Penderel's Oak is a pub in central London, sometimes frequented by the britnoders.
It is part of the J D Wetherspoon chain (meaning they are not too expensive, have some guest ales, and serve something not entirely unlike food), and has plenty of space. There's a cellar bar downstairs, and a cash machine inside. The toilets have a funky touch, and the interior décor has lots of dark wood.
Where is is?
In Holborn, the no-man's land between Soho and The City.
The street address is 283-287 High Holborn, Holborn, London, WC1V 7PF
Nearby tube stations are Chancery Lane to the east and Holborn to the west.
Temple is a little further away, to the south. The energetic could walk there from Russel Square to the north, or Tottenham court road even further west.
How to get there:
From Holborn tube station, turn right and walk east (towards Chancery Lane) on the south side (right hand side) of High Holborn, and find the pub after a few blocks.
From Chancery Lane tube station, walk west (towards Holborn) on the south side (left hand side) of High Holborn, and find the pub after a few blocks.
On the web:
Search on google for "Penderel's Oak Holborn" to find various pages about the pub.
Open Guide has an entry, which can be found from http://london.openguides.org/
Go to http://www.fancyapint.com/ and look it up for a review
Go to http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ and enter the post code WC1V 7PF to see a map of the area.
Wi-fi:
The pub has a wi-fi access point provided by The Cloud (http://www.thecloud.net/mycloud/). The access point is called "mycloud". Signal was good, but you will have to pay them before you can get access. Current rates in December 2004 are £4.50 per hour.
Hazards:
It's quite large. If you walk in here not knowing the face or mobile number of any noders in the place, you may not find them. It has happened before.
The pub likely to be rammed full of office workers on a Friday just after work finishes.
History:
The pub is named after the story that Richard Penderel hid King Charles II in an oak tree, as he fled from the parliamentary forces during the English civil war. See also the common pub and place name The Royal Oak, which references the same story.
Meets in Penderel's Oak:
Apparently the London Perl Mongers and ZZ9 meet here regularly.
There's a McDonald's towards Chancery Lane. We bought DonFreenut a McFlurry there.
The London Britnoders met Splunge here on the 29th of May 2004 for The "It's just a few bad apples" London Meetup.
panamaus on the 25th June 2004 for the The "Bloody hell, not another one" London panamaus meet.
The "welcome TenMinJoe to London" cor blimey guvnor meetup in September 2004.
... and sundy other minor minor gatherings.