Rose & Crown, Wimbledon Village, SW19

This is a 17th century pub, enlarged in the ‘80s, given a makeover in 2002 and reputedly a favourite of Algernon Swinburne (?). As mentioned, the interior is pleasingly traditional with a typical contemporary pastel palette of burgundy, blue and ochre; to the rear is the hotel check-in, then a flagstone floor at front, bare boarded to the rear, mixed though traditional furniture, knickknacks, potted palms and of course, eclectic prints, all lapped up by wombles of a mixed age, making for a good atmosphere during my Saturday visit at just gone 9.00pm. Of course, there was London Original and Special, then Hophead at an awful £6.40 a pint, good condition, served by a friendly barman. This is one of the better offerings in the Wimbledon locale and more restful than the Dog & Fox (opposite), but if in the area, I’d take the short walk to the Hand in Hand.

Central island bar with a traditional interior. 5 real ales on.

Despite being largely a boutique hotel, the bar remains very traditionally pub-like. There is an island bar with a stone floor one side and wood the other, with a couple of nice fireplaces and a comfortable feel. The restaurant and hotel area is off to the rear/side. Beers from Young's and well kept.

Number 5 on the Wimbledon 8 and although this was a nice enough place, there's little here to make it last longer in the memory. Youngs Special. Again. £2.10 per half. Call the monopolies commission, there is price fixing here. Some photos at my walking blog - http://bit.ly/1Tf0AGO

An old pub with a central bar surround by several separate drinking/eating areas but I would say with a bias toward food nowadays,having said that there are three handpumps on three separate sides of the bar so a total of nine,being a Youngs pub they were all from the Wells and Youngs Stable and some were repeated. I opted for Youngs Humming Bird and was pleasantly surprised how good it was not being a fan of this brewer in the modern day,I was also slightly taken aback a little at the price tag of £4.04 a pint,I stuck with the one.Not a bad pub but more hotel than boozer.