27.
Cycle crawl of villages surrounding Banbury,
Finally, Dave Wacey
and I managed to get a proper cycle pub crawl done. Although it was mid-May,
the temperature was not that hot and the clouds gathering but we thought that
we'd get something done anyway to get us into the swing of things.
A gentle crawl taking in about 10 pubs on
a circuit of villages east and north of Banbury was
decided upon. Collecting a
We started away from Banbury
and passed the closed Bowling Green, which looked a bit restauranty
anyway. It began to piss down as we were climbing a hill near Overthorpe and we nearly turned back, but then resolved to
get ourselves at least to Middleton Cheney. With the weather clearing a little,
we went into the Red Lion, a pleasant enough pub with Pedigree and a rather
good half of Hook Norton Best at a reasonable price. Many sorts of snack were
also on display, complete with an immaculately groomed dog. Good curries can be
purchased at mealtimes. Second pub was the Dolphin where we watched a bit more
of the Conference play-off final. A toothless cider drinking pierced yokel
engaged us in conversation so we drank up quickly. Real pork scratchings were amongst the bar snacks which was just as
well as the beer was limited to various Charles Wells offerings on piss-flow
and an actually quite good supply of Eagle IPA on pump.
Next up about 2 miles up the road was the Midsomer Murders-esque George and
Dragon at Chacombe, a splendid traditionally
decorated country pub, with a flavour of modernity
and noted was an extensive menu. The beer range was reasonable too - Theakston's Best and Directors served by a tarty looking girl. Atmosphere was excellent and it would
be a fine place to spend an evening, especially if
they connect up some of their unused pumps.
A cycle past a closed pub in Upper Wardington took us to Lower Wardington,
and the Hare and Hounds. It looked nice from the outside, but was cramped on
the inside and had old people's home chairs. The Gents were poorly signposted
and minged. A middle aged woman served Hook Norton
Best and Copper Ale. Nothing to write home about in terms of
price or taste though. After the customary crossing of a field, we found
our way to Cropredy where we were to have a guest
appearance from Mr Graham Buckley. In order to kill a
little time we stopped at the Brasenose Arms, an excellent local drinking den
which seemed very welcoming. You could spend many hours getting to know locals
in here. We chose to have Broadside which was excellent if not outstanding or
remarkable - I expect that the Brakspeare Special and
Hook Norton Best were likewise.
The second pub at Cropredy,
by the canal, was the Red Lion where we were joined by G. This is a low beamed
thatched pub with several rooms. The front room is by far the best with seats
in the fireplace and window. Beers consist of Hook Norton Best, Tetleys, Deuchars IPA and
Hobgoblin. Dave reported that the IPA was excellent too. G drove to the Bell in
Great Bourton whilst we followed on bikes, which
marked a step down in the quality of pub. The tarty
barmaid had switched to this one for her evening shift and we were given the
choice of Hook Norton Best, JCB, Hook Norton Generation or Clarks Festival. The
generation was distinctly on the turn. Despite the talent, excellent bar snacks
and beer range, the atmosphere left a lot to be desired.
G had to leave us at this point, so we
made the short trip to Little Bourton, and the main
road placed Plough, really just a restaurant with nothing special. Our barmaid
pulled a quite good pint of Pedigree - Broadside, Bass and Hook Norton Best were other offerings. The atmosphere was again poor and I
wouldn't choose to return. The final pub of the day after a razz into Banbury was the Reindeer which we had been told about
earlier and we were not disappointed! A fantastic range of Hook Norton ales
(Mild, Best, First Light, and Old Hooky) greeted us, plus JCB. The mild was
less than £2 a pint and was outstanding as was the First Light. The decor was
very cosy too, much nicer than those shiteholes selling alcopops at
teens which seem all too common in Banbury. If
there's one pub in this area to visit, make it this one. Superb, and has
Charles II history with the Globe Room out the back. Had there been some
barmaids, it would have had a record score!
Dan
Lovegrove
dan@doctor-lovegrove.com
Last updated 16th May 2003.