Plympton Pub Explorations

In which I visit the town of Plympton, where there will be Bass.  And a castle.  And Doom Bar.

But the observant will spot that the first pub picture isn't from Plympton at all...

The Dolphin (14 The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LS)
Yep, I arrived at Plymouth train station just after 11am and with a 4pm opener in Plympton to take into consideration, figured it was probably too early to catch the onward bus.
So I strolled down to the Barbican and somehow avoided the soaking that seemed to have caught out several early pub-goers on their way to the Dolphin.

For pre-noon, the place was buzzing, with a good crowd in and the cask ale seeming to be the drink of choice.  Wet people took it in turns to stand in front of the fire for a couple of minutes, a small dog did the rounds checking if anyone was of any interest, a family played cards whilst dad discovered Bass and enthusiastically returned to the bar for another pint.

Other South-West ales are available, but unnecessary... 

Top quality.  Good enough for me to pop back for a second pint, switching plans of a sit-down lunch somewhere to just grabbing a pasty instead.

 

Just after 1pm, the drizzle set in over the bottom corner of Devon, I scooted up to the Royal Parade and boarded a bus for the 6-mile, 30-minute trip to Plympton.

Plympton now just gets called a 'suburb of Plymouth' but was once an important town in its own rights - one of the stannary towns trading in locally mined tin, located on a main route from Dartmoor to the coast.
I'm not sure if I missed many sights of the town, but due to the weather I just pulled my hood up and made haste to the London Inn.

The London Inn (8 Church Road, Plympton, PL7 1NH)
This was an absolute gem.  Just like the Dolphin, it was pleasingly busy on a midweek afternoon, a decent number of punters spread throughout the two rooms.

There were seven cask ales available, including two from South Hams Brewery, a 'Surfin' USA' IPA by St Austell that I've not seen before, one each from Nuttycombe and Piddle Brewery, and the temptation of Sarah Hugh's 'Dark Ruby Mild'.  And Bass on special offer.
Not a bad choice, eh?

Shame I was predictably dull and stuck with more Bass.
Which I took to the bench labelled 'Bullshit Corner', the neighbouring seats with their 'Grumpy Area' signage already taken. 

The Bass was on great form, but I did branch out and returned to the bar to order a superb South Hams 'Eddystone'.  I'd been constantly impressed by all the South Hams beers I'd had and made a point of calling into their brewery tap a week or so later.

Anyway - the London Inn is great.  Do visit if you're in the area.
Quality beer and brilliant staff.

Ariel shots and charcoal drawings of the pub on display - shame about the flag from that mid-table football team poking out between them...

Horse racing on the TV - the 2:30 from Market Rasen - with the volume down, The Undertones and the Clash providing the soundtrack.
And their own beer mats...

Despite the weather, I did clambour up the mound to the remaining few walls of the castle.

This historical and wet diversion out the way, I walked back to the main commercial street of Plympton and a retreat to Wetherspoon's.

The Stannary Court (95-99 Ridgeway, Plympton, PL7 2AA)
The building was once three shop units, before combining into one and becoming first the job centre, then the library.  Some would argue both those may be more enriching to a town that a Wetherspoons pub.  

It's not a bad branch of the chain, whilst not being anything special.  The guest cask ales were a Hanlon's 5%er or, my pick, the Bay's 'Devon Dumpling' at £2.63 (Spoons 50p off vouchers left at home again).

A little further along the same street I fancied trying something other than 'spoons and the beer guide pubs whilst in town.  And picked the black and white signage of the Craft Union local...

The Post Office Inn (39 Ridgeway, Plympton, PL7 2AW)
There are some pretty bold statements on their website...
"Pull up a stool at Post Office Inn Plympton – Plymouth's premier watering hole
Hunting for the top pub in Plymouth? Look no further, you've hit the jackpot!"

I'm not sure about those claims.  It was comfortable enough, although very quiet, failing to entice the daytime custom away from the competition up the road.

Doom Bar was the sole cask option, keenly priced at £2.70 a pint.
Obscure football on the TV screens, All About Eve 'Kind Hearted Woman' the pick of the tracks on an eclectic soundtrack.

I just had one more place to visit, the time having well and truly ticked past its 4pm opening time.  It was a fair trek to another part of town to reach the Union Inn, the dim lights giving me a moment of concern that it didn't look open when I arrived.

The Union Inn (17 Underwood Road, Plympton, PL7 1SY)
But step inside and this was another pub with an impressive midweek crowd of drinkers.  This is a much loved local inn where real ale and cider rules, the walls and beams covered in pump clips from the ever-changing range.
There were three real ciders when I visited, alongside more Bay's 'Devon Dumpling' and Tintagle 'Cornwall's Pride', the latter being my choice.

The landlord popped over to ask how the beer was - on great form, thank you very much.

A lovely place to end the afternoon's explorations as I started to think about catching those buses and trains for my journey.  A town with a couple of pubs well worth the effort of getting out of Plymouth to visit.

Bideford Bound - The Joiners Arms

Several blog posts on the way now from Devon, a county which featured heavily on these pages in 2023.  A county in which I was determined to be able to say I'd visited all of the 2024 Good Beer Guide pubs.
We ticked almost everywhere we needed in the northern reaches of Devon with overnighters the previous year in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.  But we missed the Joiners Arms in Bideford, whose opening hours didn't work out.
So...let's try again...

You'll find Bideford and its 18,000 or so residents on the Torridge estuary, a 30-minute bus ride from Barnstaple.
The town name is derived from "by the ford", but looking out at the River Torridge it's hard to imagine being able to cross it by ford.  Much better to use the nice old bridge, although the constant flow of traffic across it makes it more of a chore than a pleasure as a pedestrian.

Walk up the steepish hills from the riverside and you'll find narrow lanes, interesting independent shops, and a surprising number of people bustling about this old port town.
After two trips to Bideford I've decided that this is my favourite building...

It's on a corner next to the attractive pannier market - do you get pannier markets anywhere in the UK other than Devon?

On the top right corner of the streets surrounding the market you'll find the Joiners...

The Joiners Arms (6 Market Place, Bideford, EX39 2DR) 
This was a pub doing a good trade for an early Saturday afternoon with folks sat at the bar, most tables occupied.
Three cask ales were available: the common sight of Doom Bar; Young's 'Special' which has traveled a fair way from Bedford; and the local Clearwater offering... 

I grabbed one of the last remaining tables in the  left-side of the bar and enjoyed a reasonable local ESB.  Across the other side of the pub is a small stage, the Joiners playing host to bands with names like the Ragamuffins and Basil's Balls Up Band.
This is a proper community town pub and I suspect it's quite lively and a lot of fun of an evening time with a band on stage.

I needed a bite to eat and figured the local 'Spoons would be the logical quick 'n' easy option.
But I was denied the quality pub picture thanks to Consort Scaffold Services who have hidden the frontage of the Rose Salterne.

The Rose Salterne (9-10 Bridgeland Street, Bideford, RX39 2PZ)
Behind that scaffolding this is a building with a bit of history.  It dates back to 1871 when it was opened as the 'Public Rooms' (what that entails, I'm not sure), then it later became the Palace Cinema.  That closed in 1962 to make way for a supermarket, later branching into furniture, then a carpet store. 
There's an odd covered patio area in a recess from the pavement out front, before you enter through the doors into a familiar 'Spoons layout.  I did like the bell lampshades that you see at the right side of the picture...

The beer selection was unspectacular with Oakham 'JHB' and Exmoor 'Gold' being the only additions to the regular Ruddles, Doom Bar etc range.
Jacket potato and five bean chili for me, although with the amount of chili you get on top of your potato you'll be lucky if you get 5 beans in total, let alone 5 varieties of bean.  Generous portion of salad though, and it filled a gap whilst I watched a consortium of staff trying to fix the coffee machine and pondered to myself whether I'd ever read anything by Charles Kingsley. (Kingsley living in this part of Devon and the pub taking its name from the heroine of his 1855 novel Westward Ho!)

The best shot of the Spoons carpet was on the quite majestic corridor to the WCs...

Time for another pub visit in Bideford?
From a choice of half-a-dozen I picked the Appledore Inn which graced the Beer Guide a couple of years ago.

The Appledore Inn (18 Chingswell Street, Bideford, EX39 2NF)
A few minutes walk from the Wetherspoon's, this mid-terrace pub is on the route to the football ground, so you get AFC Bideford stickers in the window alongside the obligatory Exeter Chiefs ones.

It's open-plan within, although I'd guess there were two separate rooms when it was built in the mid 19th century.  There has obviously been a recent make-over in shades of grey and they've opted for one of those dull hard-wearing carpets - functional rather than welcoming.

On the bar were hand pumps for Dartmoor 'Legend', Butcombe 'Rare Breed' and 'Original', or Morland 'Old Speckled Hen'.  
"Oi - who's drinking my Legend?" said the chap at the end of the bar when I ordered, although I don't think he was getting through the barrel fast enough single-handed to keep it in tip-top condition.

With that, my short visit to Bideford was over.  All that was left was to peer over the wall at the local football ground.  Apparently, AFC Bideford haven't been relegated for over 60 years so may be a better bet for me to support than Forest.

And they have some cracking old-school floodlights.