Deddington - the final 2024 Oxford GBG tick

Right...let's get completion of the Good Beer Guide 2024 Oxfordshire chapter out the way with.
To do so, I needed to catch the S4 bus northbound out of Oxford to Deddington.

The Deddington pub scene is looking rather forlorn: one-time Hook Norton pie pub the Crown & Tuns has been closed for a while now, a big 'For Sale' sign out front.  We found the Unicorn with the shutters down and an A4 notice on the front door suggesting this has gone the same way.
And our target - the current beer guide listed Red Lion - also has a 'To Let' board attached to the front of it.

The Red Lion (Market Place, Dedddington, OX15 0SE)
The Red Lion reopened in 2019 after an extensive refurbishment that was underway the first time I passed through Deddington.  According to whatpub "it is now established as the premier village pub" which upped my expectations.
But with no lunchtime food it was quiet, although the landlord was predicting a busy day ahead with big live sport fixtures scheduled throughout the day on the TV. 

Early doors there were a half-dozen locals sat in the corner: tea from the pot, Carlsberg, and Harvey's 'Sussex Best' the drinks of choice.
We picked a table close to them where we could earwig their entertaining conversation about the state of Saturday night TV, whilst being able to keep half an eye on the early football kick-off.

One decent pint of Hook Norton 'Off the Hook IPA' later, and we were checking the bus schedule. Time for one in the other open pub in the village?  Yep, course there is.   
This is a characterful hotel on the bend of the road at the top of the market place...

The Deddington Arms Hotel (Horse Fair, Deddington, OX15 0SH)
To the right side is a simple bar where the wooden beams have been spoilt by a liberal splash of white paint.  Logs were crackling in the fireplace; a handful of smartly dressed drinkers propped up the bar; folks tucked into their £8.50 sandwiches; and a family group seemed to be dropping half their chips on the floor.

Here's the cask ale choice...

I picked the 'Hooky' and wondered if it has always been just 3.4% or if they've lowered the ABV?
To be honest, this wasn't an especially enjoyable pint - very thin - although I didn't have long to savor it as we realised time had raced by and we'd better get to the bus stop.

Back on the S4, we made a 10-minute trip northbound to Adderbury.

Red Lion (The Green, Adderbury, OX17 3NG)
I wanted to visit somewhere new in Adderbury other than going back to the previously tried and tested Hook Norton and Wadworth inns.  And it was this sense of (very minor) adventure that took me to the Red Lion. 

This is a former coaching inn dating from 1605 which is branded as one of Greene King's Old English Inns.
I was about as thrilled by the Red Lion as this fella was...

To be fair, the front two rooms have flagstone floors, beamed ceilings, and nice seats in the windows. With any late luncheon patrons tucked safely away in the large restaurant to the back, tables around the bar were occupied by a few tourists like ourselves, plus a couple of local folk and their four-legged friends.

Two beers were on offer: Old Speckled Hen or Greene King IPA.

The grand fireplace wasn't matched by a roaring fire, although one chap did relocate to the armchair next to it and set about getting the logs burning again.  I have to say, we were more mesmerized by his methodical fire-starting than we would have been by any sport on a TV screen.

Just a couple of hundred meters away, alongside the green is the Coach & Horses... 

The Coach & Horses (Adderbury, OX17 3ND)
The Coach & Horses made it into Retired Martin's Half-a-dozen pubs in Oxfordshire selection, where his choices were...hmmm...60% correct.😏
This is a great proper village pub in a charming location.  They have locals knocking back 6X by the fireplace, live music advertised for the evening, Morris dancers popping by in the summer months, and a surprisingly down-to-earth food offering.
Last time we were here we marveled at the blackboards advertising Sunday roasts for £4.
Well..look out..they're £6 now!

The regular Wadworth cask range was on offer: '6X', 'Swordfish', or 'Horizon'.
I went for the 6X purely on the basis that this is what the regulars were drinking, although it's never been a beer I've especially raved about, even supping it at source in the Devizes taproom.

Music came from the TV, tucked away on a wall in a back corner, tuned into the Now 70's channel which was counting down the biggest hits of the decade.  A rare outing for a Bonnie Tyler song that isn't Total Eclipse...or Holding out for a Hero.

We got chatting to long-standing landlord Tony, who came to ask how we'd found ourselves in this neck of the woods and how Mrs PropUptheBar's 'Swordfish' was.
Apparently, retirement is on the horizon for him and his other half after many years at the Coach & Horses.  I meant to say 'All the best - well deserved', but came out with 'But what about the pub?'
Sadly, I suspect it'll likely get a makeover and a tripling of the food prices.

Bus times allowed for a leisurely visit to the third pub in the centre of Adderbury before picking up a return service.
Just as long as Mrs PropUptheBar doesn't leave a scarf in the Bell, requiring a retracing of steps and a last minute rush.

The Bell Inn (High Street, Adderbury, OX17 3LS)
This Hook Norton pub has been the most consistent Adderbury beer guide entry over the past few years and is well worth a visit.
There was a choice of four Hook Norton cask ales available on this visit.  Sadly not the Mild I was hoping for, so I had to make do with a rugby-themed seasonal brew.

Don't forget your scarf!

A successful afternoon then, with the final tick in the Oxon Beer Guide chapter secured, a couple of new pubs visited, and a couple of pleasing revisits.
We hopped off the bus just before the city centre and called in to the Gardeners Arms to see if they still had Bass on - which they did.  Making for a cracking end to a good day out.
Cheers!