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VERSION:2.1
N:The Mayflower
FN:The Mayflower
TEL;WORK;VOICE:020 7237 4088
ADR;WORK:;;117 Rotherhithe Street;SE16 4NF
URL:
NOTE:Rather off the beaten track, but worth finding, this 17th century pub was built at the end of the jetty from where the Mayflower took the Founding Fathers to America. Boasting thick original beams supporting the superstructure, original woodwork and two low, cosy bar areas, it certainly looks the part, and is a wonderful place to while away lazy Sunday hours. One of its most attractive features is the jetty jutting out over the water, where you can sit supping ale while the Thames slaps and washes about just under your feet. Across the water, in the fading evening light, all the windows of the luxury apartment developments in Wapping beam invitingly. When I first came here back in 1993, the whole riverfront east of Tower Bridge was a line of abandoned, crumbling warehouses, only ever used as sets for crime thrillers, channel 4 documentaries about drugs and pop videos. Now they are far more useless. In the same stretch of time, the Mayflower hasn't changed at all, and I suspect that's the way it will long continue. The best way to get here is to walk along the Thames path from Tower Bridge, an interesting journey in itself, affording great views of the City, docklands and the new developments inbetween. Getting a 400 year old pub with Greene King bitters and a fabulous jetty at the end is a pretty fine reward for your efforts.
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