Bank Holiday Saturday allowed an opportunity for a Saarf-bank of London pub crawl with Richard Bradshaw. A gentle train ride down to Waterloo was undertaken where it was decided that we would do some old favourites and also some new ones. On arrival I rang up Rich and we aimed for the Mulberry Bush. This is quite a modern, smart, estate pub, a combination that one does not encounter that often. Lots of well-heeled people seemed to be drinking there and it had a continental feel with large windows in the front completely open. We sat inside however to avoid the yuppie hipsters - yipsters?, huppies?, yupsters? but not hippies - and enjoyed a reasonable beer from quite a good, albeit slightly crafty, range. Three proper ones in total.

A novel place to drink next was Studio 6 which is really a Mediterranean restaurant sprawling inside and out in some sort of outdoor market type thing. We waited an age for some Spanish fizz to be served up in plastic glasses from the bar area. It was quite nice to sit outside however, so not a complete write off. For the purists - no proper beer.

A proper pub but not an outstanding one was the Thirsty Bear just up the road. Two average beers on. This is one of those industrial, slightly hipster pubs. They have a beer keg turned into a urinal for example. Not a bad place though and at least a proper pub with a few nooks and crannies. We however sat outside as they have a couple of tables out there, above the cellar hatch, and you can watch the world go by. It seems to have got a bit trendier now and has one of those self-service beer things plus iPads etc to order food. Yeah, right.

The Mad Hatter just up the road is probably still traditional pub, and it is also an hotel. One of the Fullers chain, it boasted five decent beers. Inside it is quite sprawling and very much in line with what you would expect in a Fullers pub - traditional bar, lots of wood, a bit of tat here and there, some booths, squashy leather sofas and mismatched wooden chairs. We eschewed all this lot and sat outside next to the road. The toilets are near reception and a bit hard to find.

The splendid looking Rose & Crown on Colombo Street unfortunately does not open at the weekend but we took a detour past it to reach the less than splendid Prince William Henry. This is mainly less than splendid because it is in a soulless space in the bottom of a low rise block of flats, but what it lacks in character it partially makes up for with a decent selection of beers, 5 on when we went. The building is set back from the road and there is a 'garden' (driveway?) out front where one can consume one's beer on a trestle table. Also has some kind of heated patio type arrangement too for the indoor-outdoor experience.

The Lord Nelson was next to be accessed after a short walk down some back streets. This is much more of a locals' pub and quite interesting although sadly only had one beer on. Quirky however, with an interior packed with interesting tat and friendly faces, and I think craft beer too which does not count towards the beer tally. We again sat outside - it's at the bottom of a taller block of flats, and the garden faces a more residential road. Despite the lack of beer a good place to be.

I nearly forgot about Jack's Bar in this write up! This is near Southwark station, under a railway arch. It's more of a cavernous venue than a pub but has a decent bar and does some OK beer though nothing special. You can have a table served meal outside, or they can make you a cocktail. We had neither.

Our previous pub was really only to break up the walk to the King's Arms at Waterloo. Outstanding once again, 9 **proper** beers on, not a lot of craft, and excellent atmosphere. We stayed for two. Final stop was actually backtracking towards Southwark tube as this is a much easier station to navigate. The Ring has been visited a number of times and is always a solid bet. Three beers on which was enough. By now it was about 8 or 9 pm, so a sprint down the escalators, the Jubilee line and a brisk walk from Baker Street to Marylebone, and I was back in Banbury in a couple of hours.