The Anchor & Hope

The Anchor and Hope is a pub that is only ever going to find passing trade on weekends – beyond the locals that is. It is a curiosity of sorts. Probably one of the smallest pubs in London, it sits by the side of the Regents Canal up where it turns into the Lea Valley. Towpath walkers appear regularly, either on their way to Springfield Park or down the charming route to Hackney Wick – and eventually to Angel.

‘Tiny, just the one bar’ is the description that we’re given of the Anchor and Hope in Clapton when we ask a stranger if they know how much further we’re going to have to walk to reach it. And when we do reach it, that description is spot on. Four tables, a short bar looking out onto the water and a television in one corner, that’s it. Honestly, if it didn’t happen to be in such a great place on the canal, we’d recommend that you steer well clear. However, it is where it is. And despite its lack of any cosiness/intimacy to go with its miniature size, it still provides a London Pride as good as any. And when you’ve walked for two hours to reach it, what more do you want?

We would imagine that during the summer its visiting numbers swell but on a grey and windy weekend, there is nothing here but the beer. Which is a shame because this could be a sweet little stop-off after a long walk to the picturesque Springfield Park.