Giants and Woodmen - Cerne Abbas and Bridport

I'm afraid that my dedication to the blog and all things pub has trailed off at the end of 2024.

"Stuff" has gotten in the way, as it does occasionally.

So instead of pubs adorned in Christmas decorations, I'm backtracking a few few weeks to catch-up and bring you a bit of mild smut in the gents WC on the side of a hill...

After an overnight in Dorchester and a return visit to Spoons for breakfast, I made the 8-mile trip north to the village of Cerne Abbas.
On such a grey miserable day.  I appeared to have the place to myself, sensible tourists deciding to wait and visit at a time they could get their phallic chalk man pictures with blue sky backgrounds.

Extreme mud curtailed the footpath route to the Cerne Abbas brewery tap, forcing me to trek along the side of the A352.
Not a good bit of road to walk - I was happy to see the "Caution: concealed brewery entrance 300yds ahead".  Wow - that's some bespoke road signage.

Turning into that concealed entrance, the brewery was down here somewhere...

A couple of farm buildings are located at the bottom of the leafy track, where a right-hand turn, navigating a puddle that was threatening to take on 'lake' status, led we to this rural brewhouse...

Cerne Abbas Brewery Tap (Chescombe Barn, Barton Meadows Farm, Dorchester Road, Cerne Abbas, DT2 7JS)
The brewery was founded in 2014 in smaller premises, moving to this new home at the Barton Meadows Farm in 2019.  They pride themselves on brewing using green sand-filtered water (ideal for beer and once making brewing a big business in these parts) and local barley from the Cerne Valley.  The taproom puts on evening sessions for the villagers, live music, special events, and food from the appealingly named 'Papa Cheese' on a Saturday.

As is my habit, I miss all that kind of cheese and music excitement and call in when the only people in the building are the brewer and his visiting accountant.

They still had a 'closed' sign hung over the draft beer tap, worrying me for a moment that I'd made a wasted roadside trek, but all was well, my arrival providing a break from the spreadsheets.
I could buy a t-shirt, some bottles, indulge in the impressive selection of boxed ciders or the racked beers on gravity.  Soundtracked by Heart FM, unfortunately.
'Blonde', 'Styrian Wolf', and 'Cnut' (who plundered the local monastery 1,000 years ago), were the available ales.
I sank into a big sofa by the door, supping a crisp, fruity, Styrian Wolf.

The brewery tap featured from proper rustic Gents WCs...

If it's raining, you're gonna get wet while you wee.

Leaving the taproom, I back-tracked to the village of Cerne Abbas where I had a half-hour to explore the picturesque streets and look at the remnants of the Abbey before the pub opened.  The Abbey was established in 987 and was the focal point of the area for 500-or-so years before Henry VIII unleashed his wrecking ball.

Here's the old Abbot's Porch...

I'm not entirely sure I got my £2.50 in the honesty box value-for-money from a few minutes spent wandering around the courtyard of what's left of the Abbey, but never mind.

It took me to 12noon and the Giant Inn was unbolting the front door.

The Giant Inn (24 Long Street, Cerne Abbas, DT2 7JF)
This was formerly the Red Lion, hence the two-in-one pub sign (top picture on the post).
There are three pubs in Cerne, a significant drop from the whopping 14 this village once boasted.
The Good Beer Guide led me to the Giant Inn, but I suspect I'd have been drawn to it anyway with the eye-catching Victorian frontage.

Inside, they were prepping for imminent lunch arrivals with plenty of reserved table signs, mildly surprised to see my eagerly early arrival.  Real ales on the bar were Exmoor 'Fox' or Butcombe 'Rare Breed' - the Fox for me, in decent condition for the first pour of the day.

Apologies to Cerne, but I wasn't compelled to hang around and sample the other two pubs on this quiet and dull day.
Instead, how about an afternoon in Bridport, where I wanted to visit the Woodman, one of 17 pubs on the 2024 CAMRA Pub of the Year longlist.

Before that though, I nipped into the Bridport side streets to the Tiger...

The Tiger Inn (14-16 Barrack Street, Bridport, DT6 3LY)
Now this was more like it.
A warm and welcoming main room - lots of dried hops - pump clip adorned beams - other customers besides me (now that's a novelty!)

The view to the pump clips was obscured by the sit-at-the-bar blokes and I can't quite remember what the choice was.  But I do know that my Greene King 'Blood Orange' was marvellous.  A smooth chocolate orange stout brewed in collaboration with Nethergate.

This 18th century inn is wet-led, attracting a half dozen midweek afternoon drinkers when I visited.  The attention of the locals was devoted to the bar staff who'd just returned from holidays in warmer climes and was regaling them with tales of events with bottomless Prosecco and the ensuing carnage.

Onward, to the Woodman...

The Woodman Inn (61 South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NZ)
This is a bit of a regular award winner, currently crowned the 2024 Wessex CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year and the 2024 Regional Cider Pub of the Year.

Of course, I'd really like to have visited on a raucous evening, but that didn't pan out.  A friend claimed to have been there when the effects of the rustic cider had caused the old boys to need to steady themselves against the wall as they navigated the pub.  
Just a couple of solo drinkers in on my visit, both able to get to the bar without the floor spinning out from under them.

There was an impressive and varied cask choice made up of: Five Points 'Railway Porter', Swannay 'Scarpa Special', Thornbridge 'Woodlands', Downlands 'Best' and - my pick - Colbier 'Intermission', all the way from Merseyside.

The music selection provided something a little bit different: some cosmic psych from the, previously unknown to me, Black Rainbows.

This was a thoroughly pleasant pub that I could quite happily have settled in for the rest of the day.  But I'd finished the local Giant's Pint CAMRA mag, so would have needed a good book on this occasion - no earwigging of other people's conversations to keep me entertained here...

But sadly I had places to be and couldn't wait for the crowds to descent on the Woodman.

That's two short visits I've made to Bridport pubs, which is a shame as I'm sure there is a cracking evening or two to be had in this Dorset town.

A Dorchester Dawdle

An overnight in Dorchester - the Dorset version, rather than the one on the Thames.

It has been ten years since I last visited Dorset's county town.  Back then, the brewery quarter was a construction site, but in 2024 the former home of Eldridge Pope was looking rather majestic despite the obvious disappointment that it's no longer a brewery and there is no Thomas Hardy barley wine being bottled here.
The grand old brewhouse is now surrounded by chain restaurants and lounge bars, a gym, hotel, and swanky shops. 
Happily, there is still some brewing going on, albeit on a small scale.

In a shiny modern building adjacent to Dorchester South railway station, the Copper Street Brewery was established in 2018.  Probably not photogenic at the best of times - but I've gone all-out to disappoint with the picture, capturing some big reflective windows...

Copper Street Brewhouse and Taproom (8 Copper Street, Dorchester, DT1 1GH)
On a mid-week afternoon, I expected to have this place to myself.  Hence the surprise to find it bustling with a wide range of folk, relegating me a perch on the window ledge with a stack of empty barrels getting in the way of any chance of comfort.
This is basically a micro pub with a hatch to the side of the bar providing a view of some brewing kit.  Features included canine trip hazards, clutter in the sole WC, and a shelf of cans and bottles that you'd have to squeeze past the cheery, boozy blokes to get to.

On the bar counter were two casks, whilst the blackboard listed a handful of keg options including their own Saxon lager and guest beers.  I wanted something brewed on-site, so picked the cask Copper Street 'Aethelwulf', a sturdy 5.7% dark mild concocted for the Weymouth beer festival.

Whilst I would rather have liked a proper seat, this was a great little spot and a fine first beer to start my short Dorchester tour.
Moving on, I made the 8-minute stroll into the town centre and checked into my accommodation for the evening - the Old Ship.

I was staying in seemingly the only pub in town that didn't serve real ale, which was a bit of a let-down.
But it was a lot cheaper than the ambitious off-season Premier Inn prices and met my simple requirements for a night (roof, bed, TV to switch on and instantly fall asleep in front of).

Bag dropped off, I made Beer Guide regular Tom Browns my next port of call.

Tom Browns (47 High Street East, Dorchester, DT1 1HU)
This is now under the ownership of Oxfordshire pub group Oak Taverns, whose pubs appear in a few of my blog posts this year.
I just need to find my way to the Old Crown at Ebley, Stroud, to complete the lot.

I bowled in through the front door, looking forward to the revelry within...
Hmmm...

Yes, PropUptheBar, not for the first time, fails to visit places at their liveliest and best.
At one point the member of staff popped outside when he spotted friends passing by, leaving me with the whole place to myself.
But who needs a crowd when you've got an Uncut magazine soundtrack (Broken Bells...Alt J...Foster the People) and five cask beers to pick from.  These came from from Langport, Dorset Brewing Company and Piddle.  As Dorset BC brew a beer specially for the pub, I opted for the 'Tom Browns' trad best bitter.

Sat on my lonesome, I ventured to Google, deciding to look up who Tom Brown was to add some informative content to the blog.  Unfortunately, the top result was a 25-year-old homeless chap sentenced for possession of a firearm.  Which I suspect may not the Tom Brown the pub and beer are named after.

Right, let's move on to a micro down an alley...

Convivial Rabbit (1 Trinity House, Trinity Street, Dorchester, DT1 1TT)
Uh-oh, another quiet pub visit.  The crowds had swelled to four in Tom Browns when I left, but I found myself only the second punter in the 'Rabbit.   Things promised to pick up later with a number of tables reserved for the Dorchester crib players at 7:30pm, but I'd be gone before I had the chance to see how frivolous the crib crowd get.

The beers were listed on a board above the bar and fetched (very slowly) from a side room somewhere.  Quantock 'Quest for the Holy Grale', Nottingham 'Dreadnought', Cerne Abbas 'Ale', and Saltaire 'Big Table' made for a respectable choice.

The Quantock pale for me - an enjoyable pint in fine condition, from a brewery that always seem to do the business.
The Convivial Rabbit was a nice place - on the larger end of the 'micro' pub scale, with quality beer at reasonable prices.  But with no music and no crib players to liven things up, I'm afraid my time here was a little bit dull.

In the search of action, it was time to move on to the guaranteed crowds of Spoons.
The Dorchester branch is located on the traffic-heavy High Street West, in a former coaching inn with arched entrance leading through to what would once have been the stable yard.

The Royal Oak (20 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UW)
This is a bit of a mix of Spoons styles - smaller rooms at the front, the design dictated by the historic hotel layout, whilst the bar is in a modern rectangular extension to the rear - Spoons-by-numbers as far as the design and furniture are concerned.

The Royal Oak offered a quality range of guest beers to pick from, from which I chose the Salopian 'Disintegration', a 5.1% strong pale ale that was crying out to be described as 'chewy'.

One pint and Fiesta burger with mushy pea side later, I was ready to set off to the Brewhouse and KItchen.  Only to discover the weather had taken a turn and it was hammering down on a dank Dorset evening.
So I scrapped the B&K plan and dashed a few meters down the road to my accommodation.

Old Ship Inn (High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UW)
Sadly, not quite so 'old' inside, with some ghastly wallpaper, polished wooden floors, TVs on for the sake of it, and typical town pub decor.
On the plus side - there were a nice couple of model ships on display.
And I was treated to a rousing singalong to Frank's 'That's Life' from the (possibly quite tipsy) locals around the pool table in the rear section.

A little less action around my chosen seat by the windows...

Sadly, no surprise handpumps to prove WhatPub wrong.
No silly strong craft beers or lethal dry-as-a-bone Dorset ciders.

So my evening in Dorchester ended on this smoothflow classic...

Belgian Beer in Bishop's Stortford

In which I find myself with a couple of hours to spare in the Herts town of Bishop's Stortford, late on an Autumnal Saturday afternoon.
I figured that should be ample time to get around the 2025 Beer Guide entries.

Going against convention, my first pub picture is of somewhere that I didn't actually set foot in.
But just look at the Nags Head...a stunning art deco design to match Nottingham's finest...

As visually appealing as the place looked, I didn't want to deviate from my plan and miss the town centre beer guide ticks.  Plus, a quick glance at Untappd suggested this wasn't a secret real ale destination.

Barry F has checked in Fosters lager 781 times to date.
Four stars every time and I bet he's never had to return a dodgy pint of it, like us suckers on the cask.

Just up the road from the Nags, around a mile out of town, was my first destination - a brewery in an industrial estate next door to the Gui pudding factory.

Belgian Brewer (Links Industrial Estate, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5NZ)
The eponymous Belgian Brewer grew up in Belgium before moving to the UK aged 21.  Presumably unimpressed with Fosters in the Nags and the continental bottles available in the supermarket, they set about brewing trad Belgian styles in the home counties, establishing the brewery in 2018.
It's your typical industrial estate brewery tap from outside - big rectangular building, red shutters, gazebo, planters, portable bar in a trailer.  Inside, it has a fair bit of character and I rather liked it.  A friendly welcome.  Great selection of beers.  And a fine collection of Lowlands breweriana attached to the chipboard walls.

 

There were a fair few people in, most of whom seemed to know one another; a couple of chaps in their purple Bishop's Stortford FC shirts (I trust the Blues are doing better than last year).

Unusually, I stayed sensible with such a choice of high ABV beers on offer, ordering the mildly hopped, floral pale ale.  The brewer's lowest strength beer at 5.6%.
A couple of stronger ones went into the backpack for later.

It was time to move on and explore the town centre.
Bishop's Stortford is home to around 41,000 folk and - if I'm counting correctly - a pretty hefty 16 pubs.

The one I was heading to was through dimly lit side streets, the multi-coloured lights of The Castle luring me toward it.

The Castle (38 Castle Street, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 3TG)
Wow - this was a buzz of activity when I opened the front door - a contrast to the quiet street I was coming in from.  All the tables were occupied in the main room, conversations in full flow, lots of laughter, nobody paying any attention to the football on the TV screens.  The pub dog came to check me out, found me thoroughly uninteresting, and wandered back to his spot in the corner.

The two cask ales on offer came from Wharfe Brewery (formerly Red Fox) and Royston's Buntingford Brewery.
I felt a bit guilty ordering the Wharfe 'Leading Light' when it took forever to pour ("it's a lively one"). 

Then took this through to the snug to one side, the only place with a table free.  It's a nice little room with a bit of bench seating and a hatch to the bar to save you making the ten steps around the corner.  A room spoiled by the group of blokes who insisted on shouting to each other at full volume and were very, very rude about Angela Rayner.

Next up, a stroll along residential Portland Street, down to Market Street, then 'round the corner to The Star.

The Star (7 Bridge Street, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 2JU)
Now we're into proper ancient pub territory, with this inn dating back to 1636.  Not that you'd necessarily know once inside, as this has had a refurb or two to turn it into a town centre all-rounder.
There was an impressive beer line-up...Pride, Proper Job, Hobgoblin, Oscar Wilde mild, and two Brentwood brews.  Neat little luggage tags; no jam jars.

I picked the Brentwood 'Beer Outta Hell' - of course I did, it's a chilli and ginger porter.  Nice enough, but I would have heaped a bunch more ginger and chilli into the mix.
The Star is laid out in a U-shape with a courtyard out back.  The right side was a bit more pubby yet, after doing the rounds, I perched on a stool in the brightly lit bit with sofas, wooden beams, Everton on the telly, and excessive Halloween decorations. 

All in all, The Star is a pub I could have happily spent longer in.  There was a ridiculously cute puppy to detract from the Premier League, a Vampire Weekend soundtrack, a relaxed Saturday evening vibe, and the beer was in good nick.

I failed on my original mission for Beer Guide completion of the town.
Necessitating a return visit for the Sports Trust club bar and an opportunity to investigate what the Nags Head looks like inside.
Instead, I took the easy option of finishing the evening in Spoons.

The Port Jackson (Riverside Wharf, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 3GN)
This is a purpose-built JDW in the complex of Italian chain restaurants and apartments constructed next to the swans on the River Stort.  The Port Jackson first opened the doors in April 2014, although - once inside - this didn't feel like somewhere which was a building site ten years ago.
WhatPub suggested it was hit and miss in regards to cask ale excitement, so I guess I struck lucky with a couple of dark Halloween-themed guest ales at £1.99 a pint.  The Nethergate 'Complete Howler' was a wonderful warming dark ruby porter on top form.

The main bar features a grand old staircase with a balcony level.  Very peaceful and quiet upstairs when I wandered up there, although there must have been some wrong-uns a little earlier when half a dozen HP Brown Sauce packets rained down on my neighbour.
Saturday night in Bishops Stortford - it's a jungle out there.

With four pub visits, that was the end of my explorations for the time being.
With Belgian beers, back-street locals, and a couple of decent dark beers drunk, I'd passed a pleasant couple of hours in the town.
Unfortunately, not finding lots to complain about scuppers the planned 'Bashing the Bishop' post title.

Halloween Post - The Hatchet inn

It's that time of year again where there's a crate of pumpkins in the supermarket, Film 4 are showing Scream, and I'm struggling to find a haunted pub worthy of a Halloween post.

My travels took me to Bristol, to a pub that once had pirates and ne'ever-do-wells as customers, plus ghostly occurrences on the upper floors and things that go bump in the night.
Unfortunately, it didn't feel at all creepy when I visited on a sunny October afternoon.

The Hatchet Inn (27 Frogmore Street, Bristol, BS1 5NA)
One of the oldest pubs in Bristol, this dates back to 1606 and has seen four decades of colourful characters propping up the bar, from pirates to bare-knuckle boxers, to hairy 80's rockers.

Let's start with the front door - as good a place as any to start when you arrive at a pub.
The gruesome claim to fame is that the 300-year old thick wooden door is covered with the human skin of executed criminals.

Quite why anyone would want to add a layer of skin to the front door, I'm not sure.  And no-one has ever actually scraped away the black paint to scientifically prove or disprove the story.

But Bristol has form with this kind of thing...in 1821 a young chap called John Horwood threw a rock at a girl he was infatuated with, causing her to die several days later from her injuries.  Horwood was hanged, then his skin was removed, tanned, and used the bind the notes from his trial.  The book now sits in a display in the M Shed museum.

The Hatchet Inn was also supposedly the chosen local of Edward Teach, better known as pirate Blackbeard, who'd knock back a few ales before heading off to plunder ships in the Caribbean.

There were all sorts of nefarious activities in the Inn in days gone by...
🐀 Rat Pit
🐔 Cock Fighting
✊ Bare knuckle boxing
A handful of symbols that have been phased out of the Good Beer Guide over the years.

So, what of the haunting?  Objects move of their own accord, hands brush by staff in dark corners, footsteps can be heard treading the boards in empty rooms.
Paranormal investigators have visited in the hope of seeing the bare knuckle boxer who is said to pace the upper rooms, or catch a glimpse of a ghostly woman mournfully crying as she wanders the building.

Thanks to an expensive makeover a few years back, the pub is fairly shiny inside, not offering the cobwebs and uneven floorboards and cracks in the wall that I like in my ancient inns.

The old boys in the corner were sinking pints of Doom Bar when I visited.  Robinsons 'Trooper', St Austell 'Tribute', and the local Wiper and True 'Kaleidoscope' were the alternatives, my pick of the Kaleidoscope being a well-kept and tasty pale ale.  The Hatchet is a decent city centre pub with an interesting past that is well worth a visit.

Whilst in Bristol thinking about haunted pubs, I may as well trek the short distance to King Street where you'll find another ancient inn with a ghost or fifteen...

The Llandoger Trow (5 King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ER)
Built in 1664, this is another ale house boasting some famous customers - Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have based The Admiral Benbow from Treasure Island on the 'Trow.  Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk whilst drinking in the pub, a shipwrecked sailor who spent four years on a desert island and would be an inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.

There are a whopping 15 ghosts associated with the pub, as identified when the crew from TV show Most Haunted came to investigate.
The upper floor is said to be the the most haunted - including a young boy with a metal leg support clanking across the floorboards
Angry ghosts have pulled pictures off the wall and tossed utensils around the kitchen.  The Jacobean room and the cellar are both said to have haunted cold spots ('drafts' to the paranormal non-believers).

  

The Trow is a pub that I do like: photogenic timber-framed frontage, flagstone floor, grand fireplaces, nooks and crannies...and some fine beer and cider.
Cask ales on this visit were from Theakston, Adnams, and Bristol Beer Factory.  Apart from the hand pumps, there is a hefty draft menu on a blackboard, offering a fair few German brews, plus sours and nitro stouts, and crafty pales.

I opted to brave a still dry cider called 'Brain Twister', hoping it wouldn't live up to the name later in the day.

Another year, and more haunted pubs that prove not to be at all spooky when I visit.
But for those who enjoy this time of year...happy Halloween 👻

Look out...the ghostly decorations will come down in the pubs and the Christmas ones will pop up before we know it.  And that is scary.