Five 20 year old lads going to London for weekend, advice?

Jackies green army

A group of mates and I, are going to London for the H Cup final, arriving on Friday and basically want to know some decent spots to hit it in terms of nightlife. Much appreciated.

djpbarry

Jackies green army wrote: »

A group of mates and I, are going to London for the H Cup final, arriving on Friday and basically want to know some decent spots to hit it in terms of nightlife. Much appreciated.

Where are you staying?

Jackies green army

djpbarry wrote: »

Where are you staying?

Central London man.

djpbarry

Jackies green army wrote: »

Central London man.

Can you be a bit more specific? Central London means different things to different people.

theneed2rock

Go to The Church in Clapham on Sunday

Guaranteed banter

Jackies green army

djpbarry wrote: »

Can you be a bit more specific? Central London means different things to different people.

We're in Westminster.

djpbarry

Jackies green army wrote: »

We're in Westminster.

Right so - I would suggest you head south of the river to the general Waterloo/South Bank/Southwark area. South Bank in particular should be fairly lively on a Friday/Saturday night without being as messy as Leicester Square, Covent Garden, etc. Difficult to make specific suggestions without knowing exactly what you're after, but if it's to be a young lads' night, you could try Isabella Street, where you'll find a few places like this:

http://www.windmilltaverns.com/jacks

The doormen might be a bit wary of a bunch of 20 year olds though.

You'll find a few places around the corner along The Cut too.

Jackies green army

asking a very general and may seem stupid question, but what are london birds like and i dont mean the flying kind.

djpbarry

Jackies green army wrote: »

asking a very general and may seem stupid question, but what are london birds like and i dont mean the flying kind.

Well, I'm marrying one, so...

...no comment I'm afraid.

But seriously, London is a city with of the order of 10 million people - sticking a label on them is a near-impossible (and pretty meaningless) task. However, I will say that you'll probably find Londoners in general a good deal more formal (and dare I say polite) than Dubs.

Reekwind

If you're out for the lash after the rugby then Clapham is the place to go. It's easy to get to from Twickenham and there's plenty of life. Try Infernos - the London version of Coppers

Jackies green army

Reekwind wrote: »

If you're out for the lash after the rugby then Clapham is the place to go. It's easy to get to from Twickenham and there's plenty of life. Try Infernos - the London version of Coppers

yeah cheers pal, thats our scene really.

djpbarry

Reekwind wrote: »

...Clapham is the place to go. It's easy to get to from Twickenham...

I wouldn't say that - Twickenham to Clapham is a bit awkward. Train then bus, probably taking 45 minutes minimum. Twickenham to Waterloo, on the other hand, is straightforward 25 minutes on the one train.

Jackies green army wrote: »

yeah cheers pal, thats our scene really.

Ah, well I was way off then.

Reekwind

djpbarry wrote: »

I wouldn't say that - Twickenham to Clapham is a bit awkward. Train then bus, probably taking 45 minutes minimum

Twickenham to Clapham Junction is 20min (plus 10min walk). Otherwise Waterloo is what, 10min from Clapham Commons?

djpbarry

Reekwind wrote: »

Twickenham to Clapham Junction is 20min (plus 10min walk).

But you suggested Infernos on Clapham High Street? That's a good 40-minute walk from Clapham Junction, or 10-15 minutes by bus.

Marcusm

Reekwind wrote: »

Twickenham to Clapham Junction is 20min (plus 10min walk). Otherwise Waterloo is what, 10min from Clapham Commons?

Clapham Junction is not in Clapham; one of the peculiarities of London like Westminster being a separate city!!

Fysh

There's a bit of what can only be called Tube-Map Scale going on in this thread. "OH NOES IT'S MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILES AWEH!" :P

Err. No. It's not miles away, it's just that the transport structure wasn't designed with radial travel in mind so such trips are inefficient on tube or train, and buses inevitably struggle with traffic.

Clapham Junction to Clapham Common is a mile and a half. If the weather's tolerable, you'll walk it faster than you can get there on bus or train or tube. It's really not that hard. (Here's a Google Map if you don't believe me).

Clapham and Balham have seemed really nice and busy the couple of times I've been down there, and from reading around for the Beers nights out there are plenty of places there that'd be a good fit for what the OP and co. are after.

djpbarry

Fysh wrote: »

Clapham and Balham have seemed really nice and busy the couple of times I've been down there, and from reading around for the Beers nights out there are plenty of places there that'd be a good fit for what the OP and co. are after.

Clapham High St would definitely seem to fit the bill, although there are plenty of places around Clapham Junction that are popular with the young peoples and that would be a bit more convenient if travelling from Twickenham.

Reekwind

djpbarry wrote: »

But you suggested Infernos on Clapham High Street? That's a good 40-minute walk from Clapham Junction, or 10-15 minutes by bus.

I've done it, to Infernos, in around 20min before. It's really not far

djpbarry

Reekwind wrote: »

I've done it, to Infernos, in around 20min before. It's really not far

I'm not suggesting it's that far, but I take it the OP is after something handy. So, if they're after an Infernos-type affair, I would suggest Clapham Junction - easy from Twickenham and they can get the 87/N87 bus straight back to Westminster afterwards.

BraziliaNZ

Jesus Christ, Infernos, I lasted 20 minutes and had to leave, my idea of hell. Actually Clapham high st makes Temple Bar look like a class act on a Saturday Night.

djpbarry

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Jesus Christ, Infernos, I lasted 20 minutes and had to leave, my idea of hell. Actually Clapham high st makes Temple Bar look like a class act on a Saturday Night.

That would be my general opinion too, but apparently this is the kind of thing the OP is after.

Fysh

Ours is not to reason why

BraziliaNZ

djpbarry wrote: »

That would be my general opinion too, but apparently this is the kind of thing the OP is after.

Yeah I probably would have loved it when I was 20!

Playboy

The Swan in Stockwell! A home away from home

breadmonkey

Playboy wrote: »

The Swan in Stockwell! A home away from home

I'm ashamed to say I was there on last night. What a dive. Never again.

djpbarry

breadmonkey wrote: »

I'm ashamed to say I was there on last night. What a dive. Never again.

I cycle by it on my way to/from work - can't say I've ever been tempted to venture inside. Looks like a post-apocalyptic Coppers.

ballsymchugh

djpbarry wrote: »

I cycle by it on my way to/from work - can't say I've ever been tempted to venture inside. Looks like a post-apocalyptic Coppers.

not even for the onion rings??

NIMAN

I wonder did the OP did anywhere decent.

I have been in many cities in my time and for me London was the toughest place to get a pint on a Friday and Saturday night after 11pm (assuming you didn't want to go to a club).

Awful.

BraziliaNZ

NIMAN wrote: »

I wonder did the OP did anywhere decent.

I have been in many cities in my time and for me London was the toughest place to get a pint on a Friday and Saturday night after 11pm (assuming you didn't want to go to a club).

Awful.

It can be hard to find late places in the West End at times yes, but they all seem to be opening later these days. Where I live in South London you can pretty much drink till whatever time you like. The nightlife here is unrivalled IMO.

djpbarry

NIMAN wrote: »

I have been in many cities in my time and for me London was the toughest place to get a pint on a Friday and Saturday night after 11pm (assuming you didn't want to go to a club).

It really depends on what part of London you find yourself in - 'tis a big place. As BraziliaNZ says, finding places that open a bit later isn't too difficult south of the river.

Innit.

Fysh

TBH I've never understood the appeal of heading out in the West End, but that's probably just me...