I’m not going to lie to you, folks. Aside from Wimbledon and wild deer, there are very few things I deem worthy of traversing the entire breadth of the District Line for. But if ever there was another spot deserving of a place on that list, it’s this. Perched right on the platform at Kew Gardens station is a charming little boozer. And whilst London certainly isn’t lacking in the ‘pubs in peculiar places’ department, very few of them come as unique as this one.
Tap on the Line
Tap on the Line is the only pub in London that sits on a station platform. It dates all the way back to 1869 when Kew Gardens was built as part of the London and South Western Railway. Kew Gardens is one of the few remaining 19th-century stations on the line and the pub now sits inside the Victorian yellow-brick building that was previously used as the the station’s Timber Steaming Hall.
Formerly known (slightly less imaginatively) as The Railway, the pub underwent a rather hefty refurb back in 2013, and that’s when it was renamed Tap on the Line. Just a stone’s throw from where the District Line trains roll into the station, it’s one of the very few places in the city where you can see your train coming, sink your pint, and still be on board but the time the train is ready to depart. Not bad, hey?
Once upon a time – long before the likes of Oyster Cards and contactless payments were introduced – you could even exit the pub directly onto the platform. Nowadays, passengers do still need to enter the station via the regular turnstiles, but it is an extremely handily-located boozer nonetheless. With a delicious array of pub grub, a decent range of beers, regular live music nights and pub quizzes, and a rather wonderful atmosphere; Tap on the Line is a boozer that boasts both style and substance – just the way we like it.
đź“ŤYou’ll find Tap on the Line on Platform One at Kew Gardens station.
🚇 I probably don’t need to tell you which station is the closest…
