Pershore - Good Enough For Me

Cotswolds Line Pub Explorations - Part 3
Yep, this was the third stop on my travels along the Cotswolds Line - from Malvern, making my way back to Oxford.
Pershore is around 10-miles from Worcester, sitting on a bend on the River Avon, home to some 7,500-or-so folks, 7 pubs (if I'm counting right) and an annual Plum Festival.

It's also home to Toyah Wilcox, Robert Fripp and Nigel Clarke of Dodgy (hence the post title - always a bit rubbish when you've got to explain the obscure link in the post title).

The first thing that struck me about Pershore was just how bloomin' far it was from the train station to the town.

It would also be the last thing that struck me, as I rushed back later in the day, seconds away from missing my train home.

Walking toward the centre, the first hostelry you reach is the town's Good Beer Guide listed pub.  Too far for me to recommend hopping off the train for a swift half, though.

Pickled Plum (135 High Street, Pershore, WR10 1EQ - web)

This is one of those pubs where the interior designers have been busy, making a 'feature' of exposed old wooden beams, picking furniture with checked patterns, leafy wallpaper and chandeliers.  All the kind of stuff that would get it a rave write-up by the Telegraph pub reviewer.

It's a popular dining pub, but as I arrived mid-afternoon when food wasn't been served, I had half the place to myself.

There were just a couple of real ales on offer today, my pick being the North Cotswold Brewery best bitter, brewed near Moreton-in-Marsh. A perfectly respectable pint, without being anything to rave about.

Finishing my beer, I wandered on down along Pershore's main thoroughfare, lined with elegant Georgian buildings.

Looking down the High Street

The remaining bit of Pershore Abbey

Of the pubs that I'd seen whilst exploring, my pick was this one...

Star Inn (23 Bridge Street, Pershore, WR10 1AJ - web)
A great looking, old coaching inn, the Star has a pleasant front bar with a rear room set up for dining.  They do have a riverside garden, but it's a helluva long way to carry your drinks down from the back door to the parasols by the Avon.
I enjoyed a decent pint of Wickwar 'BOB' here, a beer I don't see very often.

I did stand on the threshold of the Angel Inn, pictured at the top of the post.  Apparently it used to be a good bet for beers from the local Pershore Brewery, but this has sadly recently stopped brewing.  
It's a dilemma when you need to wait at the door to be seated, without being able to scope out the inside.  I feared before I knew what was happening, I'd be allocated a rubbish table and have ordered a pint of Doom Bar...

As I'd got a bit of a walk to the next planned pub, I opted to give this one a miss today.

The map below shows my planned route to the village of Wyre Piddle and Lower Moor beyond...

As always, further than it looked on the map...

Anchor Inn (Main Road, Wyre Piddle, WR10 2JB - web)
This is a pub that doesn't look like it wants you sitting inside at the moment, knowing that it can happily direct customers to some corking outdoor seating whilst the weather is still good.
There were parasols on decking, some nice tables to the side on a hilly bit of garden and benches right down at the riverside.  All in all - great garden.

Back up there, somewhere, is the pub.

On the bar there was a South West double-act of real ales - St Austell Tribute and Exmoor Gold.  I went for the lesser-seen Exmoor and carried this down to the picnic bench next to a moored barge on the river. 

Next up, another footpath away, was the village of Lower Moor.

Old Chestnut Tree (Manor Road, Lower Moor, WR10 2NZ - fb)
Looks good, doesn't it?

This impressive timber-framed inn dates back to the 16th century.
According to the entry on WhatPub, it has several interesting features, including a priest hole in a "massive chimney structure" and the smallest designated ballroom in the country.
Now I really feel like I missed out. 

Instead of bringing you exciting pictures of small ballrooms, I give you a photo of my pint on the bar...

I sat at my table, working out how long it was going to take me to get back to the train station and realising I was gonna have to down the beer pretty speedily and walk pretty fast.
The HPA didn't deserve knocking back quite so rapidly - it was magnificent here - the best pint of the day.

The journey along the Cotswolds Line continues, with the Worcestershire town of Evesham the next stopping point.
My report of trekking across the fields and visiting random pubs there, follows soon.
Cheers.