More Oxfordshire Pubs by Bus

Several weeks on from our last trip south of Oxford on the buses, it's time to grab a Thames Travel day pass again with a couple of new destinations to make for.

Beer garden weather has passed and the nights are drawing in as we catch the X32 down to Milton.  Milton lends its name to a sprawling business park, but a few minutes walk up the road leads you to the peaceful village.  What brings us here is the Plum Pudding (44 High Street, Milton, OX14 4EJ) where an autumn beer festival is underway.  This is a great traditional village pub.  Inside it has stone floors, tables and pews of different styles and sizes and a lovely log fire burning away.  It's named, as the pub sign gives away, not after a seasonal dessert but after a local breed of pig - the Sandy and Black.  It's the beer festival bar, set up under canvas in the back garden, which has attracted us here on this occasion.
There is a cracking selection of 16 ales, most of which are unusual finds in the county , with one - Ferry Ales from Lincolnshire - being a new brewery to me.
Halloween themes are dominant - a 'Fright Night', a 'Pumpkin Ale' and a superb 'IPA of the Dead' from Kelham Island.  We also grabbed a bite to eat here and I can thoroughly recommend the Plum Pudding for tasty home-cooked food.

Catching the bus again, it's a short trip to the centre of Didcot. From here we make a 1½ mile walk south to East Hagbourne.  It may only be separated from the edge of Didcot by a few fields, but the main street of the village is charming and historical with thatched roofs, red-bricked Georgian manor houses and fine cottages lining the road.
In East Hagbourne is the Fleur De Lys (30 Main Road, OX11 9LN), a characterful pub consisting one long room with low ceiling and black wooden beams.  It has a cosy feel even without the fire-place lit.  We were promised dogs in the Fleur and we weren't disappointed!  This is a very dog-friendly pub.  On the bar were three real ales on tap, two from the usual Greene King stable and the third, which I opted for, a Purple Moose Madog Ale.

Dog-friendly Fleur De Lys, East Hagbourne, Oxfordshire

Coming back out of Didcot, with dark skies threatening rain, we jump on the bus and make the 30 minute trip to Abingdon.
First stop here is The Broad Face (30-32 Bridge Street, Abingdon, OX14 3HR) just a couple of minutes south of the Town Square, towards the river Thames.  This is one of the more unusual pub names in the UK and it's origin seems uncertain.  Possibly the bulging, broad face of a villain hanged at the old gaol across the road, or the bloated face of someone drowned in the river.  Or maybe a more dull explanation that the wide side of the building presents a 'broad face' as you approach from the bridge.  It seems we'll never know.  Inside one half is set up for dining whilst the other is more of a bar.  There's an impressive 8 beers on hand pumps from which I pick a hoppy pale ale from the always reliable Oakham Brewery.

A brisk trek around the corner leads us to the Kings Head & Bell (10 E St Helen St, Abindgon, OX14 5EA).  This has some history attached to it, dating back to 1554 when it was a coaching inn named just The Bell.  Much of it is renovated and is 'modern and stylish', to quote their website,  but we grab a seat in the tiny front room with a large hearth and stone floors which feels more traditional.  I'm not the most modern and stylish fellow, to be honest.  A pint of the local Loose Cannon ale, Falconet on this occasion, brings the day to a close.

The bus routes south of Oxford have made me aware that there are a number of towns and villages to easily explore.  I've found a number of lovely pubs in two days-out in the area but there are more to visit and more directions to head off in.

Abingdon's peculiarly named The Broad Face - a great real ale spot since it's latest landlords took charge in 2016