Santa Claus’s Pub Crawls in Town!

Santa Claus’s Pub Crawls in Town!

Bringing Festive Cheer with Beer!

That’s right pub crawlers it doesn’t matter if you have been naughty or nice this year as 1 Big Night Out has convinced Santa and his elves to down tools, leave the reindeer at home and come let his beard down with London’s biggest and best pub crawl!

On Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd of December Santa Claus will be joining the pub crawl to see how naughty or nice you all can be, so this is your opportunity to get off/on that naughty list!
Santa has asked for his identity to be kept secret this year so 1 Big Night Out are helping him out by giving all of you wonderful pub crawlers Santa suits, so no one will know which is the real Santa!

On top of that, to get Santa and the Elves in the mood for the festive season all Santa pub crawlers will get a free beer or vodka mixer in each of the 5 huge Christmas party venues we will be visiting!

So don’t delay boys and girls this is going to be one wild Christmas celebration not to be missed, tickets are ho ho hoing fast so get them here for only £20 and be prepared for the best Crimbo celebrations ever!

Snap up a pint in Britain’s first Bitcoin pub

Drinkers in an east London hostelry can now buy drinks with the digital currency

Bitcoin has its first British boozer. The Pembury Tavern in Hackney, east London – as well as its sister pubs in Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough – are now accepting the virtual currency.

It was pub group founder Stephen Early, a former computer scientist, who decided to give the currency a go. “I bought some in 2011 but there wasn’t really anything to do with them,” he explains. “So I did the equivalent of putting them in a drawer and forgetting about them.”

The coins were soon worth 20 times what he paid for them but Early still couldn’t find anything to buy. He figured other Bitcoin holders might fancy spending their online cash on a pint. It took him just a couple of evenings to create and install a Bitcoin payment option; the pub was already using his custom-built till software.

The system is quick and effective. The bar staff press two buttons on the till and the screen displays a QR code. The customer opens their digital Bitcoin wallet, takes a snap of the screen and confirms the payment. The staff press one more button and the transaction is complete. Snapping the QR code in a crowded bar could be a challenge but in a quiet pub it is faster than paying by card.

Early registered his pubs with a database of Bitcoin retailers and people started popping in to see for themselves. So far he’s sold around £800 of booze to Bitcoin users. “It’s more than I expected it to be,” he says. “I really didn’t expect that wave of enthusiasm and people coming in to try it out. There is a certain novelty value.”

The Pembury Tavern is the first UK pub to go Bitcoin-friendly but not the first real-world business. In the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, restaurants, bars and a record shop have been using the payment system for months. In Ireland, just outside the small town of Birr, Bitcoin users can now book a night at a farmhouse bed and breakfast.

Small online businesses now accept the currency in exchange for everything from alpaca socks to pet accessories and hemp skincare treatments.

Bitcoin enthusiasts have held a meet-up at the Pembury Tavern, descending on the pub to swap their virtual coins for frothy pints and discuss the future of the currency. Still, Early is hedging his bets. I ask him if he plans to hold on to the Bitcoins coming in. He tells me no. “My plan is gradually to turn them back into pounds.”

A drinker’s guide to London’s oldest pubs

Looking for a London boozer with a bit of character and history? Author David Long lists the capital’s oldest pubs, some of which can trace their origins back to 1500 and beyond
The White Hart, Drury Lane, WC2

With ‘roots’ in 1216, the White Hart claims to be the ‘old­est licensed premises in London’ and numbers Dick Turpin among its erstwhile regulars. (Turpin was born in a pub, of course, as his dad had one out at Hempstead in Essex.)


The Red Lion, Whitehall, SW1

The Prime Minister’s local has been the closest pub to Downing Street for years, but predates the street (which was laid out in the 1680s) by a good 250 years. Occasionally, PMs are snapped with a pint in hand, an attempt to appear like they’re one of the lads, but rarely this close to home. (A working facsimile of the pub is also rumoured to have been installed in a secret Cold War-era government bunker in Wiltshire, somewhere for civil servants to relax during the Third World War, but this has not proved possible to verify.)


The Cittie of Yorke, High Holborn, WC1

A pub has been on this site since around 1430 and, although the present building is Grade II-listed, the Tudor facade is decidedly faux and dates from no earlier than the 1920s.
Prospect of Whitby, Wapping Wall, E1

With early 16th-century origins, the Prospect claims to be the oldest surviving riverside tavern and takes its name from a vessel that frequently tied up outside. Artists such as Whistler and Turner painted views from the tavern, and Londoners came here en route to see pirates hanged at Execution Dock. But the building itself is certainly not that old, as the original was almost entirely destroyed in a 19th-century fire.

Ye Olde Mitre, Ely Place, EC1

The hardest pub to find in London traces its history back to 1546 when it was built by the Bishop of Ely for his servants. It is popularly but erroneously said to be in Cambridgeshire, not London, because the bishops had their palace nearby and claimed the land for themselves.


The Grapes, Narrow Street, E14

Established no later than 1583, and a rare Blitz survivor, Narrow Street also avoided being swept away during the docklands developments of the 1980s and the pub now offers one of the best views of the river. It is owned by actor Sir Ian McKellen and a couple of chums.


The Seven Stars, Carey Street, WC2

Popular with lawyers as well as tourists – the Inns of Court are nearby, as well as the Royal Courts – the lovely Seven Stars celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2002.
The George Inn Yard, Borough High Street, SE1

Famously the last galleried coaching inn in London, and now part of the National Trust. Rebuilt in 1667, and still highly atmospheric, it has part of the old stabling yard remaining and occasionally Shakespeare’s plays are per­formed outside.


The Old Bell Tavern, Fleet Street, EC4

Supposedly built by Sir Christopher Wren for masons working on the nearby St Bride’s church, the building itself is at least 300 years old, although the likelihood is that pre-fire another tavern occupied the same site.


The Lamb, Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1

Built in the 1720s, the pub takes its name from philanthro­pist William Lamb who provided a conduit to supply the area with relatively clean, fresh water. Its delightful inte­rior, unique in London, features etched glass ‘snob screens’ to enable guilt-ridden drinkers to remain out of sight, and it boasts what is almost certainly London’s oldest working jukebox.

Why casinos can be part of your big night out

If you’re thinking of holding a Stag Do, Hen Do, private party or just want to add an extra edge to your night out – 1 Big Night Out can offer Casino entrance as part of your package.

Of course, with the internet world and the advent of smart phone technology offering us a whole world of games like Gaming Club online casino UK, it can be tempting to try and win big by staying at home. But there’s nothing like going out with your mates, dressing for the occasion and getting involved in a little friendly competition. Here are a few reasons why you should hit the slots for your next big night out.

You can win big

Heading to the pub might offer you the chance of a cheeky fruit machine if you’re lucky, but chances are, you’re going to come home with a lighter wallet than when you started. This is not always the case with casino nights – with a choice of roulette tables, blackjack tables, slot machines and more, you have far more ways to play and come home with a tidy little investment.

You don’t have to fly to Vegas

empire ballroom

There are more big casinos over here in the UK than you might think – in fact, you don’t have to go further than London to experience some of the glamour and bright lights of Vegas. The Casino at The Empire is actually part of the Caesar’s chain of casino resorts, giving you all the glitz of the Roman forums without having to jump on a plane.

You can get dressed up

Ladies – and indeed gents – we all know that half the fun of going out is the getting ready stage beforehand. So why not head to London’s Grosvenor Victoria Casino, where nothing says suave and sophisticated quite like it? Situated within easy reach of classy venues like Marble Arch and Oxford Circus, you can don your gladrags and get ready to win big cash.

You can admire the décor

Finally, despite common misconceptions, casinos are far from dark and dingy places – in fact, artist Thomas D Gray has just spent a fair amount of time reinventing the Hippodrome Casino with his digital artistry as part of a £50 million project. With art on the walls, stairwells and even in the toilets, you can have some great photo moments on a casino night out.