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My Recent Trip to Great Britain

My wife and I just returned from a week long trip to Great Britain. We spent the majority of our time in London, and 2 days in Oxford.
I thought I would share some photos and some of my thoughts on my journey with you all!
This is a photo of what used to be Fribourg and Treyer, one of London's late, great tobacconists. It has now been turned into a tourist gift shop. :/

This is Mullins & Westley, one of the last surviving Tobaccanists and Snuff specialists in London. It is quite a small shop just enough room for 2 patrons to stand inside and make their purchase.

A photo my lovely wife snapped of me inside the smoking lounge of James J. Fox. Sadly the store front was under construction and we were unable to get a photograph of it. ( I was also unable to get a shot of the old Dunhill store as it was pretty dark by the time we passed by)

One might believe that because of London's long history as a bastion for great pipe makers and tobacconists that smoking & pipe smoking would still have some hold outs. The sad reality is for every person I saw smoking a cigarette there were 100s vaping, that may not be "sad". I am not a fan of cigarettes, however I only saw one pipe smoker my entire trip and this was in Oxford, it was an older gentleman smoking a falcon.

I went into an antique shop in London, one of the more famous ones called Alfie's. I was speaking with one of the vendors as I was looking for tobacco pipes, she informed me that no one buys them anymore, she had several pipes in her booth however she brought them home and they just sit there gathering dust because she has had such trouble selling them. (unfortunately for me it was our last day in London, or I would have had her bring them from home the next day)
Apart from her informing me that no one buys them anymore, she also was almost in disbelief that I was a pipe smoker, as she hadn't seen anyone smoke a pipe in many years!

The situation in Oxford was in stark contrast to the situation in London. The one tobacconist in town had a great selection of pipes and pipe tobacco. ( I was able to score some Garmain's Brown Flake, and Uncut Cabbies Mixture)

I say all that to say this, the pipe and tobacco industry seems to be thriving in comparison to the UK. I know many of us can at times feel like it is dying, but after this visit it has opened my eyes to the momentum that the pipe smoking world has in the US.

BONUS PHOTOS: The Eagle and Child Pub

Comments

  • @PhilosoPiper, absolutely splendid! Thank you for posting these great pictures and sharing your tool of the UK. I would love to go to London one day and take a look around and Italy for that matter. It's interesting to see how this pipe life is dying over there. Here in the US, I hear people talking about it more or that might just be because I'm more involved I'm not sure which. I do fear that it will continue to die off especially if the feds keep screwing with laws. I just wish there was a non-profit group advocacy for us to help educate others because this is far different from cigars or cigarettes. Thanks again for sharing!
  • @Londy3 I couldn't agree with you more. The feds have done a great job at painting all tobacco with their ever broadening brush of doom and despair. 
  • The Eagle and Child... how cool! @PhilosoPiper did you get to spend any time there or just snap a quick pic? 
  • Hear, hear! London is a great place to visit even in the rainy season. I know, because that's when we went. It rained everyday... not all day, but every day.... and we had a swell time. Touristy stuff in the day, and pubs at night. What could be bad?
  • @jfreedy we spent about an hour and a half there for lunch and a couple of pints! It was incredible just to be where two giants used to spend time. A neat fact, the pub as it would have existed when Lewis and Tolkien were around was quite small. 

    @motie2 that was our exact experience! The rain was nothing compared to what I am used to in Texas. When people say rain I think torrential down pours. It was mostly "drizzle" there. London is an incredible city, I felt so at home there. The history and being surrounded by ancient things was awe inspiring.
  • Man that sound awesome. I need to spend time in Europe, I have roots in Italy.  How is traveling abroad in these times? Seems pretty unstable to me and not getting better.
  • @Londy3 safety was definitely a concern of ours. One of the reasons we went to Britain was it was our first Eauro trip and as you have said the skies to appear to be darkening. We wanted to be able to see all of the history that is there before things begin to get worse. That being said, as long as you have good situational awareness you should be A Okay. I hate sounding doom and gloom... but my outlook on the act taking place on the world stage at this juncture leaves most feeling uneasy I should think..
  • @PhilosoPiper, indeed. I am not trying to be glass is half empty but let's face it, the world is a scary place and it's getting more and more insane.
  • @PhilosoPiper Absolutely beautiful pictures of your vacations. Thanks for sharing them with us. But the information you shared on the state of pipe smoking in England is quite disheartening. It has completely shattered my illusion of jolly old England, and how I envision the patrons of the pubs to appear. I guess I've watched too many old movies and latched on to the romantic notion of old fogies sitting in pubs downing tankards of ale, playing darts, singing old songs, and puffing away on a pipe. In reality the pubs are probably No Smoking. And the image of people walking about vaping and not smoking a pipe is too much for this old nostalgic fool to bear.  
  • Wow, what lovely pictures @PhilosoPiper , thank you for sharing them! I've seen pictures of Mullins & Westley before, and I'd love to visit the shop one day. And it's a life dream of mine to visit The Eagle and Child one day, considering what an impact Tolkien and Lewis have had on me. I'm glad you had a great trip in England, and that you could spread some piping cheer over there.
  • @ghostsofpompeii It was heartbreaking for me as well. You would be 100 percent correct that there is no smoking in the pubs. The only reason one is "allowed" *shudder* to smoke indoors say at James J. Fox in their lounge is because one is participating in what they must call "sampling and quality control." I thank the Good Lord that I can still walk down the street to the cigar lounge or hop in my car and get to the pipe shop, and be able to smoke unbridled. You will be pleased to hear however that there are still pubs that conjure up the nostalgic mental images that you have, they are just missing pipes. Hard to look past I know but perhaps it is some consolation.

    @thebadgerpiper Thank you, I took hundreds more photographs. But I didn't want this to turn into a travel blog  :D. I couldn't recommend traveling to the UK highly enough, it is an absolutely beautiful country, filled with the magic that only ancient things can be. Spread piping cheer I did! I was able to hopefully by walking around puffing my pipe, make people realize that pipe smokers are still out there, and they are even young. Maybe it caused someone to want to try to smoke a pipe, who knows. It can only be my hope.
  • Great pictures, thanks.
  • @PhilosoPiper, I'd love to see more. At least the ones that show a lot of character. Maybe will paint one!
  • Here you go @Londy3, these are some of the top pics I got from the trip! Hope you enjoy!
  • Wow, great pics man. Thanks for sharing. So, how many times did it rain...lol
  • Awesome photos but what a sad tobacco scene in England.  I am days away from traveling to and attending Oktoberfest in Munich and visiting Amsterdam.  I've targeted a few tobacco shops in Munich, if for no other reason than to possibly buy some Cuban cigars.  Apparently the laws are so strict, there are no shops with lounges.  Amsterdam has a few very good cigar shops with lounges that I believe also serve liquor.  I believe at least one of the shops I've selected also sells pipes and tobacco.  At least we'll be able to enjoy a cigar in a lounge setting.
  • PhilosoPiperPhilosoPiper Connoisseur
    edited September 2017
    @Londy3 Every single day! It was just light rain though, nothing too crazy. Nothing like what I get here in TX that is for sure.

    @jim102864 That sounds like it will be an awesome time! We are heading to Munich, Vienna, and Budapest over the Christmas Holidays. Let me know how things go in Munich, and whether or not the shops are any good!
  • Londy3 -- So, you are a painter? So is SWMBO.
    http://www.anitagladstone.com/gallery
  • @motie2, I am an artist and musician. So who is Anita Gladstone?
  • Anita Gladstone = SWMBO
  • SWMBO = What we "hard cases" call our wives. We have been married 48 years as of last Saturday, my birthday (71). Males in my family get married on their birthdays so as to never forget an Anniversary. So, we got married on a Tuesday evening. No trouble getting a hall or an officiant. (Who gets married on a Tuesday evening????)
  • @PhilosoPiper Beautiful pictures! Makes me wish I could go and visit now. There's so much in England I'd love to see.
  • @thebadgerpiper Thank you, there certainly is much to see. We felt like we had only barely scratched the surface!

    Thank you @Corey562
  • Whoa! Lots of good shots.
  • SWMBO= She Who Must Be Obeyed.
    The secret to a long marriage- Yes Dear, You're right Dear, I'm sorry.
  • @Philosopiper Wonderful photos - and lots to think about.  It's on the list!  Thanks 
  • OMG! Never heard of that acronym. Good to know. If Mom (if you have kids) is happy everyone is happy. Or the famous, happy wife, happy life. Congrats @motie2 that's quite an accomplishment.
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