Islington, London. Begun in 1851 as The York Hotel, a stopping point for northern bound stage coaches on the major road going of London. At the time the area was very rural, with cows known to graze up to the back door. The present building went up in 1873, when it became The York. Out front is a large terrace area with small tables. Inside is a central rounded triangle shaped bar with old bar back fittings, surrounded by checked black and white tiles. Above is a beautiful red tinned ceiling from which hang classic old style chandeliers. There is table seating surrounding the bar. Alfred Hitchcock got his start at nearby Islington Studios so there is some memorabilia commemorating him on the walls. The same goes for Charles Dickens, who mentioned Islington in several of his novels including Oliver Twist and David Copperfied.

Now my personal observation of the Islington area around the Angel tube station. It is quite upscale and most of the pubs were filled with young loud obnoxious patrons. I don't know what "Gen" they were, I would just call them yuppies. And most pubs served no cask ale, always a negative for me. So my pub crawl experience on this day was not the best. But The York was an exception. A Nicholson's pub, I enjoyed their pale ale and watched the first half of the West Ham vs. Sunderland match.