Borough High Street is not a part of London where you’d normally want to linger. It’s a traffic-plagued main route from the Thames through to Elephant & Castle, with all the associated dust and fumes.

Not so long ago, you may have given it a wide berth in beer terms, too, but things have changed dramatically for the better and today there are few areas of the capital where a beer lover could feel more at home.

The renaissance began, at least in part, when Harveys of Lewes acquired The Royal Oak, a corner boozer just a couple of blocks from Borough tube station. They’ve done a marvellous job with the pub, preserving a community spirit in an area where visitors and workers come and go all day long.

There are two, simply furnished rooms divided by a central bar – high ceilings above, bare boards below, and large plate glass windows etched with the name of the parent brewery – with an overflow-cum-function room upstairs.

Pilgrim's Way

It’s as traditional a pub as you’re likely to find in these parts, unimpaired by electronic amusements and placing the focus firmly on conversation, substantial food and alluring ales from Sussex. Expect to find the core of the Harveys range on handpump, from the Dark Mild and Pale Ale to Sussex Best and Armada, with seasonals adding to the variety.

The Royal Oak stands in Tabard Street, which – bearing in mind that it was at The Tabard Inn in this part of town that Chaucer’s pilgrims started their journey to Canterbury – makes a perfect launching point for this beery navigation.

From here retrace your steps back westward to the bustle and grind of Borough High Street. Turn right and head north in the direction of the river and the City.

On the left side of the road, next to Sainsbury’s Local, is one of London’s more interesting drinking places. It’s called Roxy Bar and Screen and is a sort of style bar and cinema combined.

Movie Classics

The outside is not at all promising. There’s not even a sign to tell you what it’s called, so look out for the A-board on the pavement that makes a half-hearted attempt to draw you in.

The front area is narrow and uninspiring; it’s the area beyond the bar at the rear that’s worth the effort. Here the room widens out and centres on a large screen showing anything from cartoons and movie classics to digital TV sport.

There are a few Chesterfield sofas in prime viewing position at the front but otherwise a collection of tables of assorted sizes provide a base from which to watch, eat and drink. There’s an endearing flea-pit chic about this place, enhanced by the red velour drapes that are pulled across to divide the screen area from the bar while premium events (films that are charged extra) are in full swing.

For beer provision, Roxy raids the Utobeer stand just up the road at Borough Market, with bottled offerings including the likes of Goose Island IPA, Erdinger Dunkel and Vedett. But the draught range is nothing to write home about, with Staropramen probably the least dull choice.

National Trust Pub

Back on the High Street, the traffic shows no sign of relenting. It’s a shame the main road here is such an urban nuisance as there are some very fine buildings lurking here, including the National Trust-owned George, one of the great historic pubs of England.

It’s secreted in a courtyard off to the right as you head north, hemmed in by ugly modernity but still redolent of times past with its magnificent galleried façade, in front of which, it is rumoured, Shakespeare may have performed.

Pop in and check out the warren of rooms on various levels, with their old clocks and crooked fireplaces, sloping wooden floors, small-paned windows and warped ceilings. The beer range majors on Greene King offerings, and there are more interesting beers to come on our crawl, so you may wish to save your thirst for the next stop.

Another historic building is the famous Hop Exchange, which you will pass soon on your left as you carry on north towards Borough Market. Here hops from Kent were traded from the 19th century onwards.

On the Market

Borough Market (open Thursday, Friday afternoon and Saturday) itself targets the gourmet, or at least the shopper with an eye for quality, and stands in marked contrast to the fast food establishments that blight the main road outside. Whatever your bag, you should find it here – hand-raised pies, olives, organic meat and vegetables.

There’s also the aforementioned Utobeer stand, where you can pick up a few bottles to take home. The range is terrific, with beers from the far-flung corners of the world rubbing shoulders with the best of British, Belgium, Germany and the USA.

Just across the road from the traders stands the Market Porter, a big, boisterous pub that provides the equivalent of the EastEnders’ Queen Vic for local hawkers and buyers. The beer is thankfully better than in the soap pub.

The dozens of pump clips that line the walls testify to the commitment to quality cask ale here. Much of the drinking here is vertical, especially on market days. Tables are few and there’s generally a crowd of smoker-drinkers snaking around the outside, snatching a quick pint between bits of business or winding down after a day’s graft.

Bankers and Brewers

From the market you can head back to the main street and carry on into town. There’s a decent Fuller’s pub called The Barrowboy & Banker, just before London Bridge, where Borough High Street meets the Thames. As the name suggests, it used to be a bank and features a striking central staircase and a long, curved bar.

An even better alternative, however, is to turn west on leaving The Market Porter and carry on along Stoney Street that takes you to Vinopolis, the successful wine-tasting attraction. Attached is Brew Wharf, a cavernous modern brew pub/restaurant with vaulted ceilings (it’s built into some railway arches).

You can pause here and check out the home brews, try a draught beer from Meantime Brewing or pick out something from a pretty decent bottled beer menu to wash down your updated British fare with a continental twist (the menu, in a linguistic tangle, juxtaposes side dishes of pommes frites and mushy peas).

Our beer crawl finishes, however, just around the corner at one of the smallest but best equipped (in beer terms) drinking places in the country.

Tiny Treasure

The Rake, from the outside, looks nothing special – a clean, fresh, modern bar with room for no more than four small, round tables, and a courtyard alongside that is only marginally bigger. You'd never guess that, for beer lovers, this is the nearest thing to Heaven in this part of the world.

The clue lies in the fact that the bar is run by the guys who operate Utobeer, so many of the beers that can be admired (and occasionally bought) on the market stall are available from coolers here. You are literally spoilt for choice, especially when you add in the adventurous draught beers on sale.

These may include rarities such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in cask form, or Anchor Porter on tap. Veltin’s Pilsner, Maisel’s Weisse and Brigand may be other options, with one-third of a pint glasses available to encourage wider sampling.

The clientele mixes suits with scruffs (I place myself in the latter camp), but all are people united by an appreciation of top quality beer. It’s like a club for beer connoisseurs but far from exclusive and not in the least bit pretentious.

If you ever want to convince doubters of the merits of beer, bring them here. Or better still, drag them along for the whole Borough beer crawl.


Checklist:

The Royal Oak
44 Tabard Street, SE1 4JU
Tel. (020) 7357 7173

Roxy Bar and Screen
128–132 Borough High Street, SE1 1LB
Tel. (020) 7407 4057

The George
77 Borough High Street, SE1 1NH
Tel. (020) 7407 2056

The Market Porter
9 Stoney Street, SE1 9AA
Tel. (020) 7407 2495

Utobeer
Unit 24, Borough Market, SE1 1TL
Tel. (020) 7378 9461
Open Thursday, Friday afternoon and Saturday.

The Barrowboy & Banker
6–8 Borough High Street, SE1 9QQ
Tel. (020) 7403 5415
Closed Saturday evening and Sunday.

Brew Wharf
Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
Tel. (020) 7378 6601

The Rake
14 Winchester Walk, SE1 9AG
Tel. (020) 7407 0557
Closed Sunday.