Sunday drinking – Bet on the Greyhound

There’s been a lot of rumours flying around about the Community Shield pre and post-match drinking in and around Wembley.

Just to confirm, the Torch, at 1-5 Bridge Road will NOT be letting in United fans before or after the game. The pub has been allocated to Pompey fans only and their bouncers won’t be messing about.

But fear not.

The Greyhound at 324 Harrow Road, is the pub of choice for reds near the ground.

It has a licence that allows it to open at 7am, but the manager, Alex, said it will be open from “about 11am” on the day.

A special food menu will be on offer and you can get a pint of lager for £3.60 (Fosters, Carling) or £3.80 San Miguel.

It’s a decent pub, but it’s apparently going through a “management change” at the moment, so there’s no matchday entertainment or the like.

But it does have Sky, four pool tables (which will probably be covered up at some point), a big (ish) car park and a small porch area.

Directions: From Wembley Central:

Turn right out of the station and the pub is about ten minutes away on the left side of the road.

From Wembley Park: Go down the hundreds of stairs toward the castle of sport, but bear right onto the road (Empire Way). Walk down the road past the Plaza Hotel until you reach the High Road, turn left and the pub is ahead on the left.

From North Wembley: Turn right out of the station and then right into Llanover Road. Follow the road until it becomes St John's Road and carry on until it ends at the High Road. Turn left - the pub is about five minutes away on the left.

If you prefer something slightly quieter, head for the Windermere, in Windermere Avenue, outside South Kenton Tube Station.

It’s out of the way but the queue at the bar will be smaller and you can still make kick off if you leave 20 minutes before the game…and walk fast.

My personal favourite however is the Royal George Hotel right outside London Euston.

With everyone making their way down to London in different ways, it’s a handy place to meet with mates pre-match and get in a couple of early pints before heading to the ground on the Tube.

Or, failing that, a decent place to get a pint in while you’re waiting for the train home.

Any other recommendations or questions, make a comment.