In which I head down the western side of the Exe estuary, onward to Dawlish, before ending up on the brewpub beer and craft murk in Exeter.
All in a good day's pub ticking.
I headed out of Exeter late morning on the 2B bus, alighting at Cockwood harbour.
All in a good day's pub ticking.
I headed out of Exeter late morning on the 2B bus, alighting at Cockwood harbour.
Cockwood may only be small, but it does have two pubs, both of which appear in the 2022 Good Beer Guide.
Best visit both of them then - first up the Ship Inn...
Both the village pubs are renowned for their food, so I figured I'd be the odd one out popping in for a pint.
Indeed most of the tables in this small(ish) pub were booked, but I did manage to get a nice seat by the bar. We're in peak Devon tourist vicinity here, although the couple sat at the next table were pub locals, as shown by the chef popping out to chat to them, telling them that West Ham would beat Spurs in the Carabao Cup that evening. (He was wrong).
Beer-guide quality ale in a nice, relaxed, country-pub atmosphere where I was quite content.
It's not far to amble from one pub to another - I was in the Anchor a minute after leaving the Ship.
This is the picture-postcard pub, looking glorious with it's black and white frontage facing the harbour. Once a seaman's mission, The Anchor is a 450-year old inn.
It's all wooden beams and nautical decorations inside, with lots of the seating being in snug booths with high-backed bench seating. That curtails being nosey as to what fellow visitors are up to, so I just sat in my own booth drinking my Exeter 'Avocet Ale' and reading the local CAMRA magazine.
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| I won't look back at this and wonder what time of year I was here! |
I timed my departure from the Anchor to tie in with the bus, but unfortunately the bus didn't time its arrival to tie in with me.
Fifty minutes I stood at that bus stop.
"I'd wait a bit longer" the nice old lady in a bobble hat waiting alongside me suggested when I decided to give up. And of course she was right. It came just as a turned the corner, necessitating an unimpressive dash back, a tut and an 'I told you to wait a bit a longer'.
That delayed bus scuppered my plans to explore Dawlish a little more thoroughly.
Just time for one pub, another beer guide tick, the White Hart Inn.
Fifty minutes I stood at that bus stop.
"I'd wait a bit longer" the nice old lady in a bobble hat waiting alongside me suggested when I decided to give up. And of course she was right. It came just as a turned the corner, necessitating an unimpressive dash back, a tut and an 'I told you to wait a bit a longer'.
That delayed bus scuppered my plans to explore Dawlish a little more thoroughly.
Just time for one pub, another beer guide tick, the White Hart Inn.
This was a great little basic drinks-only boozer. An unfussy front bar and open-plan design leading to another seating area at the rear.
There was just the one cask ale on the bar -Teignworthy 'Gun Dog', which did the job, although it's not my favourite beer.
There was a lot of jovial banter between the regulars on the front tables and the staff at the bar. Much of it 18-certificate.
Selective ear-wigging snippet: "he brought me a lovely bunch of flowers and was on his best behaviour, but three pints later he was asking if there was any chance of a shag".
Probably best I hadn't brought my mum.
I really liked the White Hart - a proper pub if ever there was one.
But please can the toilet doors (along with the recent swivel chair seating found in Axminster) be put into the dark closet marked 'things you shouldn't see in pubs'...
Selective ear-wigging snippet: "he brought me a lovely bunch of flowers and was on his best behaviour, but three pints later he was asking if there was any chance of a shag".
Probably best I hadn't brought my mum.
I really liked the White Hart - a proper pub if ever there was one.
But please can the toilet doors (along with the recent swivel chair seating found in Axminster) be put into the dark closet marked 'things you shouldn't see in pubs'...
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| Sober as a judge or six pints worse for wear, there's no way of tackling these doors gracefully |
That enormous clock in the bar proved handy to make sure I drank up in good time to make my exit from Dawlish.
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| Pub life in the White Hart. |
Mappiman has recently blogged about a Devon trip - all enjoyable reading and enough to deter me from Air B&B's forever. It was through reading those posts that I learnt that the Turks Head in Exeter had now re-opened as a pub, making me keen to pay it a visit.
I'd hoped to visit here earlier in the year, but at the time WhatPub was showing this craft bar as being permanently closed. I'm glad it's not - it's a great place.
Some odd and intriguing beery concoctions brought the evening to a close, after a varied and interesting day out in Devon.
The Turks Head (57A High Street, Exeter, EX4 3DJ)
Located next to the historic guildhall, the pub dates back over 700 years and is one of the oldest in these parts. As befits an historic inn, there's a tale that Dickens used to drink here and that the Fat Boy from the Pickwick Papers was based on an employee at the pub.
It closed in 2005 and became an Italian restaurant which in turn shut in 2018. This year it reopened as a pub, featuring a ground floor room, plus two rooms, a second bar and a rooftop outdoor space upstairs.
Their own beers come from the microbrewery behind glass screens beyond the bar...
Located next to the historic guildhall, the pub dates back over 700 years and is one of the oldest in these parts. As befits an historic inn, there's a tale that Dickens used to drink here and that the Fat Boy from the Pickwick Papers was based on an employee at the pub.
It closed in 2005 and became an Italian restaurant which in turn shut in 2018. This year it reopened as a pub, featuring a ground floor room, plus two rooms, a second bar and a rooftop outdoor space upstairs.
Their own beers come from the microbrewery behind glass screens beyond the bar...
I picked the very drinkable Turks Head 'Witches Brew Stout'.
And watched the constant comings and goings, with lots of raucous folk and Christmas jumpers. The Turks Head was bucking the Dec'21 trend of quiet pubs and doing a good trade.
And watched the constant comings and goings, with lots of raucous folk and Christmas jumpers. The Turks Head was bucking the Dec'21 trend of quiet pubs and doing a good trade.
And to finish, with Mrs PropUptheBar having arrived in Devon and demanding craft beer to recover from her train journey...
Little Drop of Poison (154-155 Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT)
Little Drop of Poison (154-155 Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT)
Next up:Newton Abbot
Great pics, love that Cockwood shot. Fantastic third of murk in that last photo !
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin. The murk does look amazing, doesn't it. Ready to stand a spoon in! Apparently tasted great too, not that it hung around long enough for me to get to try it.
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