Young and Co’s Brewery Tours - Wandsworth Museum - Wandsworth Common - Wandsworth Park

Young and Co’s Brewery Tours
The Ram Brewery, Wandsworth High Street, SW18. (Map Ref 1.)
If you enjoyed the Fuller’s brewery experience in Chiswick, those of you intrigued to know just how beer is made might like to try the Young’s brewery tour as well. Young’s is Britain’s oldest brewery, harking back over 400 years, and indeed the tour of the brewery is necessarily comprehensive and entertaining, striking a fine balance between historical anecdotes and technical information, especially concerning the brewing process which is explained step by step. The brewery’s ancient and modern equipment used to produce the beer is on show, and includes several Victorian vessels which allowed the beer to ferment for a week. These stand next to some more functional and less glamorous contemporary stainless steel operations, which are operated by computerised control panels.

Highlights include two lovely 19th century steam engines, believed to be the oldest of their kind, and two brewing coppers, one modern and one Victorian, used for well over a century to boil ale, stout and porter with hops.

There are brewery stables as well, housing twenty horses, a ram, goats, a pony and a donkey. The horse-drawn drays (toned down carriages) are required to deliver the beer to local pubs. The Young’s tour, like the Fuller’s tour, has the ability to spark your historical imagination. You are allowed to bear witness to one of their beers and you even have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of souvenirs in their visitors’ centre, such as drinking glasses, ties, books, horseshoes etc. You can contact Young’s Brewery on 0208 875 7005.
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Wandsworth Museum
The Courthouse, Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ. (Map Ref 2.)
The Wandsworth Museum is a a showcase of life in London through the ages. The exhibitions in the museum tell the history of the borough of Wandsworth from prehistoric times to the present day and show how the towns surrounding wandsworth, such as Battersea, Putney, Tooting, and Balham, grew from country villages to form London’s biggest borough.

The exhibitions are interesting, although they tend to chop and change all the time. They have encompassed subjects such as portraits of famous local people from past and present, everyday life in West London during the 1930s, and the history of the African and Caribbean people in Wandsworth. There is a Caribbean festival and the children have the opportunity to make clay Caribbean fruit in a basket. You can contact the Wandsworth Museum on 0208 871 7074.
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Wandsworth Common
Trinity Road, SW18. (Map Ref 3.)
Wandsworth Common is reasonably attractive but it has the disadvantage of standing over a dirty old railway track, which is a shame because there are some very elegant townhouses around here as well. The park is broken into two sections, the first of which is just a straight patch of grass lined symmetrically on either side with trees. It does, however, allow for a pleasant stroll in the evening air. The second section is far more substantial, and is monopolised by playing fields, tennis courts, a majestic bowling green which is surrounded by radiant flowers, and a giant jungle gym complex. You can play every single sport imaginable around here, although there are some hideous concrete basketball courts slap bang in the middle of all of this.

One highlight for those of you who love nature is the Nature Study Centre, which stands right next to the aforementioned bowling green and the countrified Neal’s Lodge Restaurant. The centre takes much pleasure in organising lectures and walks describing the common’s wildlife, fruits, berries, and trees.

However, you will probably only like Wandsworth Common if you enjoy your sport and your pleasant countryside walks. Otherwise, I suggest you go to one of the other more glamorous and illustrious parks in the region. You can call Wandsworth Common headquarters on 0208 871 8688.
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Wandsworth Park
Putney Bridge Road, SW18. (Map Ref 4.)
Wandsworth Park is so small it barely deserves a mention. However, it does allow you the opportunity to look at a particularly attractive part of the Thames. There are views of dockyards and elegant bridges, and the whiff of fish awakens your appetite and creates a yearning within you for a good fish restaurant.

The park, in this instance, forms a suitable backdrop with its beds of red and pink roses mixed in with flowers of every breed and colour. There is one large patch of green for the children to play on and, indeed, there is a playground as well. The ornate bowling house and green and the tennis courts make this park at least somehow worthy of its name. The compact nature of Wandsworth Park does at least make it quite charming and it is situated down one of Wandsworth’s most appealing roads, the Putney Bridge Road. It's well worth your while to pop into this park and experience the riverside view.
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