St Patrick’s Day in London brought green hats, a busy festival stage and a very cold walk through the West End in 2018. This short Roberts London film visits Trafalgar Square, drops into an Irish pub and follows the snowy streets towards Covent Garden and Chinatown.

Originally published on 23 March 2018, it was a preview of a longer episode. The music-led edit captures the atmosphere of the celebrations, from the crowds outside to the dark, busy pub interior. These photographs are stills from that original film.

Watch St Patrick’s Day in London

A green crowd in Trafalgar Square

The film opens among festivalgoers in Trafalgar Square. Nelson’s Column rises above a sea of coats, scarves and bright green accessories. Even under a grey sky, the hats and wigs make the celebration easy to spot.

Meanwhile, the stage draws people across the square. Some stop to watch, while others move between the crowd and the stalls. The familiar buildings provide a London backdrop to a day devoted to Irish culture.

Beside the National Gallery, the Irish Post tent adds another splash of green. The camera moves past its open counters before the edit takes us indoors. It is a small detail, but it helps preserve the look of the festival as it appeared that year.

Inside the Porterhouse

Next, a black-and-white sequence changes the pace. The Porterhouse interior fills the frame with bottles, railings and people gathered around the bar. After the open space of Trafalgar Square, the pub feels close and crowded.

The monochrome footage also gives this part of the film a different texture. Instead of the green festival colours, the eye follows the lights and the layers of the interior. It is a brief look at the pub atmosphere during the celebrations.

Back beside the festival stage

The edit then returns to the square and its green-framed stage. From this angle, the audience and the surrounding buildings share the scene. People in winter clothes stand together to watch, with festival hats still visible above the crowd.

Those changes of setting give the short film its rhythm: outdoor celebration, indoor gathering, then another look at the stage. The soundtrack carries the sequence, leaving the pictures to tell the story of the day.

A snowy walk through the West End

Later, the camera heads through Covent Garden. The cobbles, market buildings and pedestrians become the focus, with snow visible during the walk. It is a reminder of how wintry London could still feel in March.

Finally, the route continues towards Chinatown. People walk beneath the falling snow as the film returns to the streets. The weather becomes as much a part of this London memory as the festival itself.

More from March in London

For the wider story, watch March in London 2018: Snow, St Patrick’s Day and Spring. That full episode brings together more of the month’s walks, celebrations and changing weather.

This archive post records the 2018 visit. The scenes, festival layout and pub footage belong to that original outing.