Plymouth - The Cider House Rules

Plymouth Pub Explorations from Turnchapel to the Tamar.
A little further down the Devon coast from the last post, our first stop in Plymouth was Turnchapel, on the opposite side of the water from the city centre.
It's a lovely short trip across on the £2 ferry, so why I decided to spend 35 minutes on the No.2 bus, sightseeing through the residential streets of Oreston, I have no idea.

Turnchapel is a little gem - approached down a steep narrow lane, past colourfully painted cottages, like all the best coastal fishing villages are.
The pub we were heading to was the Boringdon Arms, situated on a high pavement above the street...

Boringdon Arms (13 Boringdon Terrace, Turnchapel, PL9 9TQ - web)
This 18th century pub consists of two rooms, plus a bright, covered patio to the rear and a pleasant garden beyond.

Beers on offer were Sea Fury, Doom and Jail Ale, but it was the boxed cloudy cider that was tempting me.
Cider-quaffing ("Drink it slowly - it's 6%!") was accompanied by a 70's sound-track featuring Simon and Garfunkel and Elton John.
We enjoyed some great home-cooked food - and the BEST CHIPS of the week!

Leaving the Bori (as I'm sure I'm not allowed to call it after just one visit), we climbed back up the hill, and made our way to the Mount Batten ferry...

We'd developed a taste for cider, and to sate it we were heading to Bretonside, a busy road just above the Barbican.

Here's a pub that's had a fair few identities - previously the Friary, the Black Bull and the Black Horse.  Since 2015 it's been the Cider House, passionately run by a former headmaster from a nearby school.

Cider House (51-53 Bretonside, Plymouth, PL4 0BD)
On the hand pumps was Old Rosie, Black Rat, and Sandford's Devon Scrumpy, with a good dozen-or-so boxes of still cider racked in the corner of the bar.
But, oddly enough for a cider house, it's the 'Tribute' hand pump which is working the hardest, this seeming to be the tipple of choice of the locals.

More Elton John to entertain us, and a very rare pub airing of the Kinks 'Come Dancing'.

Plus: best collection of farming implements of the day...

I really liked the cider bar, but you can't spend all day drinking Lilley's Gladiator.

We took time-out to check in to our accommodation near the Hoe, then headed back for our second experience of the day on the number 2 bus.

This time we were heading to the other end of the line at Saltash.

Here we had two Beer Guide pubs to visit, one on either side of the river.

Starting on the Cornish side in the Union Inn.

Union Inn (Tamar Street, Saltash, PL12 4EL)

In the warm weather the Saltash kids were jumping off the nearby pier into the river, and most of the pub customers sat on the outdoor picnic benches.

I liked it indoors, the walls filled with local and nautical pictures, the gaming machines suitably retro, the door stickers superbly branded with Manchester's finest purveyor of cream ale.

 

The pumps on the bar dispensed Doom Bar, Jail Ale and Sam's cider, whilst blackboards  advertised Summerskills 'Blondie'. The staff had to pop into the cellar to pour this local brew straight from the barrel, and it was a lovely refreshing ale.

It's a steep old slog back up the hill to reach the bridge.

But worth it for the fine walk along the pedestrian section of the road bridge, ignoring the passing traffic and marveling at the views.

Back on the Eastern side, back in Devon, we found our way down to the river bank in search of the Ferry House Inn.

Via the unusual garden exhibit...

Is that a scene from Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

A little further along the road, we reached the pub who've gone for a much more modest paint job that their neighbours across the river...

Ferry House Inn (888 Wolsley Road, Saltash Passage, PL5 1LA - web)

I liked the bar room, with it's beamed ceiling, well-trodden wooden floors, and sea-faring decorations. But there were just the wrong number of people spread out within it, meaning we'd be awkwardly squeezing in, if we stayed inside.

So instead, I took my Dartmoor IPA out onto the riverside patio.

Where you really can't fault the view...

A great first four pubs on our visit to Plymouth.

The cider house didn't really rule - I just wanted to stick that in the title to pretend I knew stuff about books.