If you're looking at this site, then you probably at least know of the game of Monopoly. If not, then official sites such as this should enlighten you.
Importantly for us, the board for the traditional UK version of the game refers to a number of locations, mostly streets, in central London. What more encouragement is needed to use this as a theme for a pub crawl, whereby for each square on the board we visit the corresponding real location, find a pub, and have a drink?
Note that there are many different Monopoly boards. Indeed, the original was modelled on Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Although this guide refers only to the UK edition of the game, you will see here that the same team has recently completed a crawl based on the Brussels, Belgium version of the board. Ambitious crawlers may find this compilation an intriguing resource.
Because this makes for a reasonably testing undertaking, which could easily fail without some foreknowledge of what is involved, I have prepared this guide based on 10 years of successful Monopoly crawls. It sets out some useful considerations, and describes in some detail a route that can be used.
It is not, though, definitive. There are alternative pubs, routes and modes of transport available at most times during the route, and it would even be possible to change the order of the stops. I hope that it may nonetheless be of service.
There are 40 squares on the Monopoly board, as shown on this diagram (scroll down to page 3) which sadly omits the names of the properties!. However, a number of these are irrelevant for our purposes. In order, these are: Go, Community Chest, Income Tax, Chance, In Jail, Electric Company, Community Chest, Free Parking, Chance, Water Works, Go To Jail, Community Chest, Chance and Super Tax.
This leaves 26 stops, as follows:
The purist view is that these stops should be visited in the order in which they appear on the board, which is the order above. This leads, however, to a lot of travelling. Although most of the 'sets' are reasonably geographically linked, they do not always appear in a logical sequence (for instance, the red set would be far more reasonably listed in the order Fleet Street - Strand - Trafalgar Square, as that is how they are arranged in reality). In addition, some of the jumps between sets, and especially the journeys to accommodate the stations, are quite painful.
For this reason, some people favour reordering the stops to optimise the travel arrangements, typically ending up with a sequence that spirals in. In my view this is an abomination, and truly the last resort of the desperate. The crawl is perfectly completable in the proper order as long as a certain amount of discipline is maintained, and the satisfaction to be gained when you reach the end is far greater.
No further mention will be made in this guide of any order other than that according to the board.
Most of the stops on the board are unambiguous as to which physical street they represent.
Mayfair, of course, is not a street, but an area, and we therefore select a pub which makes travelling from the previous stop convenient and which is quintessentially Mayfair.
The only set for which there can be any doubt is that comprising the three orange properties: Bow Street, Marlborough Street and Vine Street.
According to my A-Z: there are Bow Streets in WC2 (Covent Garden) and E15 (Stratford); there are Vine Streets in W1 (Piccadilly), EC3 (Aldgate) and Romford, and a Vine Street Bridge in Clerkenwell; and there is a Marlborough Street in SW3 (South Kensington) and a Great Marlborough Street in W1 (Soho).
It seems clear that the first of the Bow Streets and the first of the Vine Streets are indeed the ones that are intended. Historically, we have followed the dictates of the name and headed out to South Kensington for Marlborough Street, despite this being an obvious anomaly.
In fact, though, there is an obvious link between Bow Street WC2, Vine Street W1 and Great Marlborough Street W1, namely that they all have famous police stations. It therefore appears clear that in fact Marlborough Street refers to Great Marlborough Street.
There is a substantial amount of travelling involved. Some journeys lend themselves well to travel by underground, and others can be managed by bus. All of this is covered by a zones 1-2 travelcard.
For many of the journeys between central stops walking can be as quick, or quicker. Generally I have listed public transport options where these are feasible, but a small amount of local knowledge or looking at maps will identify how feasible alternatives might be. If I have specified that a journey should be walked then there is unlikely to be a quicker way.
Note that there a few really long journeys, notably the late trip to and from Liverpool station, where a cab can save a lot of time. I don't see any good reason why this should be considered inappropriate, although of course there is a monetary cost.
It's not terribly convenient to start at the first pub. First, it's not the most obvious place in the world to find for people who don't know the area, and second there is a degree of uncertainty. The selected meeting point is therefore Elephant & Castle. This is well-served by public transport (Bakerloo, Northern [City Branch] lines, mainline services, many bus routes) and should be as easy as anywhere.
This is definitely an all day crawl. Reaching the first pub at 11am, and aiming to arrive at the last at 10.30pm, leaves 11 and a half hours for 25 drinks and all the travelling. But the travelling will take at least 7 and a half hours, and around 8 and a half is a fair estimate.
This leaves around 3 hours for drinking, or around 7 minutes to 7 minutes 30 per stop, including ordering time. Stops get slower as the day goes on, so a good early pace is essential.
I recommend examination of the timings from previous runs for more information, although note that there have always been year-to-year variations in route, pubs chosen, engineering works and other travel disruptions, etc.
With 26 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 Circle Line, which is substantially the same length, has been done entirely on Scotch whisky and on Archers peach schnapps, both of which reduce the sheer volume of liquid. At the other extreme, the Monopoly 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).
You will need to catch a 53 or 172 bus from Elephant & Castle, down first the New Kent Road and then the Old Kent Road. These buses leave from the stop near the Elephant & Castle pub, stop K (just before the railway bridge).
The journey will take around 15 minutes. Continue down to the stop just before the junction with Ilderton Road. This around 100 yards before another railway bridge, and shortly after Toys'R'Us. On the corner is the Canterbury Arms.
Return to the same bus stop to catch a 21, 53 or 172 bus (note that for no useful reason the 53 bus will stop a few yards further back up the road) to New Cross Gate station (just after Sainsbury's on the left). Take an East London tube train 6 stops north to Whitechapel.
Coming out of Whitechapel station, turn left and walk along Whitechapel Road for around 200 yards to the Blind Beggar.
Return to Whitechapel station and catch a westbound Hammersmith & City line train to King's Cross St. Pancras. Note that despite confusing signage these trains generally appear to leave from the platform furthest away (4?). If, is might be the case due to engineering works, the Hammersmith & City line is not working, then an alternative is to take the District line westbound to Monument, changing through to Bank to take the Northern line northbound to King's Cross.
From the 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 (this is platform 8, I think). Coopers (formerly the York Tavern) is a short way on the left.
You have a choice of routes to Angel. First route: take the Northern line 1 stop southbound from King's Cross St. Pancras to Angel, turn right out of the station, up Upper Street, and cross at the first traffic lights. Second route: take a 30, 73 or 214 bus from the front of the mainline station up Pentonville Road; the bus will turn left at The Castle (note this as it is the Pentonville Road pub, then right, then left again into Upper Street, where you should get off.
If you got off at the official stop then you will be right outside the Nag's Head.
Reverse the journey you have just made, except that this time you want to go a little way past King's Cross station along the Euston Road.
If you prefer the tube, then you should leave King's Cross St. Pancras tube station using the barriers in the passage to the left, passing forward under the street, then turn right and walk about 250 yards along the road to the Euston Flyer, which is opposite the main entrance of the British Library.
If using a bus, note that only a 30 or 73 will do. The stop is on the other side of Upper Street, directly opposite you. Get off the bus when you reach the pub, as described above.
And it's back up the hill again, with the same choice. Personally I think the bus is slightly more convenient. To catch the bus, cross over Euston Road (there is a crossing), and walk a short way back towards King's Cross for the stop. Remember where you turned left at The Castle (formerly the Pint Pot) before and get off there.
If you insist on the tube, then come out of Angel station and cross the road, turning left to the main lights and right down Pentonville Road for about 150 yards.
Return to King's Cross St. Pancras. To get to the bus stop you should come out of the Pint Pot, cross Pentonville Road and turn right; the stop is about 70 yards along. This time 30, 73 or 214 will again do. Or take the Northern line from Angel.
At King's Cross St. Pancras follow signs to the Piccadilly line and take it 4 stops south to Piccadilly Circus. Follow directions out of the station for Regent Street (South) or Haymarket, and follow either of these down the hill to Pall Mall. If you go down Regent Street (against the traffic), you will need to turn left to reach the bottom of Haymarket. Either way, cross Pall Mall.
Keep right, and when opposite the Texas Embassy bar and adjacent to the National Lottery offices, turn sharp right into Warwick House Street. The Two Chairmen will be immediately in front of you.
Turn right out of the Two Chairmen, and follow the road round as it becomes Trafalgar Square. Cross in front of Admiralty Arch, then cross Whitehall to reach the Silver Cross.
Turn right out of the Silver Cross, and follow the road round the corner into Northumberland Avenue. On the far side, about 100 yards down, is Northumberland Street, and a few yards along there is The Sherlock Holmes.
Continue down Northumberland Avenue, turning left through the big shop-lined tunnel just before the New Hungerford footbridge to reach Embankment tube station. Take the northbound Bakerloo line 6 stops to Marylebone.
Coming out of the barriers into the main concourse, turn right and right again, then aim for the far left corner where lurks the Victoria & Albert.
Return to the Bakerloo line, travelling 5 stops southbound to Charing Cross. Be careful in your choice of exits: you wish to be on the north side of the Strand, and also do not want to be too close to Trafalgar Square. Walk east along the Strand, turning left after 400 yards at the Wellington into Wellington Street. Continue until this becomes Bow Street (close to the Royal Opera), and you will find the Marquess of Anglesey on the right.
Walk back down Bow Street and Wellington Street to the Strand, crossing over to reach a bus stop. Take a 6, 13, 15, or 23 bus round Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus and up Regent Street.
Alight shortly before Oxford Circus, cross Regent Street and take Great Marlborough Street, which starts just to the left of Liberty's. Turn right into Kingly Street, under the footbridge, and visit The Clachan.
Turn left and right out of The Clachan to return to Regent Street. Turn left down Regent Street and make your way to the point at which the road bends to the left, at which point you should cross. Note that it may be possible to hitch a short ride on any of the buses that are going your way.
Once on the opposite side of Regent Street, look for the small turning into Swallow Street, and follow it to reach Down Mexico Way on the right.
Look to your right coming out of Down Mexico Way: Vine Street is the small road on the far side. Turn left, though, and return to Regent Street, crossing to reach bus stops. Take a 6, 13, 15 or 23 bus back to the Strand, alighting just short of the turning into Wellington Street and the beginning of the Aldwych gyratory. You should see the Lyceum on your side of the road about 50 yards before the junction.
Catch a 11 or 15 bus from the same place to go around Aldwych and along Fleet Street. Using McDonalds as a landmark, get off in time for the Olde Cheshire Cheese, which is a little further along on the left. If the Olde Cheshire Cheese is unavailable, then opposite it you will see the Tipperary. Note that this leg is also eminently walkable (go against the traffic along the straight side of the gyratory).
Catch another 11 or 15 bus back to towards Trafalgar Square, and get off at Charing Cross station. Cross the Strand, and head up Duncannon Street, with St. Martin-in-the-Fields on your right. The Half Way to Heaven is around 50 yards up on your left.
Head back towards Charing Cross, but bear to the left of the station forecourt and down Villiers Street to reach Embankment tube station. Take the Circle or District lines 6 stops westbound to Tower Hill.
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 just the other side of the way you came out, and down some stairs.
Return to Embankment via the Circle or District line. Retrace your steps to the Half Way to Heaven, but this time continue, turning right at the front of the church to head up Charing Cross Road. Cross at the National Portrait Gallery, then continue round to the left, continuing into the pedestrianised area of Irving Street to reach Leicester Square.
Turning to your right into the square, the Moon Under Water is on the right before the cinemas.
Bearing slightly to the left, go across the south end of Leicester Square and leave via Panton Street, over a crossroads. The Tom Cribb is on the junction with Oxendon Street, on the right.
Coming out of the pub, continue along Panton Street to Haymarket. Turn right, cross, then first left into Jermyn Street. Head 250 yards along Jermyn Street to the junction with Duke of York Street on the left, where you will find The Red Lion.
Take the passage on the other side of Jermyn Street through to Piccadilly, then cross and cut through via Swallow Street to Regent Street. Cross Regent Street and walk up the far side, turning right after 200 yards into Beak Street. Take the first left into Kingly Street, where after 100 yards you will see the Blue Posts on the junction with Ganton Street.
Continue up Kingly Street, crossing Great Marlborough Street into Argyll Street. At the top of the hill, just before you reach Oxford Street, is the Argyll Arms.
Turn left and left again out of the Argyll Arms to enter Oxford Circus tube station. Take the Victoria line 1 stop south to Green Park. Take the main exit (to the right after the barriers), and turn left as you exit into Piccadilly. Turn left into Albemarle Street, then right into Stafford Street. The Goat is on the left.
Retrace your steps to Green Park station. Take the Piccadilly line 4 stops east, change at Holborn to the Central line, and continue 4 stops east to Liverpool Street.
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.
Alternatively, and especially if you are running late, a cab saves real time and effort on this leg.
Backtrack the previous step, except that you should travel one stop further on the Piccadilly line to reach Hyde Park Corner. There is something of an art to finding the right exit, as this map shows. You want Old Park Lane, which is the turning off Piccadilly just before bus stop C.
Having found Old Park Lane, the Rose & Crown is just up on the right.
Again, though, there are substantial merits to making the journey back from Liverpool Street by cab.
Go up Old Park Lane, right into Brick Street, left into Down Street, right into Hertford Street, round the corner, then right into Shepherd Street. This sequence is easier than it sounds, and just makes a set of 'steps' (look at the map above). Where Shepherd Street meets White Horse Street, turn left, and where the street end you will finally have reached Ye Grapes.
Note that you should walk back down White Horse Street and turn left at Piccadilly to reach Green Park, the nearest station.
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
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