Waterloo

Gosh, it's windy here, perhaps I should have selected an inland location for today's survey!  Anyway, the sun was shining brightly as I started a mopping-up operation in Waterloo.  I've been here a few times in recent years but there's still a handful of places overdue for a revisit.  I started in the Old Bank:

Something strange in here.  Either my memory from 2011 is faulty or the place has been gutted and remodelled.

The interior now is extremely well done in traditional pub style, with lots of dark wood panelling and some glazed partitions.  The more I look, the more I think it is all new, in which case they've done a superb job.

Two clips on the pumps, and my pint of Titanic Steerage was excellent.  Most of the regulars were watching the horse racing (Cheltenham Festival), and my change came with a sweepstake ticket offering a free pint if my horse won, but it didn't.

The sound in here was lively chatter amongst the cheerful regulars, with racing commentary in the background.  What a great pub.

Just two doors down is Wetherspoon's Queens Picture House:

A quick scan of the counter here, and it was another Titanic brew which caught my eye, so I had an excellent pint of White Star which I must say tasted just like the Steerage I had before.

As you would expect in a spoons, the place was busy with a wide spectrum of customers, but not so busy that I couldn't find a comfortable seat.

The quirky decor is rather good in here, I sat in the side room which has bare brick walls and a skylight to let the sunshine in.

My next target was another pub not visited since 2011, the Lion and Unicorn:

They certainly like their pubs in Waterloo!  Another busy lively boozer with the soundtrack a mixture of cheerful chatter and racing commentary.

No real ale in this one, so I had a pint of Foster's for a change, Australian fizz instead of the usual Canadian.  (Yes, I know they're both brewed in England.)

No matter which way I looked there was a screen showing the racing, I couldn't avoid it.

That's the three pubs here overdue for a visit ticked off, what should I do now?  I decided to finish in one which has changed its name since my last visit.  In 2018 it was Stamps Too, now it's the Waterpudlian:

Apart from the name, nothing seems to have changed here since my previous visit.  The decor is exactly the same, in fact there's still a Stamps Too sign, and most importantly the real ale continues to be excellent.  Another favourite of mine, White Rat, was on so no difficulty in choosing what to have.  And it was great.

Only two other customers, which is a shame; this place deserves more.  Happily, as soon as I'd written that another one came in, followed moments later by some more.

Time to head home.

Pub of the day: The Old Bank for it's brilliant rebuild.
Miles walked: Only half a mile today.
Maybe coming soon: Thornton and Crosby.