From a Horse and Groom to a Horse & Jockey

More Good Beer Guide excursions into North Oxfordshire.

Current difficulties recruiting staff in the hospitality industry mean
taking all the help you can to keep the bar running.

With some glorious blue skies to start the day we set out on the S4 bus towards Banbury, hopping off at a remote bus stop somewhere just beyond Tackley.
From there we walked to the village of Lower Heyford (nice Beer Guide pub, but we passed before opening time) and onward over pleasant footpaths across fields of crops.

With the clock ticking nicely toward 12 noon we ambled through the village of Caulcott and reached the pub at a junction to the main road.

Horse and Groom (Lower Heyford Road, Caulcott, OX25 4ND - web)
The landlady opened the door just before noon and then seemed a little surprised at us bowling in seconds later, eagerly early, having been loitering nearby.
We ordered pints - a tasty Vale 'Best' for me - and settled on a picnic table in the small garden to the side of the pub.

A 16th century inn, this retains a charming old country-pub feel to it and I'm sure it would be lovely and cosy inside in the winter months with the fire going. 

Can't stop taking fireplace pics since my visit to the pubs on Dartmoor

Beers finished, we left Caulcott via the footpath that starts directly opposite the pub and leads to Upper Heyford.  From there we joined the canal towpath to take us northwards.
I neglected to take any pretty canal pictures (and thought it unfair to photograph the folks trying in vain to free their narrowboat which they'd managed to get stuck on a muddy bank).
But I did take a picture of a cow...

"Oi!  Stick to photographing blokes in pubs with pints
of beer and leave me to drink in peace"

It turned out to be a fair old trek that caused me to question Mrs Prop Up the Bar's map distance measuring techniques.  On a hot sticky day it was a relief to reach the footpath that branched away from the canal to the village of Clifton, the next pub finally just minutes away.

Happy to see the 'We are open' sign

The Duke at Clifton (Main Street, Clifton, OX15 0PE - web)
Located on the main street through the village, The Duke has a thatched roof and green foliage covering part of it's brickwork.  Dating back to 1774, it used to be called the Duke of Cumberland's Head, named after one of the key characters in the nearby Civil War Battle of Edgehill.
After a period of closure, the pub's been recently renovated and renamed.

Pretty inevitably it's become a bit of a dining destination, rather than a local village boozer, but the interior is characterful with wooden beams, stone floors and walls, and a big fireplace near the bar.
Having been out in the sunshine plenty, we bucked the trend, sitting by ourselves inside whilst all other customers occupied the garden.

On the bar was a surprising selection of real ales, including local award winner Turpin 'Golden Citrus' and a couple of brews from Bicester-based Wriggly Monkey Brewery. 
I picked the Wriggly Monkey 'Ambassador', a very enjoyable 5.5% IPA which went down a treat.  Sadly the same breweries 'Full Tilt' was a bit more dubious, maybe toward the end of the barrel.

Nice WC signage

We walked a dull mile along the main road from Clifton to Deddington where we rejoined the bus route.
Journeying a further 5-or-so-minutes up the A4260, we hopped off at the Bodicote stop.
A short walk through modern housing estates took us into the old village centre and we found our third Beer Guide pub of the day...



The Plough (9 High Street, Bodicote, OX15 4BZ - web)
As with the Duke, we grabbed a seat inside whilst all other punters were out in the garden.  Having had no choice but to sit in gardens in rotten weather, I don't care that we're having a mini-heatwave - I'm making the most of being allowed in the pub!

The Plough seems like a traditional village pub, a nice old building with proper old-school pub carpets and furniture.  Beers come from Wadworth's - not my favourite - and my pick of 'Horizon' was okay, but didn't leave me wanting another one.

We'd hit the time of the day that the bus schedule goes a bit irregular and discovered we had an hour to kill in Bodicote.
Crikey.  What does anyone do for an hour in Bodicote?
Aha - just a short way along the high street we spotted another pub sign.  That'll do.

The Horse and Jockey (Malthouse Lane, Bodicote, OX15 4BU)
This time we opted to follow the crowd and sat outside on tables opposite the pub.
Cask choice was Spitfire or Doom Bar, so this wasn't a location for the ticker looking for rare home brews.  I ordered a Doom Bar which was in good condition and enjoyable, scuppering my chance to be snobby and dismissive of Padstow's finest.  

Doom Bar finished, we caught the bus back and called it a day - beer, sunshine and a fair few miles wearing-out an old soul like me.
I'll be back shortly with reports of urban pub-ticking in Swindon - in the meantime, thanks for looking at the blog.  Cheers 🍻

One for the connoisseurs