Winchester (like St Albans) has so many good pubs that it’s not possible to include all of them in one itinerary, but we had a go at getting to some of the best ones. I don’t propose to go into a lot of detail since I wrote up a broadly similar pub crawl of Winchester last year, but I just want to mention the ones I got to in case you wish to visit the yourself. I’ve also included links to my own reviews for each of the pubs.

King Alfred Statue, Winchester

I arrived in Winchester slightly earlier than my friends and so started with a brief return (after 20 years) visit to the Westgate Inn near to the station, closely followed by the Exchange in Southgate Street which was new to me. On the way to the meeting place I also popped into a much improved St James Tavern on Romsey Road.

The first pub on the actual itinerary was the Fulflood Arms just west of the station – a great community pub in a residential area. After this we strolled into the centre of Winchester for a slightly disappointing experience at the Eclipse by the cathedral. A better experience and some delicious Bowman’s Swift One was given to us by the Old Vine close by. This got our beer of the evening award.

Past the cathedral next to the Wykeham Arms – an ex Gales, now Fullers institution. We were there on the last night before the refurb started so beer selection limited – should be reopening soon.

It was getting dark now but we found our way across the Itchen to the Black Boy up Wharf Hill, on the east of the city for some Flowerpots Bitter and Bowman’s Wallops Wood.

Getting late and some were off to the station, but others returned to the Old Vine for a second opinion on that Swift One. Mmmm!

A night like that always leaves me wanting more of good places, and thinking about the pubs we didn’t get to – like the Hyde Tavern and the Roebuck which are both worth a visit.

Here’s to the next time!

Other Winchester Related Posts

• An Evening in Winchester (Before) Jul 21st, 2009
• An Evening in Winchester (Part 1) Jul 23rd, 2009
• An Evening in Winchester (Part 2) Aug 10th, 2009
• An Evening in Winchester (Part 3) Aug 11th, 2009
• An Evening in Winchester (Part 4) Aug 12th, 2009
• Other Winchester Gems Sep 4th, 2009

This post mentions the ones that I didn’t get to but that in my view are still worth a visit.

The Fulflood Arms

The Fulflood Arms, Winchester

A recent addition to my Winchester favourites, the Fulflood Arms is situated in Cheriton Road on the west side of the station – ie away from the town centre. I believe it’s been refurbished fairly recently and it’s now a friendly, welcoming pub in a residential street.

The Fulflood Arms is a Greene King pub, but like the Green Man on Southgate Street you wouldn’t guess that from the eclectic beer selection. I’ve seen Triple FFF, Itchen Valley, Cheriton and Bateman’s beers here as well as a couple of GK ones. The food’s good too.

There are games in the corner including a bar billiards machine, and I believe they have quizzes mid-week.

Read a more recent pub review of the Fulflood Arms here.

St James Tavern, Winchester

St James Tavern

This Wadworths pub is at the bottom of the Romsey Road – just up from the West Gate. It’s a small cosy pub with a triangular frontage. Despite its size there are two distinct areas inside.

The beers are much as you’d expect for a Wadworths pub and usually seem well-kept.

Read a more recent review of the St James Tavern here.

Bishop On The Bridge

Bishop on the Bridge, Winchester

The Bishop on the Bridge is a large pub at the eastern end of the High Street – near the King Alfred statue. It used to be an Eldridge Pope pub many years ago, but became a Fuller’s pub about 10 years ago.

I like the interior as it’s light and airy. The vibe is very relaxed although the barstaff are efficient. The beer selection is what you’d expect from a Fuller’s pub including a tasty Gale’s HSB – a personal favourite.

The food menu contains few surprises but the food itself is tasty and good value.

Out the back there is a patio area – attractive because it’s away from the traffic and next to the fast flowing river Itchen. However it was threatening rain on my last visit here so we stayed inside.

Read a more recent review of the Bishop on the Bridge here.

So that’s about it for my write up of Winchester pubs – except to refer you to the previous posts concerning the ones that I visited on my recent evening out:

• An Evening in Winchester Part 1 – Albion, King Alfred, Hyde Tavern
• An Evening in Winchester Part 2 – Old Vine, Green Man
• An Evening in Winchester Part 3 – Wykeham Arms
• An Evening in Winchester Part 4 – Black Boy

Also you can see a Google map with all my favorite Winchester pubs. And the Pizza Express is good too…

The Black Boy

The Black Boy in Winchester - taken in December 2003

As mentioned in my previous post, the Black Boy is the best pub in Winchester (in my view) and well worth finishing up at. But it is also one of the furthest pubs from Winchester station – a good 15-20 minute walk. Luckily the barstaff will happily call you a taxi to whisk you back to the station in time for your train. (Actually I still owe Geoff for the fare)

The Black Boy was hardly worth a glance when I actually lived in Winchester 20 years ago, but it has grown piece by piece into a must-visit stop on any pub crawl of the city. The pub is full of bric-a-brac and stuffed animals, and rows of books. There’s enough in here to keep you occupied for days. The pub is noted for its selection of games and the regular Wednesday night games of Go were in full swing.

Bric-a-brac inside the Black Boy, Winchester.

The many levels and areas maintain their own atmosphere even though none of them are far from the centrally located bar. There’s even a patio area outside for the sunnier days. However, we stayed inside as it was getting dark by the time we arrived.

The beer selection at the Black Boy changes, but Pots Ale from Cheriton and Hopback Summer Lightning are constants. On the night of our visit the Pots Ale was superb – tasting even fresher than that at the Hyde Tavern which seemed liked ages ago, but was just 4 hours beforehand.

We arrived just in time to get some food (kitchen shuts at 9pm) and were both impressed by the huge plates of ham egg and chips that were set down in front of us.

After the food we decided to have some games of table football, and we were soundly thrashed by a group of what turned out were championship players. We retired hurt and drowned our sorrows with one last pint before our taxi arrived.

Any time you spend at the Black Boy is never enough and I can’t wait to go back again. I recommend this pub to everyone.

Read about all the pubs we got to:

• An Evening in Winchester Part 1 – Albion, King Alfred, Hyde Tavern
• An Evening in Winchester Part 2 – Old Vine, Green Man
• An Evening in Winchester Part 3 – Wykeham Arms

And the ones we didn’t get to:

• Other Winchester Gems

The Wykeham Arms

Wykeham Arms, Winchester

After the disappointment of the Green Man being shut it was good to find a pub that was actually open.

The Wykeham Arms is located just south of the cathedral in Kingsgate Street. It’s just round the corner from Wykeham College so technically outside of the old city I believe.

An Eldgridge Pope pub when I first started visiting 20 years ago, the Wykeham Arms has been through a chequered beer history. From the Royal Oak and Thomas Hardy IPA, and then the Bass years, the Wykeham Arms was eventually taken over by Gale’s a few years ago. The Gale’s beers – especially HSB suited the dark interior of then pub. When Fuller’s acquired Gale’s in 2005 the Wykeham Arms effectively became a Fuller’s pub although one or two Gale’s beers are still stocked alongside London Pride and ESB.

From an atmosphere perspective though not much has changed over the years. The pub has always attracted the money with its location in desirable streets close to the college and the cathedral. But I feel it’s never been snooty about it – not a thought that everyone agrees with. It is however a shame they never show the 6 Nations and other key rugby games on the TV in here any more – the vibe in the pub during games was electric.

The interior hasn’t changed at all either. It’s very traditional – wood panelling, and bric-a-brac hanging from the ceiling. The links to the college are represented with photos and framed exam results.

Some of the tables are old metal-framed desks bolted together. And note the truly curved glazed door as you come in from the street – expensive to reglaze I’m sure.

I’ve already mentioned the glorious HSB (see also a previous posting about Gale’s beers) but the Wykeham Arms provided my first opportunity to taste Gale’s Seafarers – a very drinkable summery pint, but nothing remarkable. Sensibly I had this before my pint of HSB.

Gales HSB pump clip at the Wykeham Arms, Winchester

The collection of old Gale’s (and other) pump clips on a high shelf is an interesting distraction. See the really intricate HSB one here (click on the thumbnail to see the picture in Flickr).

You can probably tell that I would recommend this pub to anyone who finds themselves in Winchester.

But we have one final destination to cover tonight – the Black Boy. So a quick walk across the top of the water meadows and up the hill past the old canal wharf and we’ll be at the best pub in Winchester.

Write-up continues here.

Giles Coren always writes outspoken articles and he certainly didn’t mince words about a trip to the Wykeham Arms. Read the article here.

Read about the pubs we got to:

• An Evening in Winchester Part 1 – Albion, King Alfred, Hyde Tavern
• An Evening in Winchester Part 2 – Old Vine, Green Man
• An Evening in Winchester Part 4 – Black Boy

And the ones we didn’t get to:

• Other Winchester Gems

The Old Vine

The Old Vine, Winchester

Having met my friend at the station we headed straight over to the Old Vine in Great Minster Street opposite the cathedral.

I occasionally used to visit the Old Vine when I lived in Winchester 20 years ago and it was very popular. But it got a lot less attractive over the years – descending into an awful chain pub format.

I was alerted that things had changed for the better at the Old Vine through the reviews on Beer in the Evening and I returned earlier in the year to investigate.

The interior of the Old Vine has been extensively refurbished and the pub is now split into two halves – a restaurant side and a pub side.

The Old Vine, Winchester - Good real ale selection on the bar

The restaurant seems very busy but I’ve not actually eaten here – I’ve just focussed on the pub side which was also very busy on our Wednesday evening trip.

The Timothy Taylor Landlord seems to be a permanent fixture, but on this occasion I had the Summer Ale from the Hog’s Back Brewery) – quite a dark and malty beer for a summer drink but tasty nevertheless.

We had a few more pubs to do so didn’t stay for more than one.

The Green Man

The Green Man on Southgate Street is another pub that has resurrected itself after some time in the wilderness. Even the barman at the Hyde Tavern couldn’t believe it was actually worth going to these days. But it’s definitely worth the short walk away from the centre.

The interior is very atractive with wood everywhere and a beautiful green tiled fireplace in the side wall. There’s even a skittle alley out the back but I’ve never tried it.

The Green man is a Greene King pub but you wouldn’t believe that from the usual selection of real ales. On my previous trip in March I think GK IPA on gravity was the only GK beer available.

Well Geoff and I had a shock waiting for us as the pub was closed – due to electrical problems – or so the sign said. That was a real shame as I could see that one of the handpumps was for Bowman’s Swift One – one of my favourite beers.

Thwarted, we had to head down the hill to the Wykeham Arms – one of the more famous and historic pubs in Winchester.

The write-up continues here.

Read about the pubs we got to:

• An Evening in Winchester Part 1 – Albion, King Alfred, Hyde Tavern
• An Evening in Winchester Part 3 – Wykeham Arms
• An Evening in Winchester Part 4 – Black Boy

And the ones we didn’t get to:

• Other Winchester Gems