London Pub Tour 56 - Waterloo: Hole in the Wall and The Wellington

After my visit a few days back in Waterloo I felt the need to go back and visit two of the pubs that everyone who goes through Waterloo must have popped into at some stage. My first port of call was the Hole in the Wall (SE1 8SQ) which evidently doesn't look enticing from the outside, situated under the railway arch. Upon walking in their are two bar sections. The small front bar feels cosy and like a local pub, but smelt damp and wet from the rain. There is soft seating around the edge with small tables. There is 70s style cheap wood around the bar, and not the full offering of beer is available.

If you walk through the little corridor you arrive into the large rear bar. There is a further door out into a tiny corrugated iron covered patio for the smokers. The rear bar stretches along the side wall, most of the length of the rail arch. There were 8 hand pumps offering Young's Bitter, GK IPA, Doombar, Harvard American Pale Ale, Wandle, Boon Doggle, T.E.A and Bow Bells. The kegs included Guinness, Wolf Rock, Strongbow Original and Dark, Budweiser, Becks Vier, Yardbird, Stella and more.

I went for a pint of the Harvard from Southwark Brewery for £4.05. I handed in £10.05 and only got a pound change, but once queried I got the fiver as well. The beer had some nice floral notes and wasn't hoppy, with a slightly bitter after taste. The pub was busy with standing room only There were some gaming machines in the corner and also a pinball machine. The walls were white wood panels and there were some old beer mirrors from Guinness. You can hear the trains running overhead but their not too noisy. I only stayed for the one as I was on a tight schedule with a train to catch, but I had enough time to pop out to my next pub the Wellington (SE1 8UD).

The Wellington is a Fuller's pub just outside of the Jubilee line entrance. There are two entrances into the pub and the bars are on the back wall. There are three sections to the pub with the far left being seating only. The bars are large with big spirit displays behind, which grabs your eye. There were 5 hand pumps on the bar offering up Pride, Seafarers, ESB, Southern Star and Olivers Island. On the keg side there was Guinness, Kozel, Stowford Press, 1664, Frontier, Fosters, San Miguel, Peroni and Heineken. I actually spotted a bottle in the fridge I hadn't come across before. I selected a 330ml bottle of Fullers Pale Ale which came in at an astonishing £2.65. The beer is only 3.5% and is meant to be used for mixing with bitter for a half and half, but I had it on its own. It was an ok beer with slight carbonation but at a great price for a Fullers pub.


The pub as always was quite busy but there were some free seats in the pub, so I sat on one of the high tables and admired the beautiful murals on the arched ceiling (The photo opposite do not do it justice). There is exposed brick walls behind the bar. The rest of the pub is a lovely wood paneling with a white paint on the walls above. There are frames along the walls with different historical references. There are chandeliers hanging from the walls providing simple lighting. Mostly soft seating and low tables, with a few high tables in the middle bar area. Gaming machines are also present between the two bars area.

The Wellington is a very nice Fullers pub which as I've stated the photos here don't do it justice. A hotel is also present in the building. Unfortunately I had a train to catch but it won't be long before I visit as I often visit the Wellington when awaiting a train at Waterloo.