Oxfordshire Pubs Round-Up V.2021

As with 2020, I've opted to finish the year with a post that mops up a few Oxfordshire pub visits that never made it as far as a blog post.

Starting in Oxford city centre, where one pub has taken on a new lease of life...

White House by Tap Social (38 Abingdon Road, Oxford, OX1 4PQ - web)
A short walk south of the city centre, across the river and down Abingdon Road takes you to the White House - previously run by Wadworth's until 2019.
It was taken over by local brewery Tap Social (whose empire has also expanded into Banbury's food court and should soon include a site in Oxford's covered market).

We visited in 2020 when the pub was under scaffolding and Tap Social were selling their beers from the horse box bar out front.

2020 - work in progress.

It was good to revisit in 2021 once the scaffolding was removed and we were allowed inside.

As with the brewery tap at the top of Botley Road, The White House appeals to a varied customer base.  Heading there on a recent midweek lunchtime there were folks with coffees behind laptops, a couple of groups settling down for lunch and a few people meeting up for pints of beer.
There are two cask ales at the side of the bar, one of which serving up a cool crisp pint of Oakham 'Citra' on my visit, plus a tap wall at the back featuring their own creations and guests.
 

 

Back in June we made a trip out to Ardington, reached via bus to Wantage and a couple of miles walk along the Ickneid Way.

Ardington is a prim & proper well-kept village, most of which is owned by and maintained by the Lockinge Estate.  It's the kind of place where the locals begin to get nervous at scruff-bags like me wandering around in circles waiting for the pub to open.

Boar's Head (Church Street, Ardington, OX12 8QA - web)
"NEVER trust ANY pub that says they open before 12 noon on ANY day of the week unless it is a Wetherspoons" said BRAPA around this time.
And he was right.  Everything online pointed to the Boar's Head being an 11:30 opener, but the front door was bolted shut when we arrived.  We loitered, then walked around the village several times, which didn't take long.  
Then completely missed the door being opened just after 12, with the landlord popping out to ask us "do you want to come in or not?"

According to their website the Boar's is "a traditional, cosy and friendly, country pub".
Their definition of a traditional country pub differs a bit from mine...

So,this gets added to the Oxfordshire dining pub collection, not designed with the casual drinker calling in for a pint in mind.
We splashed-out on some very good food and a decent pint of Loose Cannon 'Abingdon Bridge'.

It may be smart surroundings, but I still managed to find a bit of mild smut in Gents WCs...

Mild smut in the Gents, no.47 in an ongoing series

Leaving the well-to-do South Oxfordshire folk to their luncheons, we made our way back across footpaths to Wantage where The Lamb had appeared as a new entry in the 2021 Good Beer Guide.

The Lamb (59 Mill Street, Wantage, OX12 9AB - web)
This will appeal to fans of thatch, being the only thatched roof in town.
And to fans of old buildings, being the second oldest in town, apparently, with only the Parish Church dating back further.

That said, you'll need to bag a table in the small front section, under low ceilings and wooden beams, if you're after the olde worlde feel.
The entrance is via the car park into a sky-lighted rear extension.  The bar is in this part of the pub where the environs in which to sup your 'London Pride' are a bit more modern.

Next up, just what you want in a proper pub blog...
a Brunning & Price Double-Bill

The first of these is found right at the foot of the county with a Reading postcode.

The Packhorse (Woodcote Road, Mappledurham, RG4 7UG - web)
I approached this the hard way, walking a couple of miles through Caversham with a final death-defying trek down the busy main road.  
All because I'd very stupidly not realised the X40 Oxford to Reading bus stops right outside.

Perhaps the thirst I'd walked up helped, but the Froth Blowers beer was exceptionally good.  

My second B&P is situated just above Abingdon in Besselsleigh.  According to Wikipedia this is a village with 87 inhabitants, but as far I can see it consists of nothing but the pub. 

The Greyhound (Besselsleigh, OX13 5PX - web)
Similar to the Packhorse, this pub sits just back from a busy main road and, in a location like this, probably wouldn't exist as a pub without being a dining destination.
The Greyhound is a former coaching inn dating back 400-years, much expanded with a conservatory on the side.  It's more restauranty than the Packhorse - I did take some pictures of decorative fireplaces,but decided no-one needed to see them.

A hefty amount of beers on the bar, mostly from local breweries, with my choice of Vale 'Red Kite' being a decent pick, well-kept and good quality.

Around a mile from Besselsleigh is the equally tiny but slightly more remote hamlet of Eaton.  This contained another new Beer Guide tick for me - the Eight Bells. 

The limited opening hours (5-9 most evenings) had been the main reason it'd taken me so long to head out here, but the even more limited (ie.closed) hours scuppered me completely first time.
Walking there on a Saturday evening, we found a handwritten 'sorry closed today' notice on the door. 

Eight Bells (Eaton, OX13 8PR - web)
We did eventually make it - heading there on a midweek evening to partake in the tasty Thai food on offer.
Having seen the food offering, I assumed this would be another dining pub, so was pleasantly surprised by the rustic country-pub main bar, with it's wooden benches and beamed ceiling.

I'll finish the post with a picture of the Vine Inn in Cumnor.  If you walk back toward Oxford from the Eight Bells I guarantee you'll have just missed a bus and will end up with a pint of '51 Deep' in here...

Thank you once again to anyone who's found their way to the blog, looked at the pictures and even read some of my waffle whilst tutting at the copious grammatical errors.
I've even gone one better in 2021 getting Hydes and Holts breweries mixed up, and confusing feet and meters in my claims of how high a pub is.  Here's to more mistakes in 2022!

Happy new year. Cheers!  🍻