The 10th Alpine Trail

Thursday, 28 March 2013
A Slalom in Fitzrovia in search of The Man in the Box
Seven Pubs, Seven Pints of Taddy (or similar)

It seems like only yesterday when seven likely lads left Soho Square and made for the Bricklayers Arms to embark on the first Alpine Trail.

That evening in September 2008 has set a trend that still continues twice yearly.

But for how long?

Well that’s all down to you. If you still want it, the Alpine Trail will continue, so vote with your feet and join me on the tenth edition of London’s best evening pub crawl.

And we’ll be back walking over the path trodden by those founding fathers nearly five years ago as AT10 follows the same route as the first ever trail.

Hope to see you there, the route to follow is below…

As always,
Sam
Twitter @alpinetrail

Starting at the Bricklayers Arms from at 6.15pm (BST)
Triallist should aim to get to each pub within the 40 minute window set out below – one pint in each pub

The Alpine Trail Route
6.15pm-6.55pm: The Bricklayers Arms – Stop Number One
6.50pm-7.30pm: The Fitzroy Tavern – Stop Number Two
7.25pm-8.05pm: The Blue Posts – Stop Number Three
8.00pm-8.40pm: The Horse and Groom – Stop Number Four
8.35pm-9.15pm: The Yorkshire Grey – Stop Number Five
9.10pm-9.50pm: The Cock – Stop Number Six

9.45pm
THE CHAMPION – Home
Stop Number Seven – The Final Alpine

AT9: The Route

The Alpine Trail 9
The Slalom Around London in Search of the Man in the Box
Thursday 20 September 2012
Register your interest with me on twitter @alpinetrail

The AT9 Route has been chosen, and after a nice relaxing AT8, we’re apadting that route just slightly for a fairly short hop between all stops.

The Cittie of Yorke has been dropped, so AT9 begins at the Princess Louise by Holborn Station, then The Crown on New Oxford Street, before shimmying around the corner to The Angel on St Giles High St.

Then it’s back on to familiar Fitzrovian territory; The Bricklayers Arms, followed by The Fitzroy – a highly-rated substitute for the Cittie of Yorke – round to The Blue Posts and finally, our home – The Champion.

A map of the Trail is below, with confirmed route timings. Follow on Twitter @alpinetrail for the latest.

Until then…

6.00pm-6.40pm: The Princess Louise – Stop Number One
208-209 High Holborn, WC1V 7BW
6.35pm-7.15pm: The Crown – Stop Number Two
51 New Oxford St, WC1A 1BL
7.10pm-7.50pm: The Angel - Stop Number Three
61 St Giles High St, WC2H 8LE
7.45pm-8.25pm: The Bricklayers Arms - Stop Number Four
31 Gresse Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1QY
8.20pm-9.00pm: The Fiztroy Tavern – Stop Number Five
16 Charlotte St, W1T 2NA
8.55pm-9.35pm: The Blue Posts – Stop Number Six
81 Newman St, W1T 3EU

9.30pm
THE CHAMPION – Home
The Final Stop
12-13 Wells St, W1T 3PA

AT9 Route Map

View Larger Map

AT8: Route confirmed for 13 April

The Alpine Trail 8
The Slalom Around London in Search of the Man in the Box
Friday 13 April 2012
Register your interest with me on twitter @alpinetrail

The AT8 Route has been chosen, and there are four brand new establishments to an Alpine Trail, joining for the very first time.

AT8 begins in the Cittie of Yorke – No, not the walled city in the north of England and home of York Minster, but the public house in High Holborn, a hostelry site which dates back to 1430 (though the current building was erected in the 1920s). We begin there between 6-6.40pm.

From there we head west, along High Holborn paying a visit to Princess Louise, then The Crown on New Oxford Street, before shimmying around the corner to The Angel on St Giles High St.

Then it’s back on to familiar Fitzrovian territory; The Bricklayers Arms, The Blue Posts and finally, our home – The Champion.

Since the Alpine Memorial Trail in September, our Man in the Box has risen once again, so it appears he wasn’t dead after all, merely ill. That accounts for his strength on his return to the pump, a measly 2.8%, so for the lager drinkers it’s Taddy all the way. But of course there is also Old Brewery too!

A map of the Trail is below, with confirmed route timings. Follow on Twitter @alpinetrail for the latest.

Until then…

6.00pm-6.40pm: The Cittie of Yorke - Stop Number One
22 High Holborn, WC1V 6BS
6.35pm-7.15pm: The Princess Louise – Stop Number Two
208-209 High Holborn, WC1V 7BW
7.10pm-7.50pm: The Crown – Stop Number Three
51 New Oxford St, WC1A 1BL
7.45pm-8.25pm: The Angel - Stop Number Four
61 St Giles High St, WC2H 8LE
8.20pm-9.00pm: The Bricklayers Arms - Stop Number Five
31 Gresse Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1QY
8.55pm-9.35pm: The Blue Posts - Stop Number Seven
81 Newman St, W1T 3EU

9.30pm
THE CHAMPION – Home
The Final Stop
12-13 Wells St, W1T 3PA

AT8 Route Map

View Larger Map

Memorial Trail route updated

RIP : Alpine Lager

The Third Anniversary and Memorial Trail
Thursday 15 September 2011

A Slalom in Fitzrovia in search of The Man in the Box
Seven Pubs, Seven Pints of Alpine-substitute Taddy Lager (or other choice)

Follow on Twitter @alpinetrail
Be my friend on www.Facebook.com

Starting at The Angel in the Fields from 6pm (BST)
one pint in each pub during the ‘window’, five minutes walking time (avg)

PLEASE NOTE: THIS ROUTE WAS UPDATED 14/09/11

The Alpine Trail Route

6.00pm-6.40pm: The Angel in the Fields - Stop Number One
37 Thayer Street, London W1U 2QY
6.35pm-7.15pm: The Dover Castle – Stop Number Two
43 Weymouth Mews, W1G 7EH
7.10pm-7.50pm: The Horse & Groom – Stop Number Three
128 Great Portland St, W1W 6PX
7.45pm-8.25pm: The Yorkshire Grey - Stop Number Four
46 Langham Street, W1W 7AX
8.20pm-9.00pm: The Fitzroy Tavern – Stop Number Five
16 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NA
8.55pm-9.35pm: The Bricklayers Arms - Stop Number Six
31 Gresse Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1QY

9.30pm
THE CHAMPION – Home
The Final Stop
12-13 Wells St, W1T 3PA

View Larger Map

The Facts: The Alpine Trail

It’s Alpine Trail week with number seven quickly approaching, and to get you in the mood I’ll give you some Alpine-related facts all this week.

Don’t forget, The Alpine Trail Seven – The Memorial Trail – takes place this Thursday, 15 September 2011. [Route Confirmed]

Fact Three
The first Alpine Trail was attended by seven people, and remarkably one of those was only intending to go out for a couple but stayed the course. Alpine Trails Five and Six have had over 40 attendees on each occasion. Only two people have been ever presents on all six Trails to date.

Those first seven Traillists, all working or had worked at 25 Soho Square, were; Jamie Bradbury, Nick Veevers, Stuart Mawhinney, Glenn Lavery, Russell Staves, Karl Hudson and Pete Elsworth.

Fact Two
The first pub visited on the first ever Alpine Trail in September 2008 was The Bricklayers Arms in Gresse Street, Fitzrovia.

Since then, 17 different pubs have been part of The Trail. The Champion, being the perennial home stop, is the most used having been involved in all six Trails to date, while both The Yorkshire Grey and The Cock Tavern have featured five times on The Trail, only missing out on the Soho Trail in April 2009 (Number Two).

The five least visited of The Trail pubs are Ye Olde Swiss Cottage, The Ordnance Arms, The Angel in the Fields, The Duke of York and The Dover Castle with one appearance each (Trail Three). However, the latter trio all make a return to the Trail Route for Number Seven.

Fact One
Until 2006 Samuel Smith’s used the brand name Ayingerbräu for its lagers and wheat beers, using the name and logo of German brewery, Brauerei Aying.

The brand was best known for its ‘man-in-a-box’ pump for Ayingerbräu Lager, which featured a model Bavarian man in a plastic box.

In 2006, Ayingerbräu Lager reverted to Alpine Lager, its original name in the 1960s.

Follow on Twitter @alpinetrail
Be my friend on www.Facebook.com

A new name for The Trail?

With Alpine now just a happy memory, should the name ‘The Alpine Trail’ remain for Trail number 8 in April 2012?

Or should it be The Taddy Trail?

Well it’s up to you. Place your vote below…

The Alpine Memorial Trail (Seven)

News may or may not have reached you, but over the summer Alpine Lager, our beloved Man In The Box, has been phased out and is not longer sold in Sam Smith’s pubs in London. Anywhere for that matter.

Sam Smith's Taddy Lager

In its place is a still rather ‘pleasant’ ale – Taddy Lager.

So, Trail number seven (the third anniversary) will become The Alpine Memorial Trail.

The date for your diaries is:

Thursday 15 September 2011
Starting from 6pm somewhere in Fixtzrovia – the route will be circulated and available here in due course.

So for now, get it booked in to your schedule and I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Sam Smith
www.Twitter.com/alpinetrail

Follow me on Facebook here

PS: I have set up a poll below to decide whether future Trails will remain ‘The Alpine Trail’ in memory of our Man, or take on the new name ‘The Taddy Trail’. It’s up to you.

PPS: For those of you Sam Smith’s lovers, CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE, focus on the annual Sam Smith’s Challenge run by another group of enthusiasts. The site also has a great map featuring all the Sam Smith’s pubs in London Town.