Duke, darts in Northumberland Heath, Erith (Bexley)

Photo: CAMRA / WhatPub

Duke: Darts in Northumberland Heath, London

FreeWalk-inPool tableLive musicSports TVGarden

322 Bexley Road, Northumberland Heath, Erith · DA8 3HB · Mo-Th 14:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 14:00-24:00; Su 14:00-22:30

The Duke is a proper community local on the corner of Bexley Road in Northumberland Heath, the patch of Bexley that sits between Erith and Bexleyheath. It is a black-and-white street-corner pub with a largish main bar and a separate side room kitted out like a sitting room, sofas and all. There is a dartboard here, free to use the way pub darts should be, plus a pool table, a garden for warmer days, sports on the TV and live music. The single most useful thing to know: it does not open until 2pm, and there is no cask ale since 2023, so come for the games and the room rather than a real-ale crawl. It suits locals, a casual evening of arrows with mates, and anyone after an unfussy pint and a frame of pool.

The darts setup

The Duke keeps it simple and traditional. There is a dartboard in the pub, the kind you walk up to, chalk a name on, and play for nothing. No booking, no automatic scoring, no timed oches, just a board, your own darts or the house set, and whoever fancies a leg. It sits alongside a pool table, so you can rotate between arrows and a frame across an evening. The layout helps: a largish main bar for the games, and a quieter side room laid out like a sitting room with sofas if you want to sit one out. Bring chalk or a scoring app and you are sorted.

Good to know

Hours are the thing to plan around. The Duke opens at 2pm every day, runs to 11pm Monday to Thursday, midnight on Friday and Saturday, and closes at 10:30pm on Sunday. There is a garden for warmer evenings, sports on the TV, a real fire for the colder months, and live music is a regular fixture rather than a one-off. Worth knowing before you go: cask beer stopped being served here back in 2023, so it is keg, lager and the usual pub range rather than a rotating real-ale board. Darts and pool are both free to play.

Getting there

Northumberland Heath sits in the London Borough of Bexley, tucked between Erith to the north and Bexleyheath to the south. The pub is right on Bexley Road on a street corner, easy to spot thanks to its black-and-white frontage and the lamp out front. Erith is the nearest railway station for trains towards London Bridge and Cannon Street, with Slade Green and Barnehurst also in reach. Buses along Bexley Road link the heath to Erith, Bexleyheath and Welling, so it is straightforward whether you are coming from the river side or up the hill from Bexleyheath.

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Common questions

What is The Duke in Northumberland Heath?
It is a community local on the corner of Bexley Road in Northumberland Heath, Erith. It has a largish main bar, a side room laid out with sofas, a dartboard, a pool table, a garden, sports TV and regular live music.
Is darts free to play at The Duke?
Yes. The dartboard is a normal free-to-play pub board, so there is no charge and no booking. Just turn up and play. The pool table is there too.
Do you need to book to play darts at The Duke?
No. There is no booking system and no timed sessions. Walk in during opening hours, grab the board when it is free and play.
What are The Duke's opening hours?
It opens at 2pm daily. Closing is 11pm Monday to Thursday, midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 10:30pm on Sunday.
Does The Duke serve real ale?
No. Cask beer stopped being served in 2023, so expect keg beers, lager and the usual pub drinks rather than a real-ale range.
What is the nearest station to The Duke?
Erith railway station is the nearest, with trains towards London Bridge and Cannon Street. Slade Green and Barnehurst are also in reach, and buses run along Bexley Road.

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