A guided walk through 275 years of urban failure, reinvention, and the long, slow gentrification of Notting Hill - told through the pubs that developers built first (usually before they went bankrupt).

From gravel pits and pig farms to punk gigs and overpriced pints, we trace how these buildings reveal the neighborhood’s real story.

Featuring forgotten racetracks, bad drainage, Joe Strummer, Tsarist Russia, and one wildly confident pub that stood alone on a muddy hillside.

Welcome to the pubs that built Notting Hill - and survive to tell the tale.

Why did Bermondsey’s working-class pubs serve up pints to tanners reeking of dog poo. While Hampstead boasts literary haunts filled with poetry and spa visitors?

It’s not luck. It’s topography - for the answer is buried deep. From glacial gravel, to wandering water, to the winds of fortune, this episode takes you on a rollicking ride through the forces that shaped London’s pub map long before the first pint was pulled.

From gravel terraces and Victorian fogs to posh mews pubs and riverside alehouses, we’re mapping the city through sediment.

You’ll learn why there are more Tube lines north of the river (hint: mud), why Belgravia even exists (money and dirt - literally), and how pub names like The Flask or The Woolpack are basically geological signposts in disguise.

This isn’t trivia. This is the secret decoder ring for understanding where pubs are, what they meant, and why your pint tastes different in Hampstead than it does in Bermondsey.

Listen before you plan your next trip - because the ground beneath your feet might just tell you more than your guide book.