Archive for the ‘Wiltshire’ Category
Salisbury Pub Crawl – Part 2
Nov 4th, 2009 |
This is the second part of my write up of a recent pub crawl round Salisbury on a grey Saturday afternoon in October. This post covers our time at the Wyndham Arms and return trip to the Village. Part 1 covered the Village, the New Inn and the Market Inn as well as a couple of others that were shut.
The Wyndham Arms
Having left the Market Inn we walked up the hill towards the bypass and the Wyndham Arms.
Wyndham Arms, Salisbury
Much has been written about the Wyndham Arms (Estcourt Road) and it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. However it’s a favourite of mine and Jon’s, and Richard liked it too.
The Wyndham Arms is a Hop Back pub – in fact the brewery used to be here before they moved out of Salisbury to Downton. The interior is quite plain but the main reason to come here is to drink the excellent Hop Back beers. There were 6 real ales on during our visit:
- Crop Circle
- GFB
- Summer Lightning
- Taiphoon
- Spring Zing
- Mixed Hops?
On the bar at the Wyndham Arms, Salisbury
(Apologies for the vagueness at the end of the list, my notes are illegible.)
Entire Stout was also available in keg form – ironic since the bottled version is bottle conditioned. Unusually there was no guest beer from the Downton Brewery.
I lost count of the number of drinks we had here but I can tell you that 1) the Summer Lightning was just as you’d expect, 2) the Mixed Hops had a distinctive flavour which I was still not sure about when I got to the end of the pint, and 3) the Taiphoon was noticeably spicey but not over the top – I’d not had it this good before.
We’d seemingly only been there for ten minutes when it was time to start our journey back to the station. Of course we’d probably been there for over two hours.
The Village – Again
Having abandoned plans to get the original scheduled train we headed to Deacons on Fisherton Street for a final round. But the beer selection did not inspire so we actually went back to the Village for the last one.
One of us even suggested taking advantage of the carry-out containers and he bought some dark beer that we can’t remember the name of to accompany us on the train. Two of us were still carrying pint glasses when we boarded the train so many thanks to the Village for their selfless provision of glasses when they were obviously not going to see them again.
Summary
All in all the trip was fantastic, and one day I’ll visit the numerous good pubs that Jon and I never got to. In Salisbury there are so many good pubs that we omitted a couple (Wig & Quill, Deacons) that you would dearly love to have as your local.
Salisbury Pub Crawl – Part 1
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Recently Jon and Richard and I made a return visit to Salisbury for a Saturday afternoon pub crawl. This post covers the first part of the day when we got to the following Salisbury pubs: The Village, The New Inn and The Market Inn. It also mentions the Rai D’Or and the Frothblowers Arms which we didn’t get to.
The Village
Village Inn, Salisbury
Having got off the train we headed first to the Village on Wilton Road, just north of the station.
Frankly, the Village is a bit scruffy but you go there for the beer rather than the plush furnishings. Perhaps just like a village it’s the people that are important. The locals obviously all feel at home and for strangers the atmosphere is welcoming.
If you’re a railway enthusiast you should definitely come to the Village as the pub is crammed with photos of trains and other railwayana.
On this visit I was drinking the Quadhop from the Downton Brewery – a beautifully tangy, hoppy pint.
The Village would be a good start to any pub crawl.
The New Inn
New Inn, Salisbury
From the Village we strode along Fisherton Street into the centre of the city and chose the New Inn as our next destination.
The New Inn in New Street was by far the busiest pub we visited in Salisbury that day – they must be doing something right. We did get a seat eventually in one of the many rooms.
The New Inn is a Hall & Woodhouse pub and I was pleased to see that the Lemony Cricket was still available. This pint has a definite hint of citrus but not too much (like the Grapefruit beer at the Jerusalem Tavern in Farringdon).
The bar at the New Inn, Salisbury
We grabbed some lunch here like most people were doing. The food was good and reasonably priced.
This pub used to be Salisbury’s non-smoking pub before the ban came in – not of course a unique selling point any more. There’s a large garden out the back with a view of the cathedral which is great for sunny days – not a gloomy October afternoon.
We tore ourselves away from this excellent pub after a couple of pints as we had a lot to get through.
Rai D’Or
The Rai D’Or in Brown Street looked good from reviews on Beer In The Evening but unfortunately does not open until 5pm on Saturdays. So we won’t be going there then.
Frothblowers Arms
Jon and I visited the Frothblowers in 2008 and we were looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with this small cosy pub. but this one was shut as well – despite the advertised opening hours on the door.
The Market Inn
Market Inn, Salisbury
The Market Inn is situated perhaps not surprisingly on the market square and is a pub that is more inviting than it initially looked. I’d certainly come here again.
There were 3 beers on: Ringwood Best, Sharps Doom Bar and Box Steam Golden Bolt. The last one was a tasty golden beer – very moreish.
Bizarrely food is only available from 3pm on Saturdays.
Read a write-up of the second part of our trip including the Wyndham, Deacons and a return to the Village.
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