Bicester Pub Crawl

After a recent day out exploring the pubs of Didcot, I figured I'd make it a mission to visit the other towns of Oxfordshire this summer, delving in a little deeper than the regular real ale haunts and CAMRA favourites that I often stick to.

Which is what took me to Bicester on a sunny Tuesday in June.
A smooth bus ride up the unpredictable A34 got me to the town before noon, meaning I had to activate the early arrival action-plan and stride into Wetherspoon's.

The Penny Black (58 Sheep Street, Bicester, OX26 6JW)
Opened in 1997, this is located in what was formerly Bicester post office and sorting office.  It has a familiar Spoons design: bar midway into the building, high tables and games machines directly opposite, booths and tables to the rear, back doors opening onto a shaded patio area for alfresco pubbing.

Real ales available, beyond the regulars, were Vale 'Red Kite', Titanic 'Plum Porter', and Frome 'Funky Monkey'. I briefly considered diverting into cider/perry territory with the Pear Mania, except 7.1% before midday would be mighty decadent.

'Funky Monkey' was more sensible: a decent malty pale ale, which I took to a booth with bouncy cushioned seating toward the back of the pub.

There must be a Bicester baby-boom, as there were pushchairs and infants everywhere I looked.
A trio of different generation ladies tucked into breakfast on a table near me, occasionally stopping to squeeze the squeaky dinosaur to entertain the toddler in high chair.  Then they rested a napkin on the youngster's head and kept repeating "who's got a new hat" in silly voices.
Right...I'm outta here!

I strolled down the pedestrianised main street and steered into The White Hart.

McCafferty's at The White Hart (3 Sheep Street, Bicester, OX26 6TB)
This is a pub with a claim to fame that Pam St Clement (Pat Butcher in Eastenders) pulled a pint behind the bar earlier this year, as reported in The Mirror.
Disappointed I missed her, but at least the pushchairs of the Penny Black had been replaced by mobility scooters and a dozen or so early drinkers tucked into alcoves or sitting at the bar.

They were all on the Carling or Guinness.  The connoisseurs real ale choice was Greene King IPA or Doom Bar - not one for the ticker of rare Oxon microbreweries.  The IPA wasn't too bad and was competitively priced at £3.40 a pint. 

The odd thing about the White Hart - as the full name suggests - is that it's two bars merged into one.  The front room is traditional in design, with dark wooden floor and beams, a long bar counter, and sport showing on the TVs.  Once you reach the back of this, you're in the McCafferty's part with a second bar counter a few meters away from the first one.

The McCafferty's bar features a few more whiskys on the shelves, old Jameson's and Guinness adverts decorating the walls, and a lorry-load of 1990's pub tat strewn about on the route to the garden.
I don't think I've ever been anywhere in which I can straddle the gap between Irish theme bar and regular town pub.  So I sat on a stool betwixt the two, vaguely enjoying my IPA and a soundtrack which included Def Leppard, Pat Benatar, Lionel Richie, and a Journey track that remarkably wasn't 'Don't Stop Believing'.

There was rockier music to be found in the next pub...

The Bell (84 Sheep Street, Bicester, OX26 6LP)
Yep - great hard rock playlist, but no early afternoon custom to listen to it.  I had the whole place to myself.
Which is a shame, as this was a contender for pub of day and just needed a bit of life adding to it. 
An attractive old 18th century stone building, this was the Hobgoblin for many years.

Stroll in through the front door and there is a room with pool table and its own bar counter to the right, whilst the more characterful part is on your left hand side. Good chunky stone walls, inglenook fireplace, scuffed wooden floor, benches and settles to perch on.

A trio of real ales from which to pick...

I opted for the Wadworth seasonal 'Amarillo Gold', which I hadn't seen before, even though you should always go for the beer with the hand-made pump clip.
It was a really enjoyable summer pint, not suffering at all from the lack of trade, so I assume they must pick up the punters later in the day.
I settled into a sunlit seat by the front window, briefly visited by the pub dog, and entertained by Marilyn Manson, The Scorpions, Trivium, and Twin Atlantic...🤘

Pint finished at the Bell, I started to walk away from the town centre and decided I'd poke my head into the recently re-opened Plough.  This straddles North Street and Field Street, with ways in from both sides, although oddly enough, whichever way you approach, it seems like the back of the pub.

The Plough (63 North Street, Bicester, OX26 6NB)

This former Greene King pub looked like it may be doomed until a consortium of locals, under the Olive Tree Pub Co banner, came to the rescue in January 2024.

Sitting underneath it, I was going to be critical about the 'Your olive experience starts here' squiggly writing on the beam.  But I've had a change of heart because I want them to do well.

There was a choice of two cask ales on the bar: Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' or the local Vale 'Brill Gold'.  I went local - the golden ale from across the county border in Buckinghamshire was cool and crisp and in good condition.

There hasn't been a random picture from the toilets on the blog for a little while, so here's one.  I seem to remember the reason for taking it was being impressed by the giant retro light shades and extra wide sink.

Next: let's head to the Greene King estate pub to keep Life After Football happy, having not visited the Brewers Fayre closest to the football ground that I know he would have wanted to hear all about.

I made the ten minute walk up Buckingham Road, past the town's second train station (Bicester North), and into the streets of the housing estate.

White Horse (Churchill Road, Bicester, OX26 4UA)
Okay, there are a few negatives on arrival at this Greene King local. 
Firstly, the grim artificial turf area behind the wooden fence masquerading as a garden.

Secondly, the fact that everything seemed to be out of action: printed A4 signs stuck up throughout apologised that the kitchen was closed today; the Ladies WC was out of order; I was even denied the thrill of the Toy Podz machine... 

Out of order.

But let's look at the positives.  The spacious rear section of the pub was home to two pool tables and a back wall of great-looking competition-style dart boards. 
There was a decent crowd of local folk in for mid-afternoon, mid-week.
And someone from North Oxford CAMRA has visited, lobbying for the real ale discount and topping up the leaflets.

I ordered my second Green King 'IPA', of the day, even more reasonable than the first at £3.20 a pint.
Then took this to the far side of the pub in the quietest section, being the unsociable soul I am.

I set off from the White Horse and made the half-mile walk back to the centre of Bicester.  Where I poked my head into the King's Arms on the Market Square... with no cask, John Smith's Smooth, and one chap sat with his head in his heads, I gave it a swerve.
I figured I really should visit the second Beer Guide listed pub, the Angel (The Penny Black being the first), but I still had twenty minutes before this opened.
So I decided to pass the time in another 'no cask' option: The Lamb Inn.

The Lamb Inn (59-61 Sheep Street, Bicester, OX26 6LG)
Actually, despite the 'no cask ale' notice on WhatPub, they did have hand pumps with a turned-around Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' clip.  I guess that may have been an option on busier days of the week, but on this occasion I was on the draft Brixton 'Resilience'. 

Never mind Pat Butcher at the White Hart - Harry Kane's popped into the Lamb in between providing us with hours of exciting football (???) in the Euros.

The Lamb was given a big refurb in November of 2019 and it looks like the main remit was:
 'make sure there's absolutely nowhere you can sit and not see a TV'. 
The screens are everywhere, including built-in to the end of many of the tables that run down the length of the bar.
"Good for the football", said the lady at the bar, although I thought part of the joy of watching sport in the pub was everyone facing the same way rather than huddled around a small TV at the end of your table.

Glitter balls and flags too, what more do you need?
A quick half of the Brixton beer finished, it was time to make my way up the road for the final pub of the day.

The Angel (102 Sheep Street, Bicester, OX26 6LP)
The Angel is part of the local, much applauded, Oak Taverns group, whose pubs I've featured on the blog a fair bit in the last year or so.

This was always my go-to pub when passing through town and is somewhere I'm more familiar with the other places I'd been throughout the day.  So I can confirm that it is much more fun of an evening or weekend when there are a crowd of folk to liven it up.  Not so great for me, 10 minutes after the 4pm opening time, sat by myself, checking the times for the next bus home.

The beer choice was also reduced for early in the week, with several more set to come on later.  As it was I ordered the very chewy and enjoyable Chiltern 'Double IPA'.

Bicester had provided me with a pleasant afternoon in the sunshine, a reasonable choice of ales, all in good condition, and two more pints of Greene King IPA than I really needed.
It may not be the top town in Oxfordshire in for a pub crawl (that's coming up next) but it had been a good day out.