Great Southern, SE19

This is a large landmark pub, formerly the Gipsy Hill Tavern, handily situated next to the train station. The pub’s interior has been knocked through to create a large front room with two notional sides, although ultimately, it’s all very open plan. The room has an impressive, seemingly retrofitted patterned tile floor, very reminiscent of those you sometimes see in old branches of the O’Neills chain. The walls are a mix of timber clad and full height panelling at the front and rear, with bare brick walls on either side. The bar runs down the right-hand wall, with a modest, low counter and smart modern bar back which incorporates a few arched windows, suggesting the servery may have moved to this position when the pub was knocked through. Large Chesterfield sofas to the left looked like the comfiest seating option, positioned in front of a smart brick fireplace with a huge potted plant on the hearth, which probably tells you that the fire never gets used. There’s a large plain mirror above and some suitcases nailed to the surrounding wall space along with an old Gipsy Hill station sign, in an attempt to give the pub a vague railway theme. Tables and chairs fill the rest of the space, which is decorated with more traditional pictures and a couple of corporate style blackboards. There were also several TV screens throughout, showing a live Premier League fixture with a cool soundtrack playing in the background. The pub extends further back to the rear right, into what appears to be a dining area, although no-one was eating when I visited on a late Sunday afternoon. A sizeable garden can be found to the rear, with loads of picnic bench eating and plenty of shelter. For anyone dropping in ahead of their train journey, a departure board has been mounted above the servery, keeping punters appraised of the infrequent service through the neighbouring station. There are three handpulls on the bar here, but sadly they were all out of action, following a busy weekend, so I tried Gipsy Hill Bandit, straight from the brewery at the end of the road. This was a decent enough pint, served to me by a disinterested barman. This is quite a smartly presented pub with some traditional elements retained despite the butchered internal layout. It’s a shame there was no cask ale available on my visit – definitely a question mark around how likely you’d be to find some here – but on the whole, I though this was a nice place that would act as an ideal stop-off point for anyone just off, or waiting to board, the train.

Official site of The Gipsy Hill Tavern - www.thegreatsouthernpub.co.uk

Official site of The Gipsy Hill Tavern - www.thegreatsouthernpub.co.uk

Unfortunately closed with the windows whitewashed over on my early April visit, there was a notice in the window stating there is an application for minor change of use, my request to mark the pub as closed was not actioned for some reason, but who knows , it may well be back open by now.

A lovely looking clearly old building in a prominent site next to Gipsy Hill station. Externally it looks in need of a bit of care, the pub sign is especially worn, inside was warm and tidy however. Central bar with the room wrapping around, the fire was lit and the football was on TV. I didn't spot the separate room to the rear as my stay was particularly brief, the handpumps have been removed and there is obviously now no real stuff to drink. So I took a quick look around and left without buying a beer. No rating consequently.