London Pub Tour 6 - Charing Cross: Princess of Wales, Ship and Shovell, Champagne Charlie's and The Sherlock Holmes

I've been visiting a lot of pubs in the Victoria area so opted to head slightly further to Charing Cross. Charing cross has many a selection of pubs and my first stop was a Nicholson's pub on Villiers Street called The Princess of Wales (WC2N 6ND). I've always avoided this pub as due to it proximity to Charing Cross station and being on the walk to Embankment tube station, it's always too busy. Well surprisingly the pub didn't look busy from the outside so I opted to go in.

The pub was much smaller inside than I was expecting. There were some high tables by the front window which would seat maybe 8 to 10 people each. Then some smaller tables passing along the wall opposite the bar through to the back. There was an upstairs dinning area which I didn't pop up to see how big it was though I noticed this was a Nicholson' Sausage and Chop House. I've never come across this branding of theirs before but it appears to be their way of offering a simpler menu much like Fullers Ale & Pie pubs, maybe due to restricted kitchen size, which I could understand if the upstairs dinning plus kitchen was the same as the bar area.

There were 6 hands pumps of which only 4 were on. I've had the house Nicholson's Pale Ale and Cotleigh's tawny before, so my decision was between Blackwolf's Big Red or Thornbridge's Wild Holly. I swung towards the Big Red as it wasn't a high abv at 3.8% and I've had quite a lot of winter/Christmas beers in the last few weeks, so it seemed a good time for a break. The beer was smooth but not overly impressive to make me want to order another one. All the tables were occupied so I found a place further towards the rear along the bar I could stand without being an obstruction to others wishing to order.

I moved on afterwards to the Ship and Shovell (WC2N 5PH) which is less than a one minute walk away, even against a rush hour crowd. The Ship and Shovell is down a walkway which you have to pass under Charing Cross station. The pub itself is unique as its actually occupies two separate buildings on the opposite sides of the walkway. The original pub is the bigger building from the 1860s which is always open, versus the newer building which opened in the late 90s but isn't always open. On this occasion the newer building was closed however the original side is the better in my opinion.

This pub is a Halls and Woodhouse pub and as such all ales on tap were Badger. I do like Halls and Woodhouse pubs however, I'm not a fan of Badger beers. There were 4 hand pumps with only 3 on providing a choice of Tanglefoot, First Call or Fursty Ferret. There were the whole selection of Badger beers and ciders on bottle, whilst on tap they had a small selection of mainstream lagers which included Peroni, Amstel and 1664. Also on tap was Badger's own lager, Leaping Legend. I'd tasted all these drinks before except for their pear cider but as I was in an ale mood I went for a pint of Tanglefoot. As stated I'm not truely a fan of Badger beers but I think Tanglefoot is definitely my favourite and it tasted much better than the Big Red I'd had before.

The pub had lots of free tables but I again decided to stand at a quite end of the bar so I could admire the interior of this wonderful pub. The pub had a nautical theme, like many do, with some very nice wooden ship models. There were some old portraits on the walls, of which I'm not going to attempt to guess the subjects and I'm sure can be found elsewhere online. The walls were wood panelled and there was a large section with beautiful mirrors. The pub had some minor screened areas and was full of beautiful wood all round. Halls & Woodhouse and Sam Smith's that I do admire when it comes to tasteful refurbishments of pubs.

After finishing my pint I headed slightly back on myself to an establishment I've passed many times that has a sign stating ales served but of which I always shied away from due thinking, based on its name, it wouldn't be my type of scene nor might I be permitted in. What is this place I talk of, well it's Champagne Charlie's.

After walking through and down the stairs to the basement area, you enter a very dim (mood lighting style) lit bar in front of you. The bar was 2 lagers (Meantime and London Pale Ale) and 2 ales (Old Wallop and Whitstable Bay). I opted for a pint of Old Wallop by Charles and Well and was pleasantly surprised when it was poured into a wonderful looking tankard. I was certainly not expecting that nice touch!

The bar was quite empty with only four older gentlemen drinking lagers and wines whilst standing at the bar. What I assume was a work party came from around a corner and left, which made me realise the place much have quite a big dinning area. Along with this I noticed that the bar area to the left of the entrance was actually much bigger than I gave it credit for as it stretches much further back. I sat at a small table with a view of their big fridge so I could have a nose. There were a few bottles that I perhaps wouldn't mind going back for to have a taste of. During my time sipping the from the tankard quite a few groups of 2-4 young (25-35yrs) people came down into the bar ordering beers and taking up seating in the bar area. I did see that they only served up the Old Wallop in the tankard, so people ordering the Whitstable Bay did miss out.

As the place was starting to get busier with work crowds as it had hit 5pm I left and made my way to my last venue, the very touristy Sherlock Holmes (WC2N 5DB). This pub is only a few metres away from the Ship and Shovell and was completely packed with either the after work crowd or the pre-theatre crowd. Usually the pub is full of American and Japanese tourists however I didn't spot one at all, and everyone had a UK accent which I found bizzare. Now the Sherlock Holmes is a Greene King pub which serves two special beers for the place: Holmes and Watson. As stated before, I'm not a fan of Greene King beers, as there is just something in the flavour that I'm not particularly keen on. Yes it's drinkable but I normally try to avoid their ales. Yet as I was in an ale mood and I had deliberately subjected myself to coming to this bar knowing full well it was a Greene King and what would be on I ordered a pint of Watson. The Holmes stated on the badge 'House Ale' which I've tasted a few times previously in Greene King pubs under other disguises whilst the Watson stated Amber Ale. The beer was as expected of Greene King, which is for each individual to judge themselves.

Looking round the pub it seemed to have less memorabilia on the walls then I remembered. All that remained of the old CRT TVs, that played Black and White out of copyright Sherlock Holmes episodes, were the brackets from the ceiling. As the pub was rammed and only getting busier, along with Spice Girls playing over the sound system, I made quick with my pint, and paid a visit to the lads room before leaving. Looking back at the pub from the road I certainly could admire what a grand and beautiful building it is, and can't help but feel that although touristy, it certainly wasn't a horrible 'tourist trap' like some other establishment. And at least was an introduction for many to the idea of a traditional British pub.