The Bermondsey Beer Mile: which day, which order, and how far it really is

The Bermondsey Beer Mile is a run of brewery taprooms in the railway arches between London Bridge and South Bermondsey, most of them opened by small independent brewers who wanted cheap industrial space near the centre of London and found it under the viaduct.

Two corrections before you plan it. It is closer to two miles than one, and it is mostly a Saturday.

Saturday is the day

Most of these are working breweries first and bars second, so the taprooms open when production allows. Saturday is when almost all of them are open at once, typically from late morning to early evening. Several also open Friday evening and some on Sunday, but a full run on any other day will find half of them shut.

Check the individual breweries before you go, because opening days genuinely change and the list of who is trading in which arch changes too. Arches change hands and breweries move or close.

Who is in the arches

The names that have anchored it for years include The Kernel, which effectively started this, Anspach and Hobday, Brew By Numbers, Southwark Brewing and Fourpure, with others coming and going along Druid Street, Enid Street and the roads between.

They are not uniform. Some are a bar with seating and food; some are a roller shutter, a plank and a card reader. That variety is the appeal and it is also why you should not plan a long sit-down at every stop.

How to do it properly

Go backwards. Start at the South Bermondsey end and walk towards Tower Bridge. You finish in the middle of London with transport everywhere and dinner options, rather than in an industrial estate at nine o’clock deciding how to get home.

Halves, not pints. These are small breweries pouring strong beer, and a pint at every stop is not a plan, it is an ending. Two-thirds where offered is the right measure.

Eat on the route. Some arches have food trucks and some have nothing at all, so do not assume. Maltby Street Market at the northern end runs at weekends and solves this.

Do not attempt all of them. Five or six is a good afternoon. The full list is a challenge rather than an outing.

Practical

Free to walk; you pay for what you drink. London Bridge, Bermondsey on the Jubilee line and South Bermondsey bracket the route, and Tower Bridge is a short walk from the north end.

It is flat, on pavements, and under a railway, so it is loud and it drips. Toilets are limited, which matters more here than most places, and the arches get cold in winter regardless of the heaters.

Groups are welcome but very large ones are not, and several taprooms cap group size at busy times.

Nearby

Maltby Street Market at the top end for food, Southwark for what is on around it, and Tower Bridge and St Dunstan in the East across the river.