The best pub crawl in London doesn't need a booking or a bus. It starts south of the river, crosses London Bridge, and finishes in Holborn: roughly two and a half miles on foot, through streets that were pouring beer long before the Great Fire.

Seven stops is a lot for one afternoon. Four is a better plan, and you can always come back for the rest. What follows is a route built around old buildings, well-kept cask ale and rooms you couldn't recreate if you tried.

How to Walk It

Start at Borough station, finish near Holborn or Covent Garden. The walking itself takes under an hour; with stops, allow four to six hours. Tuesday to Thursday is the sweet spot — Borough Market is quieter, and you can actually get a seat in the Fleet Street pubs.

Three rules make the difference. Order halves at two or three of the stops, eat a proper lunch (Borough Market is right there at stop two), and drink a glass of water at every pub. Tap water is free and no one will mind. If you're attempting all seven, split the route across two visits rather than one long afternoon.

Check opening hours before you set out. Several pubs in the City and around Fleet Street keep weekday-only hours, and a few close early on Sundays.

Southwark: Coaching Inns and Market Porters

The George Inn, 77 Borough High Street

The last galleried coaching inn left in London, now in the care of the National Trust. Wooden galleries lean over a cobbled courtyard, and the whole building creaks in a way that no renovation can fake. Dickens put it in Little Dorrit. If the weather is even half decent, sit outside.

Drink: a straightforward session bitter. This is a pub for a pint you don't have to think about.

The Market Porter, 9 Stoney Street

Two minutes away, wedged beside Borough Market under the railway. It's a pub built around a market's working day — tiled, cramped, busy, and entirely without pretension. The guest board changes constantly, so the beer you read about last month won't be there.

Drink: a half of whatever's newest on the board. Ask the bar staff what's pouring well; they know.

Fleet Street: Ink, Fire and Old Rooms

Cross London Bridge — turn around halfway for the best free view of the City — then walk up Ludgate Hill and onto Fleet Street.

The Old Bell Tavern, 95 Fleet Street

Tucked down a passage beside St Bride's, the church long associated with journalists. The pub claims its builders were the masons working on Wren's church in the 1670s, and the low beams and small rooms make that easy to believe. It's a good pause before the main event.

Drink: a London porter if one is on, otherwise a half of something dark and malty.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, 145 Fleet Street

Rebuilt within a few years of the Great Fire of 1666, and a warren of cellars, staircases and dim rooms ever since. Samuel Johnson and Dickens both drank in versions of this building. It's a Samuel Smith's house, which means a Yorkshire brewery, traditional beer, and rooms that have not been redecorated for your benefit.

Drink: Old Brewery Bitter, the house cask ale, served in a straight glass if you ask. Have a wander through the cellars before you leave; most people miss them.

The Last Leg: Carey Street to Holborn

The Seven Stars, 53 Carey Street

Fifteen minutes from Fleet Street, hiding behind the Royal Courts of Justice. Small, cheerful and cramped, serving since the early 1600s. Lawyers, locals and the occasional lost tourist share the same few tables.

Drink: ask for a taste before you commit. If the brewery on the pump is unfamiliar, a mouthful tells you more than any description.

The Harp, 47 Chandos Place

A narrow corner pub between Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, and the stop where the beer is genuinely the point. It took CAMRA's National Pub of the Year title, and it still runs on well-kept cask ale, no screens and no gimmicks.

Drink: something pale and hoppy, or a proper best bitter. This is where to spend your money.

The Princess Louise, 208 High Holborn

Finish here. The Victorian interior is worth the walk on its own: tiled corridors, etched glass, snob screens and a row of partitioned booths. It's another Samuel Smith's house, so the beer will look familiar after the Cheshire Cheese, but the room could not be more different.

Drink: a half of the house bitter, in a booth, with your phone in your pocket.

What to Order, Stop by Stop

• The George Inn — a session bitter, nothing above about 4.5% if you're carrying on.
• The Market Porter — an unfamiliar guest ale, in a half.
• The Old Bell Tavern — a porter or a dark mild if available.
• Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese — Old Brewery Bitter, the house ale.
• The Seven Stars — a taster first, then a pint of whatever surprised you.
• The Harp — pale, hoppy cask ale; the best beer on the route.
• The Princess Louise — the house bitter, in a half.

One piece of etiquette worth knowing: if a cask beer tastes flat, warm or vinegary, say so politely at the bar. A pub that keeps its beer properly will replace it without argument. And in London, most beer is served without a sparkler — if you prefer a tighter head, just ask.

Before You Set Off

Wear shoes you can stand in, because half these pubs have more pavement space than seating. Take a card and a little cash. Plan your route home before the first pint, not the fifth, and remember that the District and Circle lines will not be your friend at eleven o'clock on a Saturday.

Most importantly, pace yourself. The appeal of this walk is the buildings, the rooms and the conversations, not the volume. Skip a stop if you're flagging, drink water between pubs, eat something substantial at lunchtime, and don't drive. If you want to know what sensible drinking looks like for you, official guidance is easy to find and worth a glance before a seven-pub afternoon.

Do four stops well and you'll have seen more of London than most visitors manage in a week.

Photo: Huy Phan / Pexels