The Bottle & Glass

In which I trek across the fields to the west of Henley-on-Thames to tick off one of the Oxfordshire Good Beer Guide entries which has been eluding me.

Autumnal Sunday's should really be spent sinking into the sofa binge watching the Squid Game.
But the sun was shining and I had the urge to brave gastropub horrors to achieve that missing pub tick.

£6 for a day return from Oxford to Henley, 24 miles each way, presents some pretty great £-per-mile value, but it does mean 70 minutes on a shaky double decker.

Pulling up in the busy centre of Henley, I hopped off the bus and straight into Spoons for a spot of food.

Catherine Wheel (7-15 Hart Street, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2AR - web)
Apps for ordering at pubs are something that can happily be consigned to the Covid Museum of Misery as far as I'm concerned. Although I get on fairly well with the Spoons app and today it saved me from having to join the orderly queue to the bar which had inevitably formed with the touristic Sunday lunchtime crowd.

I ordered a five bean chilli - plonked on the plate and not about to win any Masterchef plaudits for presentation - and a very average pint of Rebellion 'Urban Dusk'.

I don't think it's unfair to say that Henley is a bit short on exciting beer options. The brew pub was short lived, Lovibonds taproom has now shut and it looks like the little micro brewery at the Bull is no more.
Expect a fair bit of Brakspear, Rebellion and Loddon in these parts.

And it was Rebellion that I was about to find next, in Henley's most frequent beer guide entry...

South Oxfordshire pub of the year 2020 - and a fair few other times as well

Bird in Hand (61 Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1HB)
"Popular with locals and visitors alike" says the beer guide, although I think I was the only visitor today in a room where everybody else knew each other by name.
It was good to see a pub thriving and 'normal' on a Sunday afternoon. Blokes propped up the bar leaving just the one gap to get served; there was a hubbub of banter and chatter; excitable dogs bounced around; and someone's child sat in the corner with his gameboy and blackcurrant squash looking fed-up and ready to go home.

The beer choice was 'London Pride', 'Hophead', 'Landlord' or my Rebellion 'IPA'. I grabbed a seat by the TV, watching the end of the Turkish Grand Prix, made interesting for a change by sticking Lewis Hamilton in 10th place on the grid.

Next up was the walk - just over 2 miles on the footpaths to the side of Henley.
This is certainly good walking territory, enabling me to find different routes in both directions. Both involved having to negotiate Henley golf course - I hate footpaths that cross golf courses.
My route took me through some woods and past a pointless gate...

Pointless gate, security entry system and all

A little further along a country lane was my destination...

Grade II thatched country pub - the Bottle & Glass

Bottle & Glass (Harpsden Road, Binfield Heath, RG9 4JT - web)
Good footpaths there may be, but you probably wouldn't want to be rocking up at the Bottle & Glass in muddy boots. The first room I found myself in had old wooden beams and supports along with stone floors. Nice and olde worlde, except for the choice of seating - a couple of minuscule high tables or big leather sofas.
A "how can I help?" welcome, rather than "what'll it be?"
I enjoyed my pint of Loddon 'Hoppit', but I'd prefer to be supping it in a tradition pub any day.
Oh well, the diners seemed happy, complimenting the food.

Bit of classic old wood in the Bottle & Glass

It's interesting to see what art-work pubs display in the loos and - as you can see by my eagerness to photograph 'em and stick 'em on the blog - I do enjoy the occasional bit of mild smut in the gents.
But this was an odd bit of WC art...

Patriotic Britishness and shooting things - is this indicative of the clientele at the Bottle & Glass?

I left the (very smart) loos with fragrant hands - that'd be lavender, geranium and petitgrain essential oils.  If ever the handwash told you everything you need to know about a pub... 

Making it back into Henley I made a rather random pick of the Argyll on the market square, lured in by the promise of 20 keg beer lines and the possibility that I may not end up with a pint of Brakspear.

The Argyll (15 Market Place, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2AA - web)
This proved to be quite a surprise. Six cask ales, 2 cask ciders and a craft beer wall including Berkshire's finest - a bit of Siren, Wild Weather and Elusive, and lots more besides.
I stuck with the cask, first with a Siren 'Modern Bitter', then a super-hoppy Kent 'Prohibition'. Both fine beers.

The Argyll has been taken over by the Morgan Pub Co and is linked to Big Smoke Brewery, a few of whose ales were also available. It has a modern interior with one open-plan room, although the front section looks a little more set up for dining.
I had a chatty bloke in his beige leisure suit and matching hat sitting next to me, but I was glad when he found someone at the bar to talk to at length about boxing.

Boxing chat.  And Christmas party adverts...noooooo....

And with that I was done.
Ending on a high note, beer-wise.
About to encounter a low-note bus-wise, with cancelled services and a tedious hour-long wait in Wallingford for another late bus.
But it had been worth it to see Henley in the sunshine and get that beer guide tick.