The Worlds End, Camden Town, NW1

I came here once, before a New Year's Eve party around 1991 so thought that another visit was in order. It's much as I vaguely remember it, though it has been smartened up. The pub was originally called Old Mother Red Caps and dates from 1631, rebuilt in the mid/late-19th century, expanded and renamed the World's End in 1989. This pub isn't big inside because it's *vast*. Some pubs have a two-bar format, this is more a two-pub format, with separate island bars separated by a hike, flagstone floors, lowered drinking zones and an upstairs mezzanine drinking area. At ground floor level there are break-out areas. As mentioned, the pub has recently been redecorated with a smart gold lettering on black frontage and Victorian interior that seems to have been influenced by the Midland Grand Hotel (St. Pancras Station). There are slender columns with elaborate capitals, some bare brick walls and some covered with recreation Victorian wallpaper; the overall effect is slightly overwhelming. Some of the flooring is part carpeted, part bare boarded. Muted Pink Floyd played over the gramophone and sadly, there are some games machines. I may have imagined it, but the pub actually seems to have a number of shops incorporated into it, including a tattoo parlour! You can also feel the vibrations from the tube trains when they pass beneath. Ales: Greene King IPA and Moreland's Old Speckled Hen at a steep £2.70 a half and not great. This pub is definitely worth a visit on a quiet early evening, early week visit, but I wouldn't touch the place on a Friday or Saturday evening and I wouldn't want to spend the whole evening in here.