The Odd Wheel, Wembury

The Odd Wheel, Wembury, Devon

Given it’s location just down the road from the farm it’s not surprising that this was on the agenda. I’m pleased to note that the pub is still attracting locals and tourists after being reopened in late July 2010 following a long closure. There have been some tweaks to the interior and there is now some new play equipment for the younger pub goers as well.

The number of real ales available at any one time has stabilised at 5 all of which are served via hand pump. Courage Best is still a permanent fixture but Sharps, St Austell and local Summerskills beers were available during the week and my takeaway container was busy. The Sharps Honey Gold was superb and my favourite from the week, but all the beers I tried were obviously kept well.

It still saddens me that faced with a good selection of beers there are still people who plump for the John Smiths on keg – aargh!

The Odd Wheel is a popular eating venue now and the food was good but not the best from the week – see The Foxhound below. Booking a table is strongly advised in the evenings during the peak holiday months. There are expensive items on the menu but some cheaper items are there too – and a childrens menu.

Read the full pub review of the Odd Wheel.

Clovelly Bay Inn, Turnchapel

One evening we headed over to Turnchapel after a gap of some years. The road around Staddon Fort provides some breathtaking views over the bay to Plymouth.

Turnchapel is a tiny, cramped little place and I would seriously advise not attempting to drive down the narrow hill to get to the pubs as parking is almost non-existent and finding somewhere to turn round is a challenge too. Having learned from previous visits we parked at the top of the hill and walked down.

There are two pubs in Turnchapel and the Clovelly Bay Inn is the first one you come to – on the left. It has a striking new coat of yellow paint so you shouldn’t miss it. It’s the current (2011) local CAMRA Pub of the Year – an award it stole from the Borringdon Arms just a little further up the road.

Four real ales and a real cider were available. I tried a taster of all the beers and liked the Dartmoor Legend the best followed by the Cottage Wicked Hound. My wife enjoyed the Skinners cider too.

Some might consider the food a little pricey but the quality is superb and the portions are large. The pub was initially quite empty at 6pm but quickly filled up. The atmosphere was very friendly and it would be a superb pub to have as a local. There were big smiles from all the family for the Clovelly Bay Inn.

The Foxhound, Brixton

Walked from the farm in Wembury over to Brixton one evening along the Erme Plym Trail. Our aim was to visit the Foxhound which Ron had kindly recommended to me in the comments for the Odd Wheel, Wembury review. Compared to walking along a regular pavement the walk was perhaps a bit demanding for my 6 year old but even she agreed it was worth it afterwards.

The Foxhound is on the main A379 road in the centre of the village and right next to the chip shop. There are two main bar areas and a small dining room off to one side at the back of the pub.

There were five hand pumps on the bar with some local choices (two from Summerskills) and some from further afield. Booking tables is advisable as the pub does get full of diners.

For the younger children there’s a box of toys. Bizarrely this is placed close to the bar in the larger of the two seating areas. Those wishing a child free drink may prefer the smaller bar on the right as you come through the front door.

We didn’t walk back to Wembury but used the reasonably priced local taxi firm.

But I was intrigued that none of the Ripley pubs have ever graced the pages of the Good Beer Guide in the editions I’ve got from the last ten years. Some of the pubs must be doing something right as they can be obviously busy at times when I’ve driven through the village.

So given a fine summer Thursday evening and a friend and two bikes we went exploring.

Seven Stars

The first stop was the Seven Stars which is not in the centre of Ripley but about half a mile along the road towards Pyrford. It’s a large pub for such a remote location but a welcoming one. From the small real ale selection we chose the Hogs Back TEA. This favourite from the local-ish Hogs Back brewery was a recurring feature of pubs in Ripley as we were to discover.

Anyway the beer was in good condition and was enjoyed in the attractive garden behind the pub. I didn’t eat but my friend had a superb ham, eggs and chips. Overall a good experience and a pub to return to. I’d like to explore the food menu a bit more.

Talbot Inn

Once into the centre of Ripley we parked up the bikes and started at the Talbot Inn. The Talbot is right at the northern end of Ripley and is an old coaching inn. Apparently Nelson used to stay here too on his way to Portsmouth. The older parts of the inn have been extended with more modern dining areas and accommodation blocks.

As non-diners we weren’t really supposed to crash the patio immediately behind the pub but they lacked the will to shift us so we stayed. The Talbot may have a reputation for food (if you can afford it) but the Hogs Back TEA chosen from a conservative selection of beers was disappointing. Good job we were only drinking halves. We didn’t stay long.

Half Moon

Over the road to the Half Moon. We were practically the only customers on this Thursday evening – does it ever get busier? Full of interesting bric-a-brac felt welcoming – but empty. Bypassing the Courage Best we opted for Shere Drop from the local Surrey Hills brewery and it was not bad, but not the best pint of the night.

Anchor

After the Half Moon we strolled tp the southernmost pub in the centre of Ripley – The Anchor. But we quickly beat a hasty retreat when we realised all the handpumps were turned round. The pub looked interesting and I’ll explore another time when hopefully they’ll have some real ale on.

Ship

Last pub of the topur was the Ship – right in the centre of Ripley. Compared to the rather empty pubs we’d visited up to now the Ship seemed buzzing. Despite being strangers we were made to feel welcome by the barman and the Hog Back TEA (again) was actually very nice. Unfortunately evenings don’t last for ever so we couldn’t stay long but the Ship is definitely a pub I’d want to visit again.

Our Ripley cycle tour was a good evening and yielded a couple of good pubs – the Seven Stars for food and the Ship for best beer and atmosphere. Maybe we should have been in Ripley on a Friday night – perhaps the pubs would have been much busier. And it was good to see local beers (Hogs Back, Surrey Hills) present in amongst the more national brands.

Full reviews of these pubs will appear soon.

Ones We Missed

On the night we didn’t have time to visit the Jovial Sailor – a Chef and Brewer pub just south of Ripley. I’ve read lots of negative reviews about this place but they must be doing something right as the car park always seems to be full when I drive past. There is also the Saddlers Arms close by on Send Marsh.

Of course some of you may recognise that these pictures show what became of the Cove Bar – London’s only cornish pub which closed at the beginning of 2011 – see So Farewell to the Cove Bar in Covent Garden for my sparse collection of photos from the Cove. The transformation is significant – gone is the plain wood and the cosy rustic charm. Also gone is the old bar formed from a part of a real fishing boat.

I’d like to thank the staff of La Duree who were happy for me to take these pictures even if they weren’t really sure why. I even tried to describe what the Cove was like since the French staff had never experienced its previous incarnation.

See also my original pub review of the Cove Bar and Cornish Beer in Covent Garden from 2009.

The Speaker in Westminster

Don’t expect them all to be on at once – Dennis has 4 handpumps and he sets aside 2 of them for his festival beers. Contact the pub directly (020 7222 1749) if you need to know what’s on today. Also, remember that the Speaker doesn’t open at weekends – just Monday to Friday midday – 11:00pm.

Anyway, here’s the list:

• Zenith Pale Ale (ABV 4.0%) Summer Wine (Holmfirth, W. Yorkshire) – No tasting notes available.
• Pail Ale (ABV 3.7%) Concrete Cow (Milton Keynes) – A very pale beer brewed using lager malt and hops.
• Welsh Pale Ale (ABV 3.7%) Breconshire (Brecon, Powys, Wales) – Pale golden and mildly hopped, based on an old Welsh beer style.
• Brentwood IPA (ABV 3.7%) Brentwood (Brentwood, Essex) – A lightly hopped, pale session beer.
• Harvest Pale Ale (ABV 3.8%) Castle Rock (Nottingham) – Pale yellow and hoppy, Champion Beer of Britain 2010.
• Whitwell & Mark Pale Ale (ABV 4.4%) Derwent (Silloth, Cumbria) – A full flavoured, classic pale ale.
• Farne Island Pale Ale (ABV 4.0%) Hadrian & Border (Newcastle upon Tyne) – A copper coloured, well balanced bitter.
• East Anglia Pale Ale (ABV 4.6%) Humpty Dumpty (Reedham, Norfolk) – Dry, amber coloured best bitter with a citrussy aroma.
• Leeds Pale (ABV 3.8%) Leeds (Leeds) – A golden, citrussy ale with a hoppy finish.
• Palmer’s Best Bitter (ABV 4.2%) Palmer’s (Bridport, Dorset) – A predominantly malty best bitter. AKA Palmer’s Traditional IPA.
• Funnel Blower (ABV 4.5%) Box Steam (Colerne, Wiltshire) – A dark brown porter with a subtle vanilla aroma.
• Burton Porter (ABV 4.5%) Burton Bridge (Burton, Staffordshire) – Smooth yet smoky, hints of coffee and chocolate.
• Bottle Wreck Porter (ABV 4.7%) Hammerpot (Poling, West Sussex) – A traditional, flavoursome black porter. Named after a local 19th century shipwreck that contained hundreds of bottles of porter.
• Yorkshire Porter (ABV 4.4%) Old Mill (Snaith, East Yorkshire) – A delicious, slightly sweet porter with roasted chocolate flavours and a pleasant hop aroma.
• Old Slug Porter (ABV 4.5%) RCH (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset) – A rich, dark brown beer. Chocolate, coffee, roast malt and hops, with lots of body and dark fruits.
• Black Bee (ABV 4.5%) Phoenix (Heywood, Greater Manchester) – Brewed with a blend of roasted malts and honey.
• Captain Pigwash (ABV 5.0%) Potbelly (Kettering, Northants.) – An easy drinking, dark porter.
• Humpty Dumpty Porter (ABV 5.4%) Humpty dumpty (Reedham, Norfolk) – A full bodied, malty brew with hints of liqourice.
• Battledown Porter (ABV 4.5%) Battledown (Cheltenham, Glous.) – A dark red porter with a hint of coffee, velvety smooth and rich in malt.
• ST. PATRICK’S SPECIAL – Shenanigans Black Lager (ABV 4.2%) Harviestoun (Alva, Clacks.) – A black lager brewed with roasted barley. Strangely familiar.
• ST. PATRICK’S SPECIAL – Paddy’s Tarmac Tipple (ABV 4.5%) Moles (Melksham, Wiltshire) – A dark and smooth porter style beer with a rich, fruity palate.

See you there…

Related Posts

• The Speaker in Westminster The highlight of our pub crawl in the St James's Park area of Westminster was a pub called the Speaker. Aug 13th, 2009

Hassocks: 21st Century Station

For reasons which I won’t go into I started my train journey at Hassocks – about 9 miles north of Brighton. Hassocks is on the main Brighton line but few trains actually stop there. I expect it used to have grand station buildings on both sides of the tracks but at some point they were taken away to be replaced with some awful prefabricated structure. To call it a shelter would be unkind to other shelters. It may gleam in its Southern Railway green paint but no amount of paint is going to disguise that the fact that it looks like old cardboard boxes. The spanking new ticket gates cruelly show up what a toilet the station is – except of course there is no toilet…

The Evening Star

Gloomy February in Brighton - the station looms at the end of Surrey Street

It was extraordinarily foggy in Brighton and when I arrived it was difficult to make out the country end of the platforms. It was cold too. But the dense, prematurely dark gloom only made the Evening Star even more welcome than normal. The atmosphere was lively and predominantly male this evening. The popularity meant that we were sharing a table with two other parties – something that often happens in the Evening Star.

Dressed lightly for a gig the cold had got to me so my first drink was a coffee. You can choose from instant or cafetiere – choose the latter, it was superb.

The welcoming Evening Star

After that it was beer. The Evening Star (pub review here) belongs to the Dark Star brewery so you expect some of their beers. Tonight the cask choices were Dark Star Hophead, Golden Gate and Sussex Original, with Milton Pegasus and another couple of guests which I’ve forgotten.

Now in London (somewhere like the Harp) I’d normally opt for Hophead but here I went for the Golden Gate. After the coffee the citrus of the Golden Gate really cut through – much more so than the Hophead that Jon had.

Only a brief visit to the Evening Star this time as we were hungry and wanted to eat before the gig. So back out into the gloom.

The Basketmakers Arms

Brighton pubs are great when the sun is shining but in this dark, misty gloom they welcome you like a long lost friend. It was fully dark by the time we reached the Basketmakers so no usable pictures from my mobile unfortunately.

Delicious whitebait from a previous visit to the Basketmakers Arms

We’d chosen the Basketmakers as the food is very good – and the beer too (See my Basketmakers review). First drink was a Gales HSB while we pondered the menu. The HSB was excellent as usual although I’m sure it’s not as dark as it used to be – something I thought during a recent trip to the Royal Oak in Borough where Gales HSB is a regular guest. Comparing the colour of what we had with the HSB photo on my photo page for the Round House in Covent Garden I’d say the current HSB seems much redder.

Food-wise I opted for a delicious Haddock and Chips – good portions, and well cooked. The girl at the next table was having a whole baked camembert which I’d missed on the menu but it looked amazing. I’d imagine a whole one might be too much – you could share it with a portion of whitebait which is also good here.

Just time for another beer so we tried the Castle Rock Preservation. Lighter in character than the HSB it’s still quite full flavoured but the hops are much more restrained than the Dark Star beers from earlier.

It’s good to see that Fullers allow two guest beers at the Basketmakers now – the other was Butcombe Bitter.

Being at two out of my three ‘golden triangle’ pubs in Brighton (we missed the Lord Nelson) of course prompted discussions about which one was best. It’s a conversation that never gets resolved but for all round appeal I’d say the Basketmakers Arms was the best pub in Brighton (that I know about). They even let children in too – a mixed blessing of course.

British Sea Power

After leaving the Basketmakers we strolled down to Komedia on Gardner Street – only to bump into a few people we’d just seen at the Basketmakers. I’d never been to this venue before but I’d definitely go again. It’s not a huge venue but it’s not tiny either. The sound and view were both superb and the placing of the bar in a separate area (like the Cavern in Exeter) makes for a better experience in my opinion. The bar sold bottles of Hepworths Sussex and Iron Horse – makes a change from Fosters etc.

British Sea Power were brilliant and they played a lot from their first album as well as the new Valhalla Dancehall. A cut-down excerpt from Man Of Aran was good too. The support – Team Me from Norway were also excellent. They weaved some amazing textures and complicated rhythms in their short set and I bought their EP.

So straight out the door after the single encore for a swift walk/run back up the hill to the station. We just made the train…

Related Items

• My pub reviews of Brighton
• Post on previous Brighton pub crawl
• Google map of Brighton pub crawl