23/07/17 - Oxford Pub Crawl

The final section of a Long Distance Walking Path, the Wye to the Thames, delivers us to the City of Dreaming Spires for traditional end of adventure celebrations.

No problem finding boozy inspiration.   The 2017 Good Beer Guide has 12 entries.  This excludes several city classics.   Even after careful planning, we manage to miss the location where Bill Clinton failed to inhale.

The Bear, Alfred Street, ESB

It's not in the GBG but who wouldn't visit a Fullers Pub with 4,500 neck ties, wall mounted and on display?

The Bear

We time things perfectly to a) get a bar seat in one of the tiny alcoves and b) get in before a gaggle of around 20 foreign students burst in to buy drinks individually.

Prime position to engage in chat, mainly around the price of Oxford Hotels.   As this was a celebration night, I was seriously tempted to splash out on the Randolph Hotel.  Until I saw the booking.com price of £400 per night.   One of our fellow drinker in here used to work in the kitchens.

Apparently, they are minging.

It's my perfect pub and the ESB was in top condition.   Have a butchers at my new FB profile pic.

A man at peace with the World

St Aldgates Tavern, 108 St Aldgates, XT 2

Short hop, skip and a jump and we are getting our first GBG Tick in Oxford.   This is a classic looking Victorian City Centre pub.  One that tourists shouldn't walk past.  It's practically a living museum.

First Tick in Oxford

Quite a fan of the XT Brews and later tonight, I learn what the numbers mean from a beer towel in another pub.   I'm not sure if I knew the higher the number, the darker the beer.   I definitely didn't know they went up to 9.

An uninspiring, lifeless yet aptly named, number two today.  Not a great example.   All nice and quiet until our tranquility was interrupted by a rabble of annoyingly noisy twenty-somethings who Mrs M thought had been punting.

She may have got her University cities confused.

The Royal Blenheim, St Ebbes Street, White Horse Waylands Smithy

Possibly the first time I have ordered a pint simply because it's named after a place I have walked past.

I'm new to the White Horse brewery and this is one of their tied pubs, dispensing the full range with the odd Everards on offer too.

Functional enough, this single room Victorian pub was empty apart from us.   We were driven out by the light metal music that was gently being piped in for entertainment.

But not before Mrs M rested her post 11 mile walk achy foot

The White Rabbit, 21 Friars Entry, Shotover Oxford Scholar

The Blenheim was tick number 2 and after a struggle finding an alley round the back of the High Street, this was tick number 3.

It was worth it for several reasons.   Quiz night had brought the students out in force and the place was packed.  We thought about joining in, but two of us against the elite minds of the University world?  Really, we should have.   I might not have known the official name of a Jaw Bone but I did clean up on the music round, with most songs from the 70's or 80's.

This was a pub done well - food seemed to be only pizza.  Real ale was limited to two or three.  And a first Oxford Scholar was easily pint of the night.

Students, the same the world over

The Eagle and Child, 49 St Giles, Hook Norton Old Hooky

We were hoping to get two more visits in - a non tick here and a tick at the Lamb and Flag over the road.   However, its been a long time since I have been out in a strange place on a Sunday night and it would appear the 10:30pm Sunday Licences laws are religiously adhered to.

We try this one first - because of its literary connections.  CS Lewis and Tolkien met here weekly in the Rabbit Room, under the group name the "Inklings".

I wonder if the beer was as bad then?

An Inkling Ghost - Haunting the Rabbit Room since poisoned by Old Hooky in 1962

The beer was terrible - flat, cloudy and rank but was changed for a bright Brakspear Oxford Gold with no complaint, once the offending article had been tested for opaqueness by being held to the light by two different barmen.

It's 10:32 when we cross the road to try the Lamb and Flag.

All the chairs on on the tables.  The night is over.  Till next time, Oxford.