LONDON (AP) — For lovers of beer, lagers and ciders, London has an answer that's off the beaten track: The Bermondsey Beer Mile, a loose collection of brewery bars and liquor stores that stretches well over a mile through the streets and railway arches of south London.
The attraction stretches from near Tower Bridge to parts of Bermondsey, a gentrifying area that just a few years ago would have been considered best to avoid. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, hundreds of beer connoisseurs descend on two dozen or so breweries to sample a wide range of craft beers, ales, stouts, mead and more.
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Empty glasses are placed on a barrel outside the Hiver Beers bar and brewery on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
The closed entrance to The Kernel, which now operates from newer premises but was one of the earliest stops on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People queue to enter "It ain't much, if it ain't Dutch" Dutch Taproom on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
An artist performs inside the Enid Street Tavern on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A view inside Hop Kingdom, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A close-up of the brewing facilities in a micro-brewery and bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People play Ping Pong inside The Doodle Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A sign directing people to the Ping Pong tables inside The Doodle Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A customer looks at her phone inside the Token Studio in Druid Street in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers climb the stairs to the upper level of the Barrel Project, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers take a beer outside the Hiver Beers bar and brewery on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A selection of beer mats are attached to the wall inside the Enid Street Tavern on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
The windows of a residential apartment block are reflected in the windows of the Fabal Beerhall on Druid Street on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A selection of beers adorn a table in a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People sit outside the Fabal Beerhall on Druid Street on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A young skateboarder makes a jump inside Hop Kingdom, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People walk past the Beer Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A staff member laughs during her shift in the Southwark Brewing Co., one of the bars on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers sit outside the Beer Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People have a drink in the Southwark Brewing Co., one of the bars on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Drinks on sale are displayed on a board in the Barrel Project, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People sit in the sun outside a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
The beginnings of the Bermondsey Beer Mile date to 2009, when craft brewer The Kernel opened the first brewing site in the area. Since then, the Mile has sprung up in piecemeal fashion. Breweries change location or close, replaced by new ones.
Many of the breweries have found wider success and moved on after outgrowing the space limitations of the railway viaduct arches. But there are always new bars and breweries cropping up, offering live music, table tennis and even skateboarding. The bustling atmosphere shows that 16 years on from its launch, the Bermondsey Beer Mile is still one of London’s best drinking destinations.
Empty glasses are placed on a barrel outside the Hiver Beers bar and brewery on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
The closed entrance to The Kernel, which now operates from newer premises but was one of the earliest stops on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People queue to enter "It ain't much, if it ain't Dutch" Dutch Taproom on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
An artist performs inside the Enid Street Tavern on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A view inside Hop Kingdom, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A close-up of the brewing facilities in a micro-brewery and bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People play Ping Pong inside The Doodle Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A sign directing people to the Ping Pong tables inside The Doodle Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A customer looks at her phone inside the Token Studio in Druid Street in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers climb the stairs to the upper level of the Barrel Project, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers take a beer outside the Hiver Beers bar and brewery on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A selection of beer mats are attached to the wall inside the Enid Street Tavern on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
The windows of a residential apartment block are reflected in the windows of the Fabal Beerhall on Druid Street on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A selection of beers adorn a table in a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People sit outside the Fabal Beerhall on Druid Street on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A young skateboarder makes a jump inside Hop Kingdom, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People walk past the Beer Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
A staff member laughs during her shift in the Southwark Brewing Co., one of the bars on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Customers sit outside the Beer Bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People have a drink in the Southwark Brewing Co., one of the bars on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
Drinks on sale are displayed on a board in the Barrel Project, a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
People sit in the sun outside a bar on the Bermondsey Beer Mile in south London, Saturday March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)
