The Archway Tavern

The Archway Tavern sits at the top of the Holloway Road. It's a pub on what's become a roundabout on one of the busiest roads in North London. It used to be joined to the Holloway Road and now it's on it's own with a methodist church a cab rank and a gym. It's madness to do such a thing but do it they have and it's been there a very long time.



It's been many things to many people and many things to me. It's been a go to place for a late drink, a place to sit and watch traffic, a place to dodge busses when they throw you out, a place you go when you know you're not going to leave for a while as it's an effort to get to and hazardous to get off.

It used to have a little tram running over the bar - backwards and forwards it would go through the cigarette smoke rising from the bar and the faux tram lines on the floor would remind punters of its tram shed connections if they could be arsed to look down before they were too pissed to focus. There's been beating's and drug deals and fights and screaming and nights in the winter when you wished you'd never went but know you had to go.

It's also been on the cover of the cover of The Kinks' 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies. I've no idea if they ever drunk there but I've never seen Ray at the bar.

You could spend a day there bouncing between the gym, the pub and church dreaming of peace while you choke on the pollution and still they would close the doors of them all and banish you to the night traffic and sirens.

I've never had a great time there, it's a place for lost souls and is the last pub next to the last church next to the last gym before suicide bridge.

If you can get across the road to it that is.

http://www.dusktilldawnarchway.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/TheArchwayTavern