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Church Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5AE
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 02-07-2009:
Nowadays known as “Murray Mount”, The Hill is the best place to watch the big Wimbledon games if you don’t have centre court tickets. I spent the vast majority of my times with mates on the Hill yesterday watching the Men’s quarter finals.
At capacity, the Hill can hold about 4,000 people, but to be honest, only about 2,500 of those people will have a decent view of the screen, so it’s best to get there early! Fans picnic, guzzle Pimms and generally have a ruddy good time watching the tennis.
As with the Queue, here is my guide to Henman Hill, Murray Mount or whatever it is called these days! -
A guide to the Hill
- Buy a ground pass. They are between £10 and £20 and are easy to come by in Week 1 of the Championships. Week 2 becomes more difficult and you can expect to queue for +4 hours for access to the hill.
- Get to the hill EARLY. They open it up around 10.30am. I would recommend going straight there.
- Bring a blanket. Spreading a blanket and marking your territory is great way of shotgunning spots for your mates (Fellow fans are unlikely to sprawl across your blanket but will have no problem nestling in next to you on the grass)
- If you are in a group of 3 or more, do rounds of drinks. As you can imagine, the queue for refreshments is pretty monstrous. For a busy game, you can expect to be away from your spot for about 3 service games if you are on drinks detail. The best bar go to is the “Drinks Spot” immediately to the right of the big screen (it may look long, but it moves very fast)
- Bring a Cool Box. You’re allowed to take 2 cans of beer or a bottle of wine/bubbly into the grounds. I’d highly recommend bringing in drinks (but make sure you can keep them cold!).
- Don’t worry about positioning yourself too close to the screen like in the cinema. Given the slope of the hill, you never really have to crane your neck.
- Finally, watch out for drinks toppling over uphill from you! As the day goes on, fans tend to spill more and more drinks. This seems to have a Himalayan/Ganges “run-off” effect where streams of lager, pimms and ice find their way into the back of your shorts. Don’t say i didn’t warn you!
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
4 people thought this review was helpful
Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SS
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 30-06-2009:
20 years ago you wouldn’t park your car around the Oval because of the crime and generally down trodden area. Things have changed. While The Oval is still a far cry from the St. John’s Wood area surrounding Lords, it’s certainly improved in recent years. The Oval has been completely refurbished and is now a world class sporting venue. I won’t go into the details of the ground (it’s been done pretty well below), so i thought i’d list the best pubs around the cricket ground. In no particular order -
The Fentiman Arms
The Duke of York
The Roebuck
The Vauxhall Griffin
Enjoy!
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
4 people thought this review was helpful
84 Ashmole St, Kennington, London SW8 1NE
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 30-06-2009:
If you’re going to watch a game of Cricket at the Oval, this is probably the pub you want to come to before the match. A friendly, working man’s vibe and plenty of beers on tap. I didn’t get a chance to try the food but i can say that they have a fine selection of crisps at the bar! The Roebuck also is a great place to watch live sport (particularly rugby). We managed to catch the Lions game at the weekend and even managed to score a table! A small outdoor seating area caps this place off with a very respectable 4 stars.
Areas of improvement - Toilets weren’t exceptionally clean and the bar staff were a bit slow (that being said we were a group of 16!)
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
1 person thought this review was helpful
2 Cleaver Square, Kennington, London SE11 4DW
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 30-06-2009:
Now this is a great pub and i was so pleased to have discovered it on Saturday night. The Prince of Wales in Kennington has everything a real-ale loving, avid sportsman could ever want - A fine selection of ales (including Deuchars IPA), Great food and an area for Boules (Petanque) outside the pub. You’ll need to put a £20 deposit behind the bar to take a Boules set, but it’s well worth it. Great fun.
Friendly staff and punters and generally a great pub experience. This is somewhere you can take your Mum and Dad or hit up with your mates on a big friday night out.
An easy 5 stars.
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
2 people thought this review was helpful
22 Replingham Road, Wimbledon, London SW18 5LS
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 30-06-2009:
This is a Whetherspoon’s pub, but it’s a half decent one. The fried breakfast was monstrous (and only £3.99!). Nice little outdoor bit at the front where you can sit and watch the comings and goings around Southfields tube station.
Oh, they have a quiz machine too (which i’m quickly learning is quite rare in South London!).
Review in one line: Good for cheap beer, food and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
1 person thought this review was helpful
479-481 Merton Road, Wandsworth, London SW18 5LD
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 30-06-2009:
The Pig and Whistle is probably the best pub in Wimbledon/Wandsworth within striking distance of the Wimbledon queue. We came here on Sunday night for a desperately needed hot food and to watch some football. The staff at the Pig and Whistle certainly look after the Wimbledon lot well. 2 for 1 meal discounts, drinks offer and generally great service. The Sunday roast was superb!
This place is also excellent for live sport - Big screen out the back which generally shows whatever the punters agree should be on.
Very close to 5 stars.
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
2 people thought this review was helpful
Wimbledon, London SW19
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 03-07-2008:
(updated on 25-06-2009)
2009 Update
That’s right folks. I’ll be queuing again this year on Sunday night/Monday morning for the Men’s last 16. I thought i’d include a few pointers in this update on how and when to Queue at Wimbledon:
Andrew’s Guide to Queuing at Wimbledon 2009
Wimbledon remains one of the very few major UK sporting events where you can still buy premium tickets on the day of play. Approximately 500 tickets for Centre Court (except for the last four days), No.1 and No.2 Courts are reserved for sale at the turnstiles each day and about 6000 Ground Admission tickets are available each day. This number may vary depending on the number of people already in the grounds, the number of courts in play and the weather.
When to arrive?
If you’re just interested in Ground passes, you’ll be fine arriving at 6-7am on the day of play. If you want to get on a show court, you’re going to have to queue overnight.
Where does the Queue start/end?
The queue starts at the main turnstiles and snakes down in the direction of Southfields station and across Wimbledon Common. You’re best off going to Southfields underground and walking (it’s about 5 minutes)
What happens when i reach the Queue?
You’ll be given a queue card with a number that marks your place in the queue. One card per person. “saving a spot” for your late mates will not work. The stewards are friendly but ruthless. If you’re queuing overnight, At about 9.30pm (or early the next morning) you will be given a wristband letting you know which court you’re on)
Can i get food and drink in the Queue?
Yup. Lots of refreshment vans - doing burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches etc. You can even phone the local takeaways and they will deliver to your spot in the queue!
Where can i buy beer?
Shell Garage by Southfields tube station is the nearest place to get drinks.
Is it noisy sleeping overnight?
Yeah, really noisy. Don’t expect to get much sleep unless you follow the 2 alcohol related points above.
When do the gates open?
Gates open between 9.30-10am every morning. Play on the outside courts starts at midday and show courts at 1pm.
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2008 review
I am British and I love to queue. You heard me. I love it and i’m proud of it. As a nation, we are exceptionally good at it and this and it’s typified every year for a fortnight at SW19. You can queue for tickets at Wimbledon for about 12 of the 13 days of play (depending on the weather) and this ranges from a 50m line for ground passes on day 2, all the way up to a 2 mile long queue snaking around Wimbledon for front row tickets on centre court later in the tournament. In 2005 i queued for 36 hours to get tickets to see Tim Henman play (self confessed Henmaniac) and we ended up sitting below John Mcenroe, Boris Becker and David Mercer who were a court level commentating (so it was worth it!). The Wimbledon Queue certainly attract enterprising individuals - Umbrella salesmen, burger vans, cold drink vendors and even the local takeaway places deliver to your spot in the Queue! Cool, huh?
I could go on, but let’s just say queuing is half the fun at Wimmers. You’ll meet great people, drink lots of beer and hardly get any sleep, but in the end it’s definitely worth it!
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
5 people thought this review was helpful
5 Poland Street, Soho, London W1F 8AA
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 25-06-2009:
My buddy Diggers is currently in Afghanistan and i thought i would send him a package yesterday. Armed with cans of pringles, cashew nuts and FHMs i marched into the post office in Soho and was confronted with a queue of about 20 people (i imagine this is pretty normal). Anyway, as soon as the customer service assistant found out i was sending my parcels with a BFOP code (British Forces Overseas Post?), i was sent to the front of the queue and was looked after exceptionally well. Quite right too if you ask me :)
Generally i found the staff helpful and friendly and best of all the post was free! Anything you send to British Forces in war zones under 2kg is gratis. How about that!
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
6 people thought this review was helpful
66 Venn Street, Clapham, London sw40au
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 16-06-2009:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, introducing the worst Royal Mail office in all of London… I give you… THE CLAPHAM DELIVERY OFFICE!
Sweaty Christ this place is useless. Not only did i have a nonchalant postal worker carelessly knock over my £500 bike (and not apologise) i was also treated to a 30 minute queue at the reclaim desk this morning where the “computer says no” lady appears to have a full time position. The staff were rude, unhelpful and obviously stopped caring a long time ago.
Remind me never to be away from home the next time i am expecting a delivery. The prospect of going back here sends chills down my spine.
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
8 people thought this review was helpful
5-9 Battersea Rise, Clapham, London SW11 1HG
Andrew Hunter
last updated on 15-06-2009:
Possibly South London’s best French restaurant. Le Bouchon Bordelais VERY popular with the French people living in London, and rightly so, this is some of the nicest food i have had outside of Paris. The steaks are perfectly cooked and the service is (amazingly) friendly! Forget everything you’ve heard about Parisian waiters, our chap over the weekend was very polite and helpful. Beer comes by the jug (about £7 as far as i can remember) and the atmosphere is boisterous after 10pm.
This is a great place to watch live sport (particularly when France are playing). I remember people spilling out onto the street during the football world cup!
A must for all visitors to Clapham.
Posted to: thelondonmonkey.blogspot.com/
6 people thought this review was helpful
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