79.
Wantage, Sunday tea time, nothing else to do, 9 January 2005
We pay our licence fee, yet they serve up
shit. That is what I thought of the BBC one Winter Sunday afternoon during EastEnders
after the FA Cup coverage had finished. Dave Wacey and I could find nothing
decent on TV so decided to do a bit of a car crawl. I was driving so had to
drink weak stuff slowly - surprisingly this was not nearly as big a chore as I
had feared (thank goodness for Manns Brown Ale). Earlier in the day I had
travelled to Bicester to see Elsevier in Sunday Cup action, and afterwards, had
stopped into the Hundred Acres, an estate pub doing Brakspear, for a cheeky and
swift half. From the taste, I do not think that they sell much of it. It was an
OK pub, but I suspect later in the day may have filled with families having a
spot of lunch.
Much later on, we decided to hit the road,
and a gentle drive to the Cherry Tree at Steventon followed. This is quite a
nice pub, and although foody, does make sure that the beer drinker is still
kept happy with five beers to choose from - Henry's IPA, 6X, JCB, Old Father
Timer and Hampton's Ironside. Their beer is also very well kept indeed, and we
enjoyed is in a leisurely fashion near a real log fire. After pottering around
for a bit, we arrived at the Hare in West Hendred which was not so good, having
Abbot, Morland Original and 1799. I suppose Sunday tea-time is not prime pub
visiting hours, so this may explain the quietness. The building does not lend
itself to cosy corner drinking either, which is a shame, but there are some
reasonable seats near the bar. Once again, there is an emphasis on food.
In Wantage, we had a look around and a
look through the Good Beer Guide before deciding to ignore that
publication and head for the Kings Arms. This is a nice old building with low
ceilings and a friendly atmosphere. There are also some good seats. Dave
reported that the Reverend James was excellent, they also did Morland Original
which I declined. There was a very good selection of bar snacks, both wet and
dry. A pub that is in the Good Beer Guide is the Royal Oak which had
just opened by the time we went in at 7.10. This is a fantastic place with two
bars, a table football machine and an excellent array of beer (and whiskey
too). It takes regular West Berkhire beers, such as Dr Hexter's Wedding Ales,
Healer etc (named after the landlord), Mr Chubbs, Maggs Mega Mild, Old Father
Thames. They also have 6X, Brakespear and Spiced Porter (excellent, with notes
of sasparilla according to Dave). This is a splendid pub, quite old fashioned
but very clean, and well worth an evening's reflection. The beer is also
reasonably priced and tastes good.
Final pub of the day before getting back
for the Midsomer Murders was the Volunteer at Grove which was selling
five different Hook Norton products - Old Hooky, Best, Double Stout, Generation
and the usefully weak 'Dark'. It is a comfortable and well layed out pub.
Another factor driving their overall rating up was the fact that their beer is
kept extremely well. I fully recommend a return visit to this pub too. Indeed I
recommend a visit by bus to Wantage which will allow the opportunity to do the
remaining pubs, and the Royal Oak again.
Dan
Lovegrove
dan@doctor-lovegrove.com
Last updated 17th January 2005.