Exeter Pub Explorations

An afternoon spent in the city of Exeter, in which we visit Brewdog's newest bar, a micro pub and two good beer guide entries.

In a change of fortune the weather was well and truly on our side.  Having been January for the past five months, the temperature rose, the sun came out, and folks in t-shirts flocked to the cathedral green and surrounding cafes with outdoor seating.

We made the most of it and enjoyed a short wander around the city centre.

If you look closely at the picture of the Historic Guildhall you can see the football stuck on the first floor ledge.
Possibly the wayward shot from St Jame's Park that cost Exeter City their place in the League 2 play-offs this season.

The Historic Guildhall.
The building next door to the left was once the 700 year old Turks Head, which may yet reopen as a pub.

For our first pub visit, we headed down St Martin's Lane, a passageway between the High Street and Cathedral Green.
Half the lane is taken up by scaffolding as the Royal Clarence Hotel is resurrected following the devastating fire in 2016.
The scaffolding scuppers opportunities to photograph the pub somewhat... 

The Ship (1-3 Martins Lane, EX1 1EY - web)
The Ship dates back to the 15th century, a Tudor inn which claims Sir Francis Drake as a one-time customer.
But forget Francis Drake - the Ship once had Sam the Spaniel, the bar-tending dog, who'd look after visitors around the time of the second world war.

Nothing so exciting for us - I suspect humans are better in most aspects at serving customers in pubs, so we had the usual instructions and sign-in, and were asked if we'd be okay with a table upstairs.
Which was fine, except that we had the first floor to ourselves and nobody else was directed up here during our visit.  Which made me a bit paranoid.

Socially isolated we may have been, but I did enjoyed my Exeter Brewery 'Avocet' in the Ship.

Everyone else was having great fun downstairs

We decided to move on from one of the cities oldest pubs to hipster craft beer at the newly opened Exeter Brewdog.
This has a grand location in the colonnaded building at the edge of the Guildhall shopping centre...

Brewdog Exeter (Guildhall, Exeter, EX4 3LN - web)

Wow!  They've certainly found themselves a pretty impressive space in Exeter.
Suddenly our little Oxford branch (which would fit into this site ten times over) seems a little inadequate.

Lots of things you'd expect from the chain: a bit of neon lighting, distressed concrete, visible ducts and pipework, long bench seating, big billboard beer list, wings Wednesday... 
It seemed to be proving a hit with the Exeter public, with tables quickly filling up whilst we were there.
The beer list offered up all the usual Brewdog suspects, along with a couple of specials and guests.
What to pick?  Unsurprisingly the strongest one: a 'Tonkoatko' imperial oat stout from the always dependable Brew York which was quite superb.

Shark infested walls

Time for another change in style.
We'd done ye olde inn and craft beer - now for a micro...

This was a fair old walk from the city centre, across to the Heavitree area, where the main road is lined with shops, takeaways, a couple of old-school pubs and our destination...

The Pig and Pickle (38a Fore Street, Heavitree, EX1 2QL - fb)
We arrived unfashionably early, loitering around outside as the staff moved chairs around and readied the pub for it's 5pm opening time.
They're probably banished as an authentic micro on account of having an extravagant two WC's, as well as a large bar and serving evil keg beers.  But I really liked it - a comfortable, relaxed place with some great beers.

Previously a post office, by any chance?

A chalk-board on the wall advertised available drinks, with one ale and one cider on cask and a wealth of interesting choices on the taps.
I started with the cask 'Liberation Libation', brewed by Crossed Anchors from nearby Exmouth, before moving on to another local on tap - Utopian 'Comrade Beer N.14', a great smoked Maibock.

We made another 15-minute stroll through side streets to reach the Good Beer Guide listed Bowling Green pub, close to the football ground.

The Bowling Green (29-30 Blackboy Road, Exeter, EX4 6ST - web)

This proved to be a pretty spacious L-shaped pub, with further seating out in the back garden which we didn't explore.  It was nicely rough around the edges, slightly ramshackle and not spoilt by anyone trying to paint it an olive colour and make it trendy.
In line with the look, the menu dished up good value burgers and pizzas.

The pub dog paid us a visit to look yearningly at our pizza and hope we didn't spot the 'please do not feed me' collar.

Wot no Wetherspoons?  Yep, remarkably enough we finished our evening contentedly in the Bowling Green on the Otter 'Amber' and never made it to George's Meeting Place or the Imperial or any of the other pubs that we thought we may try.
I guess the Imperial Stout slowed us down.

Exeter had given us a nice little selection of different venues, several tasty beers and a pizza-coveting Dalmation.  What more can I ask for?

Next up Weston Super Mare.

Dartmoor Pub Delights

In which we explore four cracking pubs in Dartmoor National Park.
Only another 50-or-so to do from my 'Legendary pubs of Dartmoor' book, then.

On a grey Monday morning we set off for the heart of moor, making our way first to Postbridge.

Clapper Bridge

Retired Martin often boasts of the good weather following him on his pub-ticking travels.  The weather follows me too.  Except in my case it's rain, wind and hail.
We'd walked all of 200m from the visitor centre to the Clapper Bridge before the heavens opened.
What else can you do when the weather is against you, than make for the pub for an early lunch...

Warren House Inn (Postbridge, PL20 6TA - web)
This has to be one of the countries greatest settings for a pub.
Unless you like your pubs conveniently sited between the railway station and Greggs, in which case you'll be disappointed.

The Warren House Inn sits high on the moor on the roadside of the B3212, a road which provides drivers with regular sheep hazards as it rolls through spectacular barren scenery.  In the winter the pub is prone to being snowed-in for lengthy spells, whilst in the summer crowds of walkers, cyclists and tourists are liable to descend.

The pub gets my thumbs up on several counts...
👍 Beer mats delivered to the table with our drinks.
👍 A fine pint of Black Tor 'Pride of Dartmoor' ale.
👍 A no-nonsense menu of pub grub designed for folks who've traipsed over the moors rather than rocked up for a gastro experience. 

They also have the fine tale of the pub fire that has reputedly been burning since 1845 - we checked...it was still going strong on our visit.

There is a light fire that never goes out

Located at 1,425 meters feet above sea level, on a finer day we'd be tempted by the picnic tables across the road from the pub with some lovely views...

Moving on from the Warren House Inn, we traveled eastward, making our way to the village of Hennock.
There's a reasonable road route into Hennock, but we managed to find another way via the little white lanes that Devon is famous for.  The type where your bones are shaken by the rugged surface, the hedges scrape the sides of the car, and you pray you're not going to turn a corner and meet a tractor coming the other way.

But we made it, pulling up outside the pub.

Palk Arms (Church Road, Hennock, TQ13 9QB - web)
Through the front door is a cosy bar with a wood burner in a grand fireplace and bench seating in front of the window where one local, the sole customer, sat chatting to the barman.
On the hand-pumps was a fine local trio of Dartmoor 'Legend', Bays 'Devon Dumpling' and Teignworthy 'Gun Dog'.

On recommendation from our host, we took our drinks through the back room (pool table, juke box, Motley Crȕe poster) and into the extension where the tables are set up for dining.  It may not have the charm of the front bar, but it has views.

The local CAMRA magazine which I picked up in the pub features the Palk Arms on it's cover and proclaims this the best pub view in Devon.
Perched high above the Teign Valley, it's certainly a stunning location, spoiled only by the rain clouds catching up with us and everything going dark and wet (again).

Let me leap forward one day, when you'd find us in the same vicinity and on our way to the stannary town of Chagford...

Chagford is located on the eastern side of Dartmoor, is home to around 1450 souls and to an impressive four pubs.
Our pick of the four, with a listing in the current 2021 Good Beer Guide, was the Globe Inn.

I can't offer sunny, blue sky pub pictures, but instead I can give you a picture of the Globe with added window-cleaning action...

The Globe Inn (9 High Street, Chagford, TQ13 8AJ - web)
The main bar is charming, with some lovely bench seating against the wall and another majestic fireplace.
The beer choice on offer was Otter Ale or Dartmoor Brewery 'Dartmoor IPA'.  Has to be the Dartmoor ale on Dartmoor doesn't it?

Here's the bar...

And here's some mild smut in the Gents WC...

 

The Globe served us some tasty lunch, the beer was in fine condition and the staff and couple of locals friendly and welcoming.

As we were leaving the town we realised too late that Chagford's other GBG entry, the Ring O Bells, was defying it's advertised opening hours and was not closed as all sources said it was.  Next time...

Heading into the Teign Valley, which we were high above the previous day in the Palk Arms, we made our way through worsening weather to Bridford Inn.

Bridford Inn (Bridford, EX6 7HT - web)
Our's was but a short visit, so unfortunately I have little to write about this great village local.  We grabbed a Dartmoor 'Jail Ale' and sat in the sizable bar, whilst the locals congregated in the seats by the giant fireplace. 
If finding enormous fireplaces in pubs was our mission, we were on a roll.

As we went to leave, Mrs PropUptheBar managed to lock us in instead of releasing the catch on the door.  Even the barman was struggling to get it open and it looked for a moment like we might be settling in for the evening.
On reflection, there's worse places to get locked inside.

Four great pubs - despite being scuppered by bad weather and challenging opening hours on a Monday and Tuesday.
But oh so many more to return and visit...
...as usual!

Warminster Beer Guide Pubs - an open and shut case

Heading south-westward to Devon, we made a brief lunchtime stop in the Wiltshire town of Warminster.

So, what have I learnt about the place?
Warminster is home to around 17,000 folks.  
The Town Park and Soft Play Centre get kept off the top spots on Trip Advisor's attractions list by nearby Longleat house and safari park.
And Warminster has a spectacular history of UFO sightings.

Pub-wise, it has two entries in the 2021 Good Beer Guide. 
We set off for the first and found it well and truly closed for business.  Which I would have been well aware of, had I actually done my research beforehand.

Shame... the Organ looked to be a great pub, handy for downing a few pints whilst your shoes were repaired by Nick next door.
A very trustworthy name for any craftsmen, if I say so myself.

The Organ was a historic pub which was closed for 93 years until re-opening in 2006. It managed 14 more years service before the last pints (for now...) were pulled in December 2020.

So, having failed at the first hurdle, we ended up in Wetherspoon's.
We 'end up' in Wetherspoon's rather a lot.

Bath Arms (41 Market Place, Warminster, BA12 9AZ-web)
Dating back to 1732, this was once one of a number of coaching inns that lined the town's main thoroughfare.

Although we didn't have any problem grabbing a table it was pretty busy with a Saturday lunchtime crowd - a wide range of punters, from the old boy nursing his pint, to family diners, to Warminster's youths getting told off for some half-hearted mask wearing.

Most of the beers were the Spoon's core range, but there was one hand-pump serving a local ale from Westbury's Twisted Brewery.

No indoor photograph of the Bath Arms - the general lay-out and proliferation of dividing screens separating the tables wasn't designed with pub-blog pictures in mind.
Instead, here's a picture of another Warminster closed pub, the Old Bell Hotel, which I thought looked quite splendid with it's arcaded frontage...

Hoping for more luck with the town's second beer guide pub, we headed a little way out of the centre to visit the Fox & Hounds. 

Fox & Hounds (6 Deverill Road, Warminster, BA12 9QP)
We stepped into the public bar, occupied by a dozen locals and one dog.
The punters mainly seemed to be contentedly supping Thatchers Gold, whilst no-one paid any attention to the racing drivers whizzing around Monaco on the spectacularly big TV.

There are usually two permanent ales from the local Wessex Brewery on offer, but on this occasion the choice was a rather uninspiring Tribute or Abbot Ale.
Not fancying either I plumped for the strong and vibrantly coloured cider from the Weymouth Cider Company...

Tizer?

Our stop in Warminster was a brief one, just breaking the journey.  Hence only setting foot in the two pubs and looking wistfully at the Organ, wishing it was still open.

Back on the road and onward to Devon, from where I'll shortly be reporting on what Dartmoor looks like in the rain.

Outdoor Drinking in Headington

Back out of Winter 2021 hibernation!
Yep, having spent 3½ months sitting at home watching Netflix, drinking cans of pricey craft ale, we finally got the chance to return to pub gardens on the 12th April.

The 12th April on which we awoke to a covering of snow.
In fact, 75% of the past month in which outdoor drinking has been allowed has seen unseasonable temperatures, gusty winds and torrential rain.  Bah!

But I did find a little bit of sunshine in which to trek around three pubs in the Oxford suburb of Headington.
And remarkably enough, the city acquired a micropub during lock-down...

Tile Shop Ale House (10 Windmill Road, Headington, OX3 7BW - web)
There were half a dozen tables on the terrace in front of the recently opened Ale House, with a respectable early Saturday afternoon custom.

"What did it used to be before?" asked one of the two ladies supping coffee at the next table, obviously having not spent too much time considering the pub name.

There's a fair few tiles on the floors and wall inside reminding of its previous incarnation.  We have to wait until the 17th May until we can drink indoors, but here's a sneak peak, as I snapped a picture on my excursion to the immaculately smart & tidy WC.

Beers on offer on our visit were Tring 'Ridgeway' best bitter and the finely-named 'Side Pocket for a Toad'.  Both were served straight from the barrel and both were lovely.
It looks like these two will be the regular ales whilst others will be sourced from local breweries once things get back to 'normal'.

It's great to have a micropub in Oxford.
The landlord who we chatted too was thoroughly friendly and enthusiastic and I whole-heartedly hope that it's a roaring success.

Finishing our beers, we walked five minutes through the side streets of Headington to the hidden gem that is The Butchers Arms.
Prop Up the Bar crap pub pictures are back!...

The Butchers Arms (5 Wilberforce Street, Headington, OX3 7AN - web)
Around one year ago we stood in a queue that stretched around the corner to have our random containers filled with Seafarers Ale.  When it became clear that the barrels in the cellar weren't going to outlast lockdown, the good folk at the Butchers offered the chance to come and collect some real ale in exchange for charity donations.  Which was nice.

Rare 2021 Pump Clip Pic

The small enclosed garden to the side of the pub is a bit of a suntrap and a lovely peaceful spot.  We seated ourselves at a nice freshly painted table to which a pretty superb pint of Hophead was delivered.  
Extra points for the pub having it's own branded beer glasses, commemorating a 150 year anniversary (152 now).

Moving on from the Butchers Arms we walked the short distance across to the narrow lanes and alleyways of Headington Quarry, where you'll find this regular award-winning pub...

Mason's Arms (2 Quarry School Place, Headington, OX3 8LH - web)
In my humble opinion, the Mason's has been a real lockdown winner thanks to the Saturday evening online quizzes which gave us something to look forward over the gloomy pub-less weekends.
Okay, so Chris is the most easily distracted pub quiz host ("what about question 7?  Did I miss question 7 folks?") and there were a fair few contested answers - none more so than the rhubarb and custard/pear drops picture round debate.
But a massive thanks has to go out for putting this on every week.

The Mason's Arms have transformed their back garden, with plenty of tables and two covered areas.  So you can guarantee that I'll take a picture of it that does all the hard work no justice whatsoever...

All being well, we'll be back inside from the 17th May and maybe even one step nearer to pub life as I remember it in June.
Hopefully it won't be another 5 months before I'm posting again.  Fingers crossed the blog will feature some new pubs in new locations for me, new beers and the same old written waffle and grammatical errors.

Cheers 🍻 !

Oxfordshire Pub Round-Up

For a final post of the year, I figured I'd look back to some of the Oxfordshire pubs visited in the summer months.
I may have grumbled at the time about the restrictions imposed on a visit to the pub...  Little did we realise how glorious those summer days were, before we stumbled onward to lock-downs, tiers and substantial meals.

Let's start with the counties latest Community pub - a sure-fire contender for the Good Beer Guide 2022, if there is one.

The White House (Grove Road, Bladon, OX20 1RQ - web)
The campaign to save this pub saw 430 people, including locals and folks from further afield, purchasing shares in the White House when Greene King decided to sell the property.  

The pub has links to Winston Churchill, who was born a short distance away at Blenheim Palace, drank here, and is buried in Bladon's church cemetery.
We sat in the 'Churchill Bar' just to the right of the entrance. 
We didn't scribble '...is a racist' on the portrait. 
We did enjoy a lovely pint of White Horse ale.

Jumping back a little to September, we spent a day in the northernmost reaches of the county, making the most of a lovely bit of beer-garden weather.  Catching a train to Banbury we proceeded to walk up the Oxford Canal to Cropredy, which has two pubs to visit.

The Brasenose Arms (Station Road, Cropredy, OX17 1PW - web)
The Brasenose is famous for being the birthplace of the Cropredy Festival, when members of Fairport Convention met here in the early 70's to plan a music festival.

I've not knowingly ever listened to a Fairport Convention song.

We got a brief glimpse inside, as we following the route to the bar and back out into the large back garden.
Welcoming pub.  Great ale.  And a South African dog in a window.

Next to the church is the village's second pub, The Red Lion, where we enjoyed a decent pint of Butcombe Original and a sandwich in the garden to the rear.

A pleasant walk across the fields took us to Cropredy's neighbour, Great Bourton.

I'm reliably informed by the Hook Norton website that only two other villages in England have church bell towers sited away from the church itself.
And there it is below - expertly photographed with the pub sign in the foreground, if I say so myself...

The Bell Inn (Manor Road, Great Bourton, OX17 1QP - web)

This Hook Norton Brewery pub was rebuilt in the 1920's and doesn't look especially pub-like from it's exterior.  It featured another pleasant little beer garden though, and drinking some Hooky when in this neck of the woods is obligatory.

The Bell, Great Bourton.

We continued our north Oxfordshire ramble from Great to Little Bourton, which has a roadside pub called The Dirt House (Southam Road, Little Bourton, OX17 1RH).

I was insistent that we had to visit a pub called the Dirt House.  Mrs PropUptheBar remained unconvinced.
In my mind, the Dirt House should be a seedy establishment, with Motley Crue hanging out there.  Except it wasn't - it was smart and modern, with a friendly welcome and a decent pint of Fullers 'London Pride'.

The Dirt House.

Hopping away to a couple of pubs just to the NE of Oxford itself, both on the wonderful Green Belt Way path that circumvents the city.
Along this route you'll find the peaceful village of Beckley.

The Abingdon Arms (High Street, Beckley, OX3 9UU - web)
The pub has a blue plaque due to being frequented by Evelyn Waugh.  Which makes a change from Tolkien or CS Lewis, although I bet they both drank here at some point - they drank everywhere!
This is another Community-owned pub, which is thoroughly pleasant inside, but the back garden is the real winner.  As the village of Beckley sits on an elevation, there are great views from here across Otmoor.

Listed in the 2020 Good Beer Guide, the Abingdon Arms has slipped out of the 2021 edition, which is a shame, because the pint of Little Ox 'Yabba Dabba Do' that I had here was superb.

Leaving Beckley southbound on the footpath, it's just over a mile to the next village, Stanton St John, where you'll find the Talkhouse...

Talkhouse (Wheatley Road, Stanton St John, OX33 1EX - web)

This featured one of my gripes of the Covid-pub-world - the ridiculously long-winded one-way system.  Out through the garden, along the road and back in through the front door to go to the loo.  One of several one-way systems encountered this summer which ensured you passed many more people following the rules than if you just took the direct route.

On the whole, beer quality was great in the summer, thanks to clean pipes and sensible reduction of cask ales available for limited customers.
But sadly the London Pride at the Talkhouse had undoubtedly been sitting in the barrel over a couple of early week closed days.  It was pretty awful.

Look here comes the barman, asking how the beer is.  Here's your chance...
"How's the Pride?"
"Fine, thanks."
Heck, I'm rubbish sometimes.

The bar at the Talkhouse - nice display of taps along the wooden beam.

Finally, for the last pub of the post, a trip down into the South Oxfordshire Chilterns.

The Highwayman Inn (Exlade Street, Checkendon, RG8 0UE - web)
A current regular in the Good Beer Guide, this country pub is in good walking country.  You can get disorientated in the woods, or lose the path in the posh College grounds heading back toward Woodley, both of which I managed to do.  Need to improve the map-reading.

If you want a proper rustic country pub experience, then the fantastic Black Horse, a mile or so away, is the best option.  The Highwayman meanwhile, dates back to 1625, but has a smart modern feel with most of the interior set up for dining.
There is a small bar area to the right of the front door, with a stone floor and too many scatter cushions.  Ales on the bar were from West Berkshire and Loddon, with my pint of 'Hullabaloo' on good refreshing form after all the walking.

And that - for the time being - is that.
For anyone who's stumbled across the blog, read any of the mistake-littered nonsense that I write, or just looked at the pictures, thanks for the visit.
Let's hope that 2021 brings much more cheer and the chance to prop up the bar again.