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location:
address:
147 Whipps Cross Road, E11 1NP
phone:
0871 984 3935*
* calls cost 10p/minute, click here for more about 0871 numbers.
nearest stations:
Snaresbrook 
(820m) - zone 4
Leytonstone
(970m) - zones 3/4
Wanstead
(1.2Km) - zone 4
Wood Street, Walthamstow 
(1.4Km) - zone 4
how to find it:
From Leytonstone: Take the exit marked to Leytonstone High Road, cross Church Lane, and when you reach the High Road turn left. If you walk, it is a good 15-20 minute walk up to the Green Man roundabout, down through the pedestrian walkways and follow the signs for Walthamstow. This will bring you out onto Whipps Cross Road. Bear to the right and proceed for a few hundred yards - an open area that's part of Epping Forest is on the right. The pub is ahead on the left. Alternatively, when you get to the High Road, find a bus stop on the left side of the road and catch the 257 toward Whipps Cross. It stops just outside the pub, but you'll probably need to tell the driver that's where you want to get off, or signal when you get to the huge roundabout.
click for directions to Alfred Hitchcock from wherever you areclick here for a larger map
It was a hot summer's afternoon when we approached the Sir Alfred Hitchcock Hotel for a much-needed drink. We couldn't get that scene from the Birds out of our heads though, and the sort of gloomy front conjured up poor Norman Bates's house on the hill. There's an air of shabby gentility about the place that does appeal. The bar area is chock full of little nooks and crannies where one can hide from the other customers. And, it's got a group of comfy sofas in the bay window overlooking Epping Forest. The bar and hotel was converted from a row of townhouses in 1980. In case you didn't know, the man himself was born in Leytonstone, though the house he was born in is now a petrol station. Not unsurprisingly, there is a lot of Hitchcock memorabilia on the walls, including stills from his movies, nicknacks vaguely on theme and (apparently) framed copies of Hitch's birth and marriage certificates. The bar itself is great, although the closest thing to real ale on tap was Boddingtons and it's definitely a locals place, as it's so far from everywhere. The terrace out the back is pleasant on a warm night and popular (as evidenced by the signs asking the clientele to keep it down). Friendly staff, tolerant locals and nicely situated on the edge of the Forest makes it a very relaxed place to go. The food in the restaurant is supposed to be good, but we've not tried it yet. Now, the last thing we want is for anyone to come in and "fix" the place - it's fine, leave it alone!
02/03/2007
terrace
separate restaurant
hotel
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