Sweet Hanney Buckiin

In which we set out to the SW Oxfordshire neighbouring villages of East and West Hanney to tick off one of the Oxfordshire GBG 2026 pubs that I hadn't previously visited.
This trip also provided the chance to call in to Wantage, find some mild smut in the gents WC, and pretend I know stuff about modern pop when concocting the usual low-quality blog post title.

We caught the S9 Oxford-Wantage bus from the city centre. Prior to 2022 this used to race past the Hanney's on the A338, but now handily recognises the existence of the village, pulling off the main road and stopping right outside the Black Horse.

The Black Horse (Main Street, East Hanney, OX12 0JE)
This is a good-looking village pub with a fine horse's head painted on the front of it, and stone black horses either side of the front door.  It'd look even better without the parked cars.

The entrance corridor divides a dining area to the right and bar to the left, with a superb collection of ceramic jugs lining the high shelf...

The ceramic collection continues within...

The Black Horse was once part of Abingdon brewery Morland's estate, but is now owned by giants Heineken. It closed for a spell back in 2024, so it's pleasing to see it not only open, but in the Beer Guide, and with a good crowd of folk present.

Cask options were Fullers 'London Pride', Tim Taylor's 'Landlord', or the local Loose Cannon 'Abingdon Bridge'.
I ordered the Pride.  Drinking well, as they say.

Accompanying a fine plate of food - the sole veggie option on a very meaty menu.

All that and mild smut in the gents WC!

We departed from the Black Horse under some lovely blue winter skies, making our way along the lane leading from East to West Hanney.
Part-way along this is Dandridges mill, a Georgian silk mill that was turned from a derelict building in 2007 to modern eco-friendly apartments.  It generates its own electricity from an Archimedean screw on the millstream, which we traipsed up the driveway to have a look at.
I guess that counts as my East Hanney tourism.

We continued along the Causeway, a single farmers field making up the green buffer between East and West Hanney.
Onward past Hanney Spice, which we could have popped into for a pint if we'd been here pre-2008 when this was The Lamb.

A left-turn at the village green takes you to the church and the remaining open pub.
Only just, though.  Punch Taverns put the 16th century thatched roof inn up for sale in 2015, at which point members of the local community grouped together to purchase and run the place themselves.

The Plough (Church Street, West Hanney, OX12 0LN)
The community owners have done rather well.  The Plough has been a regular in recent Good Beer Guides and picked up a White Horse CAMRA pub of the year award in 2024.  The food has been getting great reviews - clicking on  'About' on the pub's website tells you nothing about the pub itself and lots about award-winning chefs Owain and Luke.
We can't have two meals in one lunchtime, so what about the beers?  

On cask: Butcombe 'Original', a Butcombe house beer, Wye Valley 'Butty Bach', or Loddon 'Farmer's Paradise'. I picked the lesser-known 'Farmers Paradise', a 4% harvest pale ale with Cascade and Simcoe hops.
Being so busy inside, we took drinks out to the permanent marquee attached to the rear of the pub, with enough decorations & mix and match furniture to make it feel like an additional room rather than 'outside'.

Even the marquee filled up whilst we were there, this community local seeming to do impressively well for a cold winter afternoon.

We left the Plough and wandered back to the bus stop, rejecting the paths across the fields to Wantage on the basis that it's rained an awful lot in January and the respectable pubs of the town probably wouldn't welcome four boots and four paws coated in mud.  Not that we were really planning on going anywhere particularly 'respectable'.
Off the bus and straight into the middle of the market square for the Alfred the Great pic...

Then around the corner to the Blue Boar...

The Blue Boar (4 Newbury Street, Wantage, OX12 8BS)
This generated a bit of excitement when it was refurbished and reopened a few years back - getting a 'most improved' award, mainly due to being pretty awful beforehand, I suspect.
The courtyard drinking area is a strong point, but not in January. Instead we ended up on the high tables in front of the bar in a rather spartan interior.
Crikey, what's that murk?

Two hand pumps dispensed cask ale in the form of 'Directors' or 'Wainwright', whilst the Blue Boar usually has a couple of decent guest keg lines. This gave me the chance to grab a Tartarus 'Kitsune', a sensible-strength double-dry-hopped pale ale.  That's what that murk is.

You'll also be wanting to see the cracking pump clip which drew me that beer, and the seat covers... 

 

A couple of minutes walk around the corner took us to the Oak Taverns-run King's Arms.

The King's Arms (39 Wallingford St, Wantage OX12 8AU)
Back at the Blue Boar, a large group of jovial ladies on G&T's and takeaway pizza had been responsible for 90% of the noise within the pub. Once they'd departed I could actually hear the music from the speakers: a bit of Mgmt and Duran Duran.  We caught up with the same group in the King's Arms, badly timing it so as to be behind them at the bar.  Oh well, at least that gave ample time to pick from a hefty choice of cask, keg, or boxed ciders.

I was relishing the first chance of the day for a dark beer, picking the Mighty Oak 'Solstice', a 4.1% rich chocolatey porter.
The King's Arms really needs a crowd of folk to make it click and Saturday late afternoon provided that nicely.  We shared the back room with a fair few dog walkers and chaps on the corner of the bar glued to the snooker on TV.

As the Shoulder of Mutton sits straight across the road from the King's Arms, we felt we should really call in whilst so close.
This used to be an absolute old-fashioned gem with a quirky layout, rustic feel, and outdoor loos.  I was a bit gutted when it underwent a refurb, getting pristine toilet facilities, eradicating the single-table snug, and adding a smart skylit drinking space where the back yard used to be.

The Shoulder of Mutton (38 Wallingford Street, Wantage, OX12 8AX)
Yet I really quite enjoyed this revisit and have to grudgingly accept that most folks drinking here on this occasion would probably have steered clear of the original incarnation.
The old chalk board for listing beers is kept above the fireplace as a relic, replaced at the bar by an electronic display showing an impressive keg and cast selection.
I picked the Vale '80/' as something a little different. 

And we ended up staying longer than planned and moving onto the Vibrant Forest golden ale.

Then, when we finally left, something unusual happened. 
We timed it perfectly for a bus and didn't need to call into the Bear for a half of Arkells.

Stratford Upon Avon Pub Explorations

For the first (very delayed - Blogger photo issues) post of 2026, we set out on a crisp cold January day to explore Stratford-Upon-Avon...not a renowned pubs and beer destination, although I think we did fairly well.

Stratford-Upon-Avon is, of course, the birthplace of historian George Macaulay Trevelyan, James Richton, the keyboardist from indie rave act The Klaxons, Corrie actor Daniel Brocklebank, and...nope, no-one else comes to mind.

The Warwickshire town welcomes over 2.5 million visitors a year. The sub-zero temperatures and the post Christmas/New Year lull didn't seem to be deterring anyone at all.
The central streets and the footpaths alongside the Avon were bustling with people, Gail's Bakery was doing a roaring trade, Bridge Street was proving a traffic nightmare.
We headed away from all this, walking to the smart terraced streets of the old town where our first pub of the day lay beyond the reach of most tourists.

The Bull (9 Bull Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6DT)
Which meant it was very quiet.  For the first...and almost certainly not the last...time in 2026, PropUptheBar visits an almost empty pub at off-peak time.  Saturday lunchtime, but a Saturday when many folks were reflecting on how much they've spent over Christmas and faffing around with Dry January.
The staff at the bar took the opportunity to take the bottles off the back shelves of the bar for a bit of deep cleaning.

The Bull has been an Everards house since 2023, providing us with this cask choice...

'Festive Ale' for me.  A top option for the cold weather, brewed with dark malts and molasses, served in fine condition and disappearing from the glass far too quickly.
We sat in the back section of the pub, on some jazzily colourful seats, with the weather forecast handily displayed on the TV screen.

Inevitably, little of excitement to report from this quiet pub visit.
Which is when I resort to taking a picture of pub toilet signage...

We took the picturesque route back to the centre from The Bull, through the grounds of the Holy Trinity church, then along the riverside through Avon Bank and Swan Gardens.
The intention was to stop at the GBG '26-listed Dirty Duck for lunch, but everyone else seemed to have had the same idea and there wasn't a seat to be had.
The alternative was the Rose & Crown...

The Rose & Crown (15-17 Sheep Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6EF)
This is a Tudor-framed pub which dates back to the late 16th century. It stretches back a fair way with various dimly-lit nooks and crannies, the long bar counter towards the rear in a barn-like extension.  Hand pumps served an 'Abbot Reserve' or Tim Taylor 'Landlord'.
The Rose & Crown seemed to have attracted a mix of tourists and real Stratfordian folks, perhaps those banished from Wetherspoon's across the road, or drawn here by the sport on the TVs in the back section.

From one Tudor-fronted, wooden-beamed pub to another.
We strolled up the road to the historic 'must visit' hostelry in town... 

The Garrick (25 High Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6AU)
This photogenic building traces its history back to 1596, part of a building boom that followed a couple of wicked fires which ripped through the town in the two prior years.
The Garrick is on the left, Harvard House (built by the grandfather of US University benefactor John Harvey Harvard) on the right. The pair are sandwiched between the slightly less impressive Fresh sandwich baguette emporium and Hoorays Gelato Kitchen.

The Garrick has a flag-stoned corridor leading to a a rear room, but you really want to be diverting through the first door into the tiny front bar...  

This would be a classic pub room if only it featured uncomfortable bench seating rather than a couple of hideous high tables with leather cushioned seats which seem out of place in this olde worlde setting.

Cask offering was a the regular Greene King 'Abbot' or the pleasing sight of a North Cotswold 'Hung Drawn and Portered'.  The latter for me - a delicious chocolatey dark brew that went down a treat.

I hadn't visited the Stratford micro since 2014, so figured it was high time for a return. 

Stratford Alehouse (12B Greenhill Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6LF)
Opened in 2013, this is located in a run of modern retail outlets on Greenhill Street where there is not a timber-framed building to be found.  It's a cracking single-roomed place, with beery decorations, seating at high tables, beer straight from the barrel, and a friendly welcome. 
It was also doing a roaring - seemingly 90% local - trade.

The midlands cask selection came from Slaughterhouse, Milestone, Froth Blowers, and Bewdley Brewery.  The Froth Blowers 5% pale 'Hornswoggle' was my pick - a lovely pint packed full of flavour and served in top condition.
We settled on the big round table by the window, where we could rest of glasses on Bass beer mats, persuse the local papers, or catch-up on the latest from Anfield.
Hang on a minute, that's a signed football programme - a less honest punter would have pocketed that and stuck it on e-bay.

We actually tackled the next pub in the dark, but I rather prefer my picture from the early-afternoon pass-by when we failed to nab a table...

The Dirty Duck (Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BA)
In a super spot by the river, a few minutes from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Dity Duck is a pub of two names.  There has been an inn here for many a year and one known as the Black Swan since 1776 - and that's still the name on the signage today.  Yet, somewhere along the line, it acquired the nickname 'The Dirty Duck'. The Food and Drink Guide tells us this is the only pub in the country to be licensed under two names.

Inside, there are various sections to the pub surrounding a central bar counter, although it's the Actor's Bar to the right which is the best spot in the house...

The walls are covered in signed photos of people I've mostly never heard of.  The seating includes some great wooden settles, and cosy spots to nestle down in on a chilly evening.
Okay, so it's our third Greene King pub of the day, meaning the beer range includes more Abbot Ale and GK IPA, but my seasonal 'Fireside' wasn't half bad.

We figured my could squeeze one more beer in on the walk back to our lodgings for the evening.  I fancied the chance for a pint of Davenport's - a West Midlands beer that doesn't make it the extra hop down into my neck of the woods.
Apologies to the Coach House for the usual lacklustre nighttime photography.

The Coach House (42 Rother Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6LP)
We braved the bouncers on the door, although what they were bouncing I'm unsure - most of the evening trade seeming to consist of gentlefolk diners and the Coach House was relatively quiet within.
It's a Grade II listed building, originally a 16th century house, although inside this is very much a recently refurbed pub, the beer adverts, tiles, and leather cushioned seating reminiscent of other Davenport's outlets I've visited.

With a choice of their IPA or Gold Ale.

Stratford is far to well-heeled and respectable to deliver mild smut in the gents, but the Coach House did deliver a saucy seaside postcard collection...

With the Davenport's branded glass empty, it was time to call it a night.

Yep, Stratford isn't Warwickshire's top pub destination, but it had served us well for one winter evening with some characterful old inns and NBSS 4 beer in the Alehouse.  Unfortunately, it's the second time I've visited when craft bar Ya-Bard has been closed, and there is no chance to drink Windmill Hill beer al-fresco from a Dutch barge in the middle of winter.
I also seem to have forgotten to include any culture on the blog post and forgot to take a picture of the swans.  Business as usual in 2026, then. 

Oxford Villages Trip 2025 version

On a frighfully gloomy and wet November Saturday a group of Oxford folk comandeered a minibus to explore a half-dozen or-so village pubs to the west of the city.
I was on a similar excursion back in 2022 when we called into two of the inns on today's itinerary, but it was the pubs that were brand new to me this time around that I was most looking forward to.
Here's the route...

First stop: 11:57, Yarnton.
Where the young lady opening up took a glance out the window expecting the usual tranquil scene of village life only to spot 16 eager punters waiting for the door to be unlocked.

Red Lion (127 Cassington Road, Yarnton, OX5 1QD)
I visited this pub when it was first taken over by local chain Oak Taverns early in 2024.  Prior to that it had struggled for several years before being put up for sale by Admiral.
There has been a pub close to this site in Yarnton for several hundred years, the original demolished in 1957 when the current Red Lion was constructed.
It's open plan within: seats in the bay windows in the front, a freshly lit wood burner at one side, back doors in the rear section overlooking a lovely - but very wet - back garden.

On the bar three cask ales were on offer: Goffs 'Black Knight', Hook Norton 'Hooky', or Twisted Tree 'Trunk IPA', plus a stack of 8 boxed ciders to pick from.  
Tempting as those ciders may have been, the ABVs were very hard to see on the labels, so I stuck safe with the Bicester-brewed 'Trunk IPA'.  Not an IPA in my book of beer definitions...more a modern best bitter, but very drinkable and on top form.

Rounding up the group, we clambered back aboard the bus for the next leg of our journey.

🚍7 miles, Yanton > Stanton Harcourt
Journey time extended by the usual slow crawl of traffic on the A40.

Harcourt Arms (Main Road, Stanton Harcourt, OX29 5RJ)
My first impressions weren't particularly positive - we were definitely in the territory of rural Oxford gastro-pub with rooms.  It doesn't even look especially pub-like from outside.
Or on first glance to the right through the front door...

But the left-side room is gloriously stuck in time, dimly lit, with thick stone walls, fires burning at both ends giving an aroma of woodsmoke.  Squint and you can imagine the farming types settling here rather than posh car brigade out for Saturday lunch or the scruffy pub-tour brigade crowded around the pump clips.
Cask ales on offer were Purity 'UBU' and two from Norfolk's Woodford Brewery which don't make it this way very often: 'Nelson's Revenge' or 'Wherry'.  A dark and delicious Nelson's for me, priced at £5.20.
Taken straight to the prime sofa spot next to the wood burner.

Saying cheerio to the staff at the Harcourt Arms, we had a short journey down country lanes to our next destination.

🚍3.1 miles, Stanton Harcourt > Northmoor
Journey time extended by our driver Tony stopping in the middle of a country lane to buy homemade marmalade from a random table at the end of a cottage driveway.

We called into the Red Lion at Northmoor, somewhere I've visited a fair few times previously.
Cask ales available were from Fullers, Hook Norton or Cotswold Lion on this occasion - the wonderful 'Greedy Goose' for me as I accept the season for winter beer is truly upon us. 

The Red Lion was the busiest I've seen it - warm and welcoming in the bad weather, doing a roaring trade with a good mix of diners and drinkers.  Especially impressive being as the village is situated down single-track lanes, a fair way from any public transport routes.

The next pub was a revisit that I was thoroughly looking forward to.
Not least due to the possibility of 'grooming', which I would benefit from every now and again.

🚍7.5 miles, Northmoor > Bampton

Morris Clown (High Street, Bampton, OX18 2JW)
This early 18th century High Street pub used to the New Inn before taking on the unusual Morris Clown moniker in 1973.  Previously part of the Greene King estate it is now independtly owned and a quite fantastic no-nonsense wet-led boozer, which has become a regular in the Good Beer Gudie.

It's a single L-shaped room featuring some cracking murals on the wall.  No chance of playing bar billiards today, with the table acting as a stand for the TV showing Wales v New Zealand rugby action.

I ordered a pint of Butts 'Barbus Barbus' (£4.70 - the other cask ale option being Loose Cannon's 'Abingdon Bridge').  Last time I had this hoppy well-balanced session bitter it was brewed in the wilds of West Berkshire.  Butts have since closed their doors with this being one of their beers now concocted at Cheddar Ales.  And it was absolutely superb.
A great beer in a comfy, proper pub - best of the day, no contest - even the rugby couldn't dent my enthusiasm.

It was little more than a 5-minute hop to the next village where two pubs awaited.

🚍2.2 miles, Bampton > Clanfield

Uh-oh...we're back in gastro terriitory - no.4 on a recent Times Best Hotel Restaurants list no-less (the Ritz is sitting next to it at #3, for crying out loud).  Will they even let me in with my unruly beard, cargo pants and Dropkick Murphy's t-shirt?

Double Red Duke (Bourton Road, Clanfield, OX18 2RB)
This is a 17th century country house which later became an inn, run by Wadworth's Brewery for many years.  It's a rabbit warren of a place, with a host of vastly different rooms, sofas in small snugs, a cocktail bar counter, dining tables next to racks of wine bottles.  We settled on the tables in the main bar in a skylit extension towards the rear of the building.

There was a great selection of cask ales on the bar: Uley 'Pale Ale' or 'Pig's Ear', Hook Norton 'Hooky', and Ramsbury 'Deer Stalker'.  Served with chatty and knowledgeable enthusiasm by the fella at the bar who obviously cared about the beers on offer.

It's not often I see Cotswold brewery Uley, so I was chuffed to grab a pint of their crisp, bitter 'Pigs Ear'.  It was good - as it should be for the hefty £6.40 tarriff.

The Double Red Duke scores additional PropUptheBar points for their bespoke beermats.
And for the mysterious jars behind the bar.

 

But gets those points instantly deducted for having a cigar menu.

How much?!!!!

No need to get back on the bus this time with just a short dash across the road in the rain required for the next location.
🏃 83 yards, Double Red Duke > Mason's Arms

Mason's Arms (Bampton Road, Clanfield, OX18 2RG)
This was formerly the Clanfield Tavern (we're on a roll with pub name changes on this trip).  It was taken over by the same folks who run the Red Duke, the pre-1970 name was reclaimed, the interior refurbished and the pub reopened in October 2024.
It was pleasantly dark and moody when we stepped through the front door, so much so that the eyes to needed adjust to make out the Uley pump clips tucked away in the corner of the bar.
The stone walls are thick, the ceiling beams low, the wood fire burning.  It had a bit more of a boozy feel about it (or was that just because of our presence...) than the Red Duke, but beware - it's still smart and features on dozens of foodie websites. 

I went with the Uley 'Old Spot on this occasion - another cracking pint, although with it being a second 5% ABV beer in a row I was beginning to flag a bit.

We hopped back aboard the bus and made our journey down the dark lanes toward Oxford, with a pitstop at the Bruning and Price (not my preferred choice, but I have no voting rights).

🚍15.2 miles, Clanfield > Besselsleigh

Too wet and dark for an outdoor pub picture.
So I'll close the post with a photo of gentlefolk in the Greyhound.
Where I lurked in a corner sipping a Little Ox 'Hufflepuff' (we did have the brewer on the bus with us, so it seemed fitting to finish the trip with one of his beers).

Another great day out, visitng a wide selection of pubs and taking me to a couple of new places. 
Much appreciation goes out again to Tony for driving us through the rain.
Maybe one day I'll be sensible and realise I really don't need to call into the Lamb & Flag when we get dropped on St Giles...but not this time, of course.