Isle of Wight - Beer & Buses Part 1

On Friday 11th October a group of us from Oxford CAMRA travelled southbound for the Isle of Wight Beer & Buses weekend.  
This is the 6th year of the event, where classic buses operate routes around the island handily stopping at (or close by) pubs, many of which put on extra beers and entertainment for the weekend.
As an added bonus we were generously transported from Swindon station on an old Clydeside route-master that would be taking part in the event. 

Your carriage awaits...

Due to a cancelled ferry, it was all a bit up-in-the-air as to what time we'd make the crossing.
And with some time on our hands, our first Isle of Wight trip ales were in.....Southampton.  For many of us, the Dancing Man had been a popular stop back on the March beer festival helpers trip.  Being located across the road from the port, we could handily sit by the front window and watch for the return of the bus - our cue to drink-up and procure some Red Funnel tickets.

On the way...

The bus followed behind us on the freight ferry, so Magda, Ian and myself wandered around the corner from the East Cowes terminal having spotted the opportunity to tick off the first IOW pub from our Beer & Buses booklet.
  

Ship & Castle (21 Castle Street, East Cowes, PO32 6RB)
And what a great little down-to-earth corner pub this was to start in.
The most interesting beer was part of Island Brewery's "bespoke series" - 'Dark Castle', a pleasant 4.5% porter, a half-pint of which went down very well.

First pub found.  The Ship and Castle in the side streets of East Cowes.

After hopping back aboard the bus for the short last leg of our journey, we arrived in Newport where everyone settled into their respective accommodation for the weekend.  The plan was to meet up at the Newport Ale House. 
The Isle of Wight's smallest pub.
Possibly not the best place for 14 folks to arrange to meet, but never mind.

Newport Ale House (24a Holyrood Street, Newport, PO30 5AZ)
I made sure to get in here early to get a perch in the corner, make a fuss of a small dog and have a chat with one of the locals.
This was a cosy place that has previously been a hairdresser, coffin storage for an undertaker and the stable area of an old inn, according to whatpub.
Whatpub also have a much better picture than I managed.

Ale House.  My photography making it look very dull.

Second beer on the island and it was a second "bespoke" beer from Island Brewing - this time a hefty 6.2% dark ale named 'Divining Rod'.  I followed this with 'Helmat Schmacker' from Beermats Brewery from the casks on stillage behind the bar.

We probably picked the heaviest downpour of rain of the evening to make the walk around the corner to a large pub by the side of the Medina river.

Bargeman's Rest (Little London Quay, PO30 5BS)
In contrast to the Ale House, this was huge, with well-designed multiple rooms and nautically-themed decorations.  It was still tough to grab a table though, with this being a busy old venue on a Friday evening.  Additional beers on stillage for the Beer & Buses weekend meant a decent ale choice with several from local brewers.
I'll also give a big thumbs up for the food at the Bargeman's - we received some enormous, tasty  portions and left loosening the belt buckle a notch or two. 

Arriving at the Newport's oldest pub, The Castle.

The Castle Inn (91 High Street, PO30 1BQ - fb)
Walking back through the town, we headed to The Castle, Newport's oldest pub, dating back to at least 1550.  King Charles I became a prisoner at Carisbrooke Castle in 1647, although he was allowed considerable freedom to travel around the island and, legend has it, drink at this pub.  There was reputedly a tunnel from the cellar to the castle which he used.  Being outside the castle walls, it was a den of rogues and vagabonds, although this evening, in 2019, it housed a quite respectable crowd. There were just a couple of nationally available beers on offer, so I opted for a Weston's cider from the box. 
After which I headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest before a busy day tomorrow.

Saturday - On the Buses

We were up reasonably bright and reasonably early - cooked breakfast to fuel the day - and standing in line to get on the 10:10 departure to the West of the island.

We passed through Yarmouth, then Freshwater Bay, before disembarking into the persistent rain at the Highdown Inn.

The Highdown Inn.  Wet.

The Highdown Inn (Highdown Lane, nr.Totland Bay, PO39 0HY)
Situated on a road junction, this pub was seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  Apparently, through the low-lying cloud, there are scenic national trust downs close by.  Sadly the miserable weather was enough to put anyone off exploring and half a bus load of folk made a tight squeeze into the bar.
Here they had around a dozen barrels on stillage with some interesting choices.  I picked the Cerne Abbas 'Gurt Coconuts' weighing in at 6.7% ABV.  "6.7%, before midday", admonished MrsPropUptheBar, before trying it, declaring it 'great', then keeping it and drinking the rest herself.
We stayed for a couple more in here, the crowd changing each time a bus pulled up outside.  Once it came time for us to move on we assembled outside to catch the next bus to Freshwater.

Freshwater's Red Lion

The Red Lion (Church Place, Freshwater, PO40 9BP - web)
It was a short walk up a hill from the bus stop to reach this picturesque village pub.  The Red Lion is a former 3-bar coaching inn dating back to the 11th century.
Being in the first 50 customers to come here with a Beer & Buses programme, we were entitled to an "I've had a Proper Job at the Red Lion, Freshwater" baseball cap.
Proudly modelled (although not worn for very long, if I remember rightly) by Bondy below...

I didn't have a Proper Job - I had a Pilgrim 'Progress' flagship ale, along with a Gallybagger sandwich.
Whatever that may be.
Next stop: Yarmouth...

The King's Head (Quay Street, Yarmouth, PO41 0PB - web)
This was a great pub, doing a roaring trade on a Saturday afternoon.
And they had draught Bass.  Result!

The Kings Head.  In the rain.

I made a speedy exploration of the port town of Yarmouth, "widely regarded as one of the jewels of the south coast", according to, erm, the Yarmouth harbour website, who may be a bit biased.
Well, it certainly looked a lovely little place, even in the miserable weather.

Did I mention it rained a lot whilst we were on the Isle of Wight?

Yarmouth Pier. 

Electing not to get any wetter, I joined everyone else inside the warm, welcoming and bustling Bugle Coaching Inn.

The Bugle Coaching Inn (The Square, Yarmouth, PO41 0NS - web)

The Bugle, Yarmouth

Owned by the same pub.co as the Kings Head, this was a large inn with an enviable location on the town square, just a stones throw from the pier.
There seemed to be lots of different parts to this: nooks and crannies and characterful corners, even a smart private dining room.
As with the Kings Head, the Bugle was doing a roaring trade and was noisy and busy, but still made for an enjoyable visit. Another beer brewed especially for the weekend here - Yates' Brewery 'On the Buses'.

We had time for one last stop, getting off en-route from Yarmouth to Newport at the village of Shalfleet.

The New Inn (Mill Road, Shalfleet, PO30 4NS - web)
This was a charming old pub, dating back to 1744, with thick stone walls, flagstone floors and large fireplaces.  It's a bit of winner and today the beer choice was complemented with an extra 8 casks in the back room.  I opted for Shepherd Neame's 'Northern Lights', brewed in collaboration with S:t Eriks Bryggeri of Sweden, followed by a Goddards 'Fuggle-dee-dum'.

Beer and Buses punters come and go as the bus pulls up at the New Inn, Shalfleet.

The downfall with making this stop in the evening (the last classic buses running around 5.30pm) was that all were already almost full to capacity.  So our last bus ride of Saturday was on the regular Southern Vectis route back to Newport.
I'll pick up from this point and cover day 2 on the Beer & Buses in Part 2 shortly.