Variety Abounds
The Drunken Duck, a tiny micropub down a little alley, has a fine collection of Bibles on the window-shelf.
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| Running back to the last Millennium |
The natural thing is to check your home town - in my case - Stourport-on-Severn - to determine who made it in what year. The town has around 15 pubs - and in no time at all, I can see they have all made it during one year or another. Even the ones where I remember the beer quality, and in some cases, the pub itself to be dreadful.
This means the job of Good Beer Guide Ticking is a true Sisyphean undertaking. I expect much work to be done in the County Town since my last visit in Covid.
I start at the early opener in the fancily gentrified dockyard area. Dr Foster's lacking in naming stakes originality and I must admit to not holding out much hope in a restaurant.
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| Unapologetically Gastro |
Two major surprises - a Tap Takeover from one of may favourite Cotswold Breweries, Goff's. And everything £3 a pint. I mentioned my surprise to the barman, who simply replied "It's Wednesday, innit". Well long live Wednesdays.
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| Goffs Lancer - just add customers.... |
A short distance away is the Hop Kettle. Whereas the good doctor opens at 11am, the tardy kettle leave it to 3pm.
Moving on to the Drunken Duck - which I remember as Angie's and a wonderful landlord who insisted on calling you by your name as he adhered to Covid delivery rituals. Busy with deliveries, beer salesmen and debt collectors, who left fully paid up. Their own house bitter is Butcombe Original.
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| Drunken Duck - Angies No More |
The Fountain was Covid locked up before and I couldn't even get down the alley to take a photograph. It's discussed on the rather excellent Tourist Information audio tour. The oldest brewery and pub in the City, running since the C14th.
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| The Fountain |
7 cask on - most from South West Breweries. My Tribute a panic buy, after being challenged as to what I was doing scanning the Cask Marque QR code. Full of pensioners eating and if I picked poorly on my pint, I made a worse choice on the seating. You try balancing on a church pew with the smell of fish and chips in your nostrils. The Campaign for Comfy Pub Chairs starts again here.
I was looking forward to The Pelican, a Wye Valley House that simply gave up during Covid and didn't open at all. The door was firmly closed and with no sign of life inside. I was forced to re-check Google for opening hours that said it should be open. A push of the door and indeed it was.
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| Little sign of life in the Pelican |
A group of old boys, with the detritus of a serious session on display on their table, provided the eavesdropping entertainment. The Butty Bach was in fantastic condition. It's my regular pint in my GBG local, but it tops it here.
The Audio Guide had brought my attention to the New Inn, describing it as the finest galleried pub in the country. Built in 1440 by monks for pilgrims, I really had to investigate. Not least because Mr Rolls (of Rolls Royce fame) managed to run over himself here in 1896.
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| Gives the George in Borough High Street serious competition |
What it provided in architectural atmosphere, it negated by having a poor beer selection and no-one on point to serve. I was happy with my mooch around, ready to head back to the station in a thunderstorm.
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