Walking with friends: Waterloo to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens... and beyond

Wednesday August 27, 2025.

Having arrived back from our family holiday, in Lanzarote, on Monday, I was itching to get back to walking London's streets and discover new places.

Fortunately, I still had some time off, before I return to work next month.

My friend and colleague, Steve, also had this week off from work, so we met at Watford underground station and set off for London. Our Metropolitan line train took us to Finchley Road, where we switched to a Jubilee line train to take us to Waterloo, where our walk would begin.

As the weather forecast said rain was due in the afternoon, we both had light coats with us 

Exiting Waterloo station, we crossed Waterloo Road and made our way to the Waterloo Bus Garage, where we would have breakfast at the Bus Cafe. Now, Waterloo Bus Garage is a significant place as it became the first fully electric bus depot, in Europe, in 2016.

On entering the Bus Cafe we grabbed an available table, before I ordered two Full English breakfasts, with coffee. We didn't have to wait too long before it was served to us. As we ate the rain, that was promised for the afternoon, suddenly released a deluge. 

After we had finished we got speaking with a man at a neighbouring table. It turns out he had just flown in from Canada and, on hearing about the Bus Cafe, had entered to try his first ever Full English breakfast. A mum and daughter, at another table, were also here on their first visit. The rest of the cafe was full of bus drivers on their breaks or preparing to start their shifts.

We left the Bus Cafe and headed down Waterloo Road towards the London Ambulance Service Headquarters, where we looked at the three ambulances preserved on the forecourt, taking photos and reading about the history of the London Ambulance Service.

From here we headed down Pearman Street, crossed Westminster Bridge Road and continued down King Edward Walk, crossed Lambeth Road and cut through Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park to reach Kennington Road.

We followed Kennington Road until we turned down Chester Way, then Kennington Lane where we turned down White Hart Street. It was here, on the Kennings Estate that we discovered some ARP stretchers being used as railings. Eventually we found ourselves on Kennington Park Road.

From here we rejoined Kennington Road and made our way to 'The Dog House', as we had heard great things about it. Plus, we were getting thirsty. Unfortunately, the pub was late in opening, so we entered 'The Tommyfield', which stands opposite.

We ordered our drinks and grabbed a table, from where we checked out the pub. It turns out that this pub has comedy nights, where various comedy figures have played.

Suitably hydrated we crossed Kennington Lane and entered 'The Dog House'. And what a delight it was. We had entered into what, at one time had been the 'public' bar, where a glass cabinet held taxidermied birds, while teapots hung from the ceiling. A short corridor, covered in small movie posters promoting various horror and science fiction films.

Entering the 'Saloon' bar we discovered more taxidermied animals, while empty bird cages hung from the ceiling. The walls were adorned with random photos, prints, African tribal masks and so much more. A small snug had oriental parasols hanging above it. It is an eclectic place. After looking around as much as we could and having spoken with the landlord, about the building, we took our drinks outside to the beer garden and relaxed.

On leaving 'The Dog House' we passed the house where Charlie Chaplin had lived, from 1889-1978, before crossing Kennington Road and heading down Black Prince Road. We passed 'The Black Prince' pub and Venn Park, before reaching Tyers Street, where we stopped for a drink at 'The Jolly Gardeners'. 

Now, I have been here before and this pub houses a piano that was, supposedly, played by Charlie Chaplin Senior. It is stood in the corner of the pub, in a sorry looking state. There is no plaque or information that states its history, but it is still an intriguing piece to look at. After looking at the piano we sat in the open-air garden and sipped our drinks.

On leaving the pub we continued along Black Prince Road, where I pointed out 'The Queen's Head' pub, which is now a bistro. At one time, in its past, this pub was frequented by Charlie Chaplin as it was run by his Uncle. It was here that he drew inspiration for his "Tramp" character, after noticing a patron, Archibald Binks, who wore large loose fitting trousers and walked with a shuffle.

We continued our walk until we reached the 'Doulton' building, with its ornate office building, on the corner of Lambeth High Street. This is one of my favourite buildings in the area.

Turning up Lambeth High Street we stopped, so that Steve could have his photo taken with some firemen.

 

We then entered 'The Windmill Pub'. This is another pub that I had visited before and was eager to show Steve its wonderful interior and its amazing and entertaining 'If Places Were Faces, London' drawing. And Steve loved it, spending far too much time laughing at the names and faces on it. We then looked around the pub, before sitting to sip our drinks.

We then headed back down Lambeth High Street and back along Black Prince Road until we reached Vauxhall Walk, which we followed, passing the National Crime Agency building, until we reached Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. 

Although still carrying our jackets the clouds had all but disappeared, causing the temperature to soar, which was no bad thing. 

We stopped here so that I could show Steve the 'Tea House Theatre', which has an interesting history. Originally called 'The Queen Anne' pub it was rebuilt in 1895 and, in 1959, became one of the first pubs in London to provide adult entertainment. From 1990 pole dancers were introduced and the building would continue with its adult entertainment until its closure in about 2009. It reopened as the Tea House Theatre in July, 2011.

On leaving Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens we headed inside the bustling 'The Black Dog' pub. This was another delightful pub with friendly staff and some interesting features. As we sat, enjoying our drinks, we planned where we would head to next. We could continue south towards Vauxhall and Nine Elms or head west, across the River Thames. Or, we could head east, towards Kennington, or head back towards Waterloo. We chose the latter.

Heading back up Vauxhall Walk we were soon back on Black Prince Road and, to our surprise, discovered that 'The Black Prince' had opened early, so, we went in. This pub has been used in numerous films and TV shows, but is best known from the 2014 film 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'. The pub is beautifully decorated, but, as the barman told us, doesn't have anywhere near as much decoration as it once did. Still, it was great to finally visit the pub. Chatting with other customers as well as the landlord, we told them about our walk and where we had visited. Like many of the other people that we had spoken with, throughout the day, they all seemed disgusted with 'The Tommyfield'. The barman told us that we should  visit 'The Prince of Wales', on Cleaver Square. So, we finished our drinks and headed off.

We crossed Kennington Road, once more, and headed down Cleaver Street and turned onto Cleaver Square and immediately noticed 'The Prince of Wales'.

The interior of this pub had paintings and sketches of various historical figures, photographs of cricketers, photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and much more. It was a small but fascinating place. We chatted with the staff and landlord, as we sipped our drinks, explaining that this pub had been suggested by the barman from 'The Black Prince'. Again, the landlord suggested a few places that we might like to visit, before we left.

We left the pub and retraced our steps until we reached Kennington Lane, which we followed to Newington Butts and Elephant & Castle.From here we turned westward, along St George's Road, where we stopped, eerily, at 'The Prince of Wales'. Like many of the pubs that we had visited today, this, too, had the feel of a community pub. We sat in the large beer garden, sipping our drinks, while planning where to venture next.

On leaving we headed along Garden Row and joined London Road, which brought us onto Blackfriars Road. We then turned onto Union Street and entered the wonderfully over-the-top 'Lord Nelson' pub. Posters are laminated to tables, plasters to the ceiling, while almost every inch of the walls is covered in pop culture pictures and news cuttings. One figure that seems to have more appearances, on the walls, is Noel Edmonds, for some reason. 

After finishing our drinks we crossed Union Street and entered 'The Charlotte', which is housed within one of the arches beneath the mainline railway out of Blackfriars. As the weather was still warm we sat outside and enjoyed the breeze that flowed down the side of the railway arches.

With time getting on we left 'The Charlotte' and headed along Union Street towards Waterloo. As we reached 'The Cut' we decided to have one more drink, so we entered 'The Ring' pub. This pub is full of boxing memorabilia, as opposite the pub once stood a chapel, which, when it was purchased in 1910, became the first indoor boxing ring for the working classes. 

Suitably hydrated, for the last part of our walk, we left the pub and followed 'The Cut', passing 'The Old Vic', before we reached Waterloo Rad and our destination of Waterloo station, from where our walk had begun.

We descended the escalators and boarded a Jubilee line train, bound for Stanmore, alighting at Baker Street. Escalators and stairs brought us to Platform 1, where a Watford-bound train awaited us.

Arriving at Watford we said our "goodbyes", before we both began our short walks towards our respective homes.

An absolutely brilliant day of learning new things and visiting new places with great company.

I can't wait until our next one.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles
• Car - 0.0 miles
• DLR - 0.0 miles
• Ferry - 0.0 miles
• Overground - 0.0 miles
• River Boat - 0.0 miles
• Taxi - 0.0 miles
• Train - 0.0 miles
• Underground - 39 miles
• Walking - 7.5 miles