way through subways to avoid certain death on the gyratory. Once you're through, you will find The Aldgate Exchange on your left after a short distance, on the corner of Goulston Street.
Exit the station straight ahead from the barriers, then turn right up Coopers Row. Take the 'back entrance' into Fenchurch Street Station. Go through the barriers, up the stairs, and up again and to the right to the platforms (any platform will do). Walk all the way back along the platforms to the main ticket barriers. The Raven is inconspicuous in the far left corner. Note that on the way back the entrance to the tube station is a short way from the exit, towards the Tower and down some stairs.
Coming through the barriers, turn left to exit by the Monument, then turn left again. Cross Eastcheap and head straight on up the left side of Gracechurch Street. After about 200 yards you will find The Crosse Keys on your left. This is a magnificent place, and has good beer.
If you're doing this crawl on a weekday then you'll want to include Cannon Street. Come out of the station onto Cannon Street itself and cross over to The Cannon. Note that this pub does not open at the weekend.
If you're determined to include this stop on a Saturday then you're braver than I. Also, of course, there's little benefit in giving directions from this station.
For what it's worth, though, it may be that you will find nowhere open closer than the Crosse Keys (see notes for Monument) or the Sea Horse (see notes for Mansion House).
If a distinct pub is stipulated, then this may be an opportunity for a long walk (half a mile each way) over London Bridge (best starting point: Monument) and down to The George, which is on the left as you go down Borough High Street.
Alternatively, start from Mansion House, turning right out of the station back along Cannon Street. Then turn right into Queen Street and continue over Southwark Bridge. At the earliest opportunity after reaching the south bank, take the steps down to Bankside and head east towards the railway bridge that serves Cannon Street station. Just before that bridge is the Anchor. Again, this walk will approach a round trip of a mile.
Turn left out of the station, along Queen Victoria Street (note that you will be going with the traffic as it goes round the gyratory). Just after Bread Street, on the right, and on the corner as the road bends right into Friday Street, is the Sea Horse. Be aware that this pub closes early, I think at 2pm. This is potentially a problem.
In the event of a Sea Horse failure, continue along Victoria Street until you reach the approach to the Millennium Bridge. Turn right, towards St Paul's Cathedral. Half way up on the left, at the top of a few steps and on the corner of Knightrider Street, is The Centre Page.
Turn right out of the station along Victoria Street and cross over when convenient. Turn left into St Andrew Hill at the Baynard Castle, which is unfortunately almost certain to be closed (as is the Black Friar, opposite the exit from the tube station). The Cockpit is a short way on the left, at the corner of Ireland Yard.
Turn left out of the station, crossing Temple Place and heading up Arundel Street. At this point there is a choice: turn left and head for the Strand end of the Aldwych gyratory, or turn right along Fleet Street. Distance-wise there's not much in it, as each way will involve a further walk of around a quarter mile. Left, though, is perhaps a little more reliable.
Follow the Strand to the junction with Lancaster Place (leading to Waterloo Bridge). On the far right corner of this reasonably busy junction, where the Strand meets Wellington Street, is the Wellington.
If you had turned right, along Fleet Street, you would eventually have reached the Tipperary on the right, and the Olde Cheshire Cheese opposite it. Sadly the latter is closed more often than not. If it is open, there is often merriment to be had by using the men-only bar.
Turn left after the ticket barriers to leave the station heading away from the river. Turn left, under the railway lines, then right when you reach Northumberland Avenue. After about 100 yards, turn right into Northumberland Street and The Sherlock Holmes is just on the right.
Note that you can probably find a nearer pub by heading straight up Villier Street after leaving the station. But the Sherlock Holmes has never let us down in many Monopolies and Circle Lines, and is therefore hopelessly traditional. You may want to visit Sherlock Holmes's study upstairs.
After the ticket barriers, leave the station using the exit straight in front of you, then turn right. In 30 yards, on the corner with Canon Row, is the recently-opened St. Stephen's Tavern.
Note that this is a change to the previous suggestion of the The Red Lion (round the corner into Whitehall and 100 yards on the right on the corner with Derby Gate).
At the top of the stairs from the platforms, turn right and go through the barriers to exit onto Broadway. The Feathers is directly on the opposite side of the road.
Follow the signs for the mainline station as you leave the underground ticket hall. As you reach the main station concourse you should go round to the right of W H Smith and then up the small escalator. At the top you will find Wetherspoon's.
Turn right out of the station and follow the outside of Sloane Square, going anticlockwise. At the first corner cross over to the Royal Court Tavern, which is on the corner with Sedding Street
At the top of the stairs, turn left to reach the street. Cross the street aiming slightly to the right to the central island, then cross again to the right so as to be able to walk down the right hand side of Old Brompton Road. Carry on, crossing Glendower Place, for around 100 yards. The Zetland Arms is on the near corner at the junction with Bute Street.
Coming out of the station, cross Gloucester Road bearing diagonally to the right. You will see the The Stanhope Arms a short distance ahead.
Pass straight ahead through the arcade to reach the High Street, then turn right. After 150 yards, at the traffic lights, cross the road into Kensington Church Street, where you will almost immediately see the Prince of Wales on the right.
Turn right after passing through the barriers so as to find the right exit. At the top of the stairs, carry straight on along Notting Hill Gate for a very short way to the junction with Pembridge Gardens. On the nearest corner is The Devonshire.
In the event of problems, and this is not unheard of, cross Pembridge Street and after 50 yards you will come to the Prince Albert.
Turn left out of the station, down Queensway, and head down to the crossroads with Porchester Gardens. Cross Queensway to the Prince Alfred.
Note that we used to go to the Rat & Parrot, which is much closer to the station but but serves nothing drinkable.
Make sure you take the correct exit from the station, onto Praed Street. Turn left out of the station. After 80 yards is the junction with Spring Street, where you will see the Pride of Paddington on the far left corner.
Turn left out of the station and follow Chapel Street for around 150 yards. The Chapel (formerly the Pontefract Castle) is on the right at the far end, at the junction with Old Marylebone Road. Some very strange things have been known to happen here.
Take the main exit from the station, onto the loading road at the front. The Globe is on the opposite side of Marylebone Road.
Closer and nicer, though, is the Metropolitan Bar, to reach which turn right out of the station and look for the entrance after a few yards on the right. This is another splendid Wetherspoon's.
Turn right at the top of the stairs to pass through the barrier. As you leave the station, the Green Man is directly opposite.
Be sure to take the exit on the north side of Euston Road by turning right after coming through the ticket barriers. Turn right out of the station, and right again into North Gower Street. After 100 yards you will find the Crown & Anchor on the near right corner of the junction with Drummond Street.
If this guide has been of use, or if you have comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.
James Cullingham: Panjandrum, SoakedInPort.com