Propping Up the Bar in Droitwich Spa

In which we set out to visit a quartet of pubs in the Worcestershire spa town, before being lured back to Worcester itself to partake in the evils of craft beer and a final Good Beer Guide tick.

Droitwich boomed in the 19th century when a chap called John Corbett made his fortunes from salt works, taking advantage of the natural brine springs in the area.  Corbett became known as the Salt King and later helped develop the town as a Spa, promoting the medicinal benefits of bathing in the salty waters.

The brine baths are gone now, all the passengers on our busy train heading to Birmingham's Christmas market instead of a day out at the Spa.

The Talbot (19 High Street, Droitwich Spa, WR9 8EJ)
We had a bit of an odd start when we arrived at the Talbot at 11:55.
(I'd read online that they opened at 11:30 - believing opening times on the web in 2021 is a rookie mistake)
"We're not really open, but just wait a minute and I'll get someone" said the staff member who looked a little surprised to see us.
A group of six also made their way in, so at least we weren't the only eager early birds. 
And it was them who got the blame for sneaking in early (erm, through the open door). 
And they got served first.

The front bar, which isn't really open yet

Waiting our turn gave me chance to contemplate which of the four Craddock's beers to pick, although in the chilly weather it was always gonna be the stout.

I really liked the Talbot.  Nice basic front bar with bench seating by the window facing the bar counter, and a fine room to the rear on two levels.
We took our drinks to the armchairs by the log burner at the end of the room and made ourselves comfortable.

But we'd made an hour and a half journey to get here which couldn't be justified by sitting in one pub drinking Craddocks beer all afternoon, however settled we were in our armchairs.

It was just a short stroll down the road to reach the next destination...

Old Cock Inn (77 Friar Street, Droitwich Spa, WR9 8EQ)
Rather unusually, the pub incorporates a large window from St Nicholas' church on its frontage.  On a street that contains several picturesque historic buildings, this is the oldest pub in town, first licensed in 1712.

It's multi-roomed inside, with a central bar which has counters serving the front and back rooms and the corridor.  The whole back room was set up for festive food, with many of the other tables reserved, although we still got a fine spot facing the fireplace in the front bar.

There's a solid Marston's line-up here - Wainwright, Cumberland, Hobgoblin Gold and Banks's Mild.  The Mild is my pick of the bunch, along with some tasty pub grub at sensible prices.

The Old Cock made the Beer Guide in 2021, but has been displaced by the Hop Pole in '22.  And that's where we headed to next - handily just 30 seconds across the road.

The Hop Pole (40 Friar Street, Droitwich Spa, WR9 8ED)
What a lovely place - lots of dark wooden beams, lots of character.

And on the bar a Sarah Hughes 'Dark Ruby Mild'.  Yup, that'll do!
The other options were two ales from Wye Valley and a Ledbury 'Gold', but who needs other options?

And just to show I'm not completely averse to this Christmas lark...

From Friar Street we walked a short way to Vines Park, through which the restored Droitwich canal flows.

Across the other side of the park was our fourth pub, which was looking glorious in the afternoon sunshine, the tower of Dodderill church hidden in the trees behind it.

The Gardeners Arms (47 Vines Lane, Droitwich Spa, WR9 8LU - web)
Arriving at the bar the cask Tetley 'Gold' looked to be an unusual find, but they didn't really have any, making 'Tribute' the only available ale.
I was intrigued with the mysterious bottles and plastic shot glasses.  £1 - oh, go on then.

"Mmm, that's actually quite nice" I said, eliciting a frown from the landlady. 
"Well did you think I'd sell something 'orrible?!"

Actually the Tribute was horrible and past its best, but somehow I managed to get half way through before realising.  Should've been on the ball and taken it straight back for a replacement Stan's cider.

Mmmm...mysterious shots

There were a fair few more pubs in Droitwich, but my prior research had suggested that we'd have drank a lot more Banks's had we explored them.
So instead we caught the next train back to Worcester, where the Craft Inn was directly across the road from Foregate Street station.

Craft Inn (54 Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1DX - web)
Crazy names these craft beers - my pick of Pomona Island 'I Feel Weasels On All Sides' wasn't even the wackiest of the lot.  'A Ferret Stole My 60" TV' took that accolade.
I starting babbling about beer names to the lady next to me in the queue to the bar. She clearly marked me down as being completely bonkers, whilst I was wondering how strong those shots in the Gardeners Arms were and whether the second one had been a bad idea.

There was just one Good Beer Guide pub which had eluded me so far in Worcester, so we set out to make the ½ mile walk across the River Severn and past the County Cricket ground.

We were on our way to...

Bull Baiters (43-49 St Johns, Worcester, WR2 5AG - web)
It was worth the walk.  Situated in a medieval timber-framed hall house, this was a fantastically atmospheric place to drink in.
A step-up from the old Bull Baiters micro which used to be a short way down the road and had scuppered us by being closed when we walked out here a few years ago.

Next to the Kettle crisps and pork scratchings were the pump clips advertising today's ales.
I opted for the 'Bull Baiters Mead Ale', brewed in nearby Inkberrow by Ambridge Brewery.  I should know better than to pick anything with 'mead' in the name, as this gave to flash-backs to some ill-advised quaffing of home-made mead last year.

This really was an incredible little bar and a good place to end the day.
I've even managed to resist including a picture of the mummified cat in the wall.

Heading out into the cold dark streets of Worcester it was time to make our way to the station and fall asleep on the train home.
Cheers! 🍻

Ambling Through Axminster

Having spent Friday night in Frome I was half-way to my mum's in Devon, which is where we set off for after breakfast.

Mum was standing on the doorstep, waiting for a full report on the previous evening's Half Man Half Biscuit gig and demanding to be taken to Axminster to visit a new micro pub.

Some 28-miles east of Exeter, Axminster is home to just under 6,000 folks and is best known for giving it's name to a type of carpet.
It was looking lovely under wintery  blue skies, although -hell's bells- it wasn't half scarf and gloves weather.

Aiming to get indoors, we made our way through the backstreets to the town's Good Beer Guide listed pub, the Axminster Inn...

Axminster Inn (Silver Street,Axminster, EX13 5AH - web)
We should be wary - the last Trip Advisor review, by someone called 'Warers', is titled 'Royston Vaisey' and says "clearly a locals pub...landlady made us feel unwelcome".  Uh-oh.

No doubt it was a locals joint, with a host of regulars sat around the edges of the main room all having a quick peer at the odd fella who'd just opened the door.  But they said hello to us and the landlady was super welcoming and keen to tempt us with the mulled wine.

This was a pub of two halves.
Cosy bar with big wooden tables and a log fire roaring...

And a very different second room through the archway to the right...

Yikes!  That's not proper pub seating

We really wanted to sit by the fire, but as there was no space there we were relegated to the modern room on the swivel chairs.

Being a Palmer's pub there was a trio of their ales on the bar: 'IPA', 'Copper' and 'Dorset Gold'.  The Gold was fine and well kept, whilst mum and Mrs PropUptheBar succumbed to the mulled wine and we entertained ourselves by spinning around in our chairs to a soundtrack of sixties crooners.

Drinking up, we went on a search of somewhere that would sell us some food and found our way to the Castle Inn.

The Castle (Castle Hill, Axminster, EX13 5NN)
This was another pub of two halves, with basic no-frills bar to the right and a small dining room to the left.  And again I found myself sat in the half that I didn't really want to be in, shown to the dining table where I couldn't see the football on TV and had to be sociable instead.
Drinks-wise, there was a boxed cider on the bar whilst hand pumps dispensed St Austell 'Tribute' and Dartmoor 'Dragon's Breath' - a very drinkable winter warmer which tastes stronger than it's 4.4% ABV.

Disappointing lack of carpets to say we're in Axminster

With lunch done we made our way to the railway station, where the unused part of the building has been transformed into a new micro pub.

The Ale Way (Axminster Station, EX13 5PF - web)
This has only been open since May 2021, having had a couple of previous planned unveilings scuppered by lock-downs.  It's a smartly-done conversion of old Victorian railway offices, with a tiny ground floor room containing the bar and seating for half a dozen.

On the hi-tech beer board there's Bristol craft, Silly Cow cider, more Dragon's Breath and the Powderkeg 'Inkling' cask milk stout, which is what I picked and enjoyed.
Up the stairs is more seating and railway-orientated furniture, maps and reading material.

I reckon there's another three pubs in Axminster, plus the Beer Guide listed Hind at nearby Musbury which scuppered me with it's odd opening hours.

We did manage to make it to one more East Devon GBG entry over the weekend - the Drewe Arms in the Blackdown Hills...

The Drewe Arms (Broadhembury, EX14 3NF - web)
But we didn't visit at the best of times, calling in mid-afternoon on a Sunday when I figured lunch would be over, only to find folk lingering and stretching out the dining experience.
This left us with an uncomfortable perch near the bar, balancing our glasses on a narrow ledge.
Otter 'Amber' and 'Bitter', Hanlon's 'Citra' and a Dartmoor 'Best'.  Four beers for a pub-full of people quaffing wine and keg cider.  Which was probably why my Dartmoor was very so-so.

I suspect it turns into more of a village pub in the evenings, when I'd like it a lot more.
Lovely old building; wrong time to visit.

It was time for us to call it a weekend and head back to Oxfordshire.
I'll leave you with a picture of Broadhembury which was indeed a charming East Devon village...

Frome Pub Explorations - Continued

Following on from the last post, we're in Frome, apparently one of the most difficult place names to pronounce properly in the UK
Hmmm... I struggle more with Leominster personally.  Let alone most place names in Wales.

We were on our way to see Half Man Half Biscuit, with a few pub visits beforehand.

As dusk fell, we walked along Whittox Lane - a street which leads you away from the lights and action of Catherine Hill, into the darkness, making you question if you're going the right way?  Then the illuminated sign on the side of the Griffin appears in the distance and all is well.

The Griffin (Milk Street, Frome, BA11 3DB - web)
The Griffin was formerly the brewery tap for the Milk Street Brewery - now renamed the Frome Brewing Company and located on the edge of town.
The pub has had a recent refurb and change of management, but it's still the local Frome ales on offer on the bar - 'Funky Monkey' or 'Sunny Y' when we arrived, with the Zig Zag stout that I really wanted being put on too late, just as we were leaving.

On the downside, the Griffin had a 'please wait to be seated' sign as you entered and all tables were reserved.  Fortunately we were early enough to be able to keep a spot in the corner warm for the folks for whom it was booked later.

As well as the cask ales there was an impressive run of craft taps.

Mrs PropUptheBar's eyes light up when she sees the crafty options, although she inevitably later complains that keg beers are too cold.
Here's the extreme measures taken to warm up the Boxcar 'Dark Mild'... 

First Aid Burns Kit to Table 5, please!

Nice bagatelle board at the end of the bar... 

And as we're not far from Bristol it's almost inevitable that Banksy has called by to leave his mark on the wall of the gents...

Walking back into the centre of town we made our way to the Three Swans on King Street.
My picture comes from when we passed earlier in daylight hours, just to confuse the continuity.

Three Swans (16-17 King Street, Frome, BA11 1BH - web)

This is a great little 17th century inn which was doing a good trade when we arrived.

The Christmas lights were being turned on in Frome on this Friday evening which I figured had made everywhere busier, although we later saw a lot of the pub customers in the gig, so Half Man Half Biscuit were also doing their bit for Frome's pub trade.

The guest ale was in the second room so I'll never know what I missed out on, whilst at our bit of bar was a Buttcombe 'Best' and my enjoyable Abbey 'Bellringer' at £3.70 a pint.

There's a fine cattle trough in the gents WC serving as the urinal.  No picture of this, which is probably for the best.

Moving on we poked our heads into Arcangel at the other end of King Street - great multi-roomed set-up, but very modernised and the beer on offer was nothing exciting.  Instead we made our way past the crowds around the Christmas light celebrations and headed to Brewed Boy.

Brewed Boy (4 Cork Street, Frome, BA11 - web)
This was our second crafty place of the day, although Brewed Boy was a very different beast to Palmer Street Bottle, with more of a brewery taproom vibe.
There's a few small tables, the odd bench and some barrels in the corner creating makeshift perches.  Eight taps offered up a good choice of beers from the likes of Lost & Grounded and Deya, whilst we also took advantage of Bakerman Dan and his sourdough pizza's in the back yard.

I was delighted to meet up here with Beer and Pubs forum member Jon, who'd been kind enough to provide me local knowledge and suggest which pubs we should visit in our limited time in town.

Brewed Boy was a thoroughly enjoyable spot where I was comfortably settled, but I had to finish off my milk stout and make a move toward the music venue.

The Cheese & Grain was originally an 1870-built agricultural market hall, which was transformed from derelict building to music venue in the early 00's. 
And it's a great venue in which to see a band - a spacious, high-roofed hall with a decent cafe/bar to one end.  What Pub suggested the possibility of real ale being available, but if there was, I missed it. 
Straight-in for the Thatchers Haze.

HMHB - great setlist incorporating almost all my favourites

It may seem I'm subjecting Mrs PropUptheBar to a bit of domestic cruelty by making her endure 90 minutes of aging blokes from the Wirral playing songs with a shedload of cultural references that mean nothing to her.
Don't worry - she's getting her own back next summer by making me watch Imagine Dragons.  Again!  And Imagine Dragons are woefully short of moments where the audience get to shout-along  "Fuckin 'ell, it's Fred Titmus!"

Cheers! 🍻

Frome Pub Explorations

Our travels took us to the Somerset town of Frome, where we'd booked to stay the night in order to catch one of only three shows this year by the legendary Half Man Half Biscuit.

Arriving mid-afternoon we had an itinerary taking in trad pubs, micro pubs and crafty beer joints, which should make for a good little pre-gig crawl.
And here's how it went...

On the weekend that our first alphabetically named storm hit the UK, the West Country weather was a mixed bag.  We were briefly blessed with a bit of blue sky and sunshine, leading me to quickly take some photographic evidence...

Having only previously made short stops in the town, I was won over by Frome's cobbled hilly streets and general charm.

Our exploration was curtailed by a sudden downpour which 'forced' us into the first bottle shop/taproom that we passed...

Palmer Street Bottle (11 Palmer Street, Frome, BA11 1DS - web)

The front room consists of bar, beer fridges, a couple of tables and some bench seating, with plenty more space in a room to the rear.

We arrived on the day of a Track Brewery tap takeover.  Not that there are that many taps to take over - just the four - on which they had various guises of pale ales from the Manchester brewer.

These kind of places don't tend to be the most characterful spots, but it beats drinking craft cans on your sofa in your underpants.
I enjoyed my Track 'Without a Word' IPA.  Although the conversation between the other punters and the bar staff about buying your Christmas turkey direct from the farmer and various ways to cook slabs of meat was enough to send a timid vegetarian running for the hills.

Earlier in the day we'd visited this fine-looking historic inn 7-miles outside of Frome...

The George Inn (High Street, Norton St Philip, BA2 7LH - web)
I'll be honest, this isn't a drinkers pub - no propping up the bar here.
I'd seen pictures of this spectacular exterior when I was looking for oldest pub claimants and decided it was worth rubbing shoulders with the gentle-folk diners to pay it a visit.

We sat on a small table in the main bar by the 15th century fireplace, ordered our Butcombe 'Gold' along with toasted cheese sarnies from the bar snacks menu.

But only one of us could have a cheese toastie, as they only had one left.
How do you run out of cheese toasties?!  If you popped round to mine I'd probably have the ingredients to be able to knock up a few toasted cheese sandwiches!  (I wouldn't recommend it though - very erratic opening hours, dodgy music and dreadful customer service..)

 

We stuck to snacks, but I'm sure the fare on the main menu was very nice - the couple at the next table were gushing over their plates and passing on compliments to the chef.

Built in 1397 by Carthusian monks, this has continuously served as an inn ever since.  It may serve as more of a hotel and restaurant now, but that didn't stop me being mightily impressed with the building around me.

Back to Frome, and we were heading to the micro pub.
Whose directional signage had gone a bit wrong...

Arrow issues

Just Ales (10 Stony Street, Frome, BA11 1BU - web)
This is a proper micro pub, based in what was once a small cafe, and run by a team who also run another Just Ales in Wells.

The pub dog had the prime people watching spot in the window, but was a mighty grumpy old soul, launching into mammoth barking fits at selective passers-by, whilst others just got a low growl of disapproval.

Not all good vibes from the grumpy pub dog

This is a micro that is not going to be to everyone's taste.
The aroma is distinctly 'dog'.
The decor consists of past pump clips, a large picture of an ape playing chess, and jokes on blackboards.
There's a lot of furniture but not many places to sit.  The gaffer has commandeered the best table for himself, whilst many seats are useless because you'd block the route to the cider, or set your trousers alight by being too close to the gas fire. 

Yet we liked it!  We were comfy in the window, everyone except the dog was relaxed and cheerful, and the beer was good.

Three cask ales on the bar on our visit: two from Goffs and - my pick - a brown ale from the North Yorkshire Brewing Company called 'Flying Herbert', which was very nice and in fine condition.
There were also around 10 boxed ciders on offer and, being as we're in Somerset, it seemed appropriate to try at least one of them.  

I'll leave you with a taste of the pub humour...

...and pick up where I left off in the next post, when we continue our pre-gig wander around Frome.