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.

Brains SA at Morrisons

Anyway, quite a few reductions from the normal 500ml bottled beer price to report this month:

• Shepherd Neame – Master Brew – £1.00
• Wyre Piddle – Piddle in the Hole – £1.05
• Brains – SA – £1.25
• Brains – SA Gold – £1.25
• Wells & Youngs – Banana Bread – £1.50
• Jennings – Sneck Lifter – £1.50

There are also these 4 Badger (Hall & Woodhouse) beers – all at £1.49:

• Golden Champion
• Golden Glory
• Fursty Ferret
• Tanglefoot

All these prices are effective until 21st August 2011 according to the shelf labels.

No sign of the £1.00 Brewers Dark from J W Lees that’s been a cheap mainstay for some months. There’s no empty allocated space on the shelves so it’s not certain if that long-running offer has finished now. Perhaps the appearance of Master Brew at £1.00 is a signal there.

Alcohol Free

One other offer to mention this month is the 8 can fridge packs of Bavaria 0,0 alcohol free beer at £2.00 – that’s 25 pence a 330ml can. Non-alcoholic beers are not to everyone’s taste I know but this one is pretty good, especially straight out the fridge on a warm summer evening (if you get those where you live).

Unfortunately Morrisons don’t stock the Bavaria 0,0 Wit any more – a delicious and fruity non-alcoholic wheat beer. Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the dreaded Tesco’s soon as my stocks are running low.

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.

Bottles

Lees Brewers Dark at Morrisons

The prevailing price of 500ml bottled beer seems to have crept up to £1.75 now so finding deals on the beer is even more important now.

The two really low-priced favourites are still on the shelves although the Wyre Piddle Piddle in the Hole has increased to £1.05 leaving the J W Leew Brewers Dark as the only one at £1.00.

I thought the Castle Rock Kiss Me Kate was a limited edition but there still seems to be plenty on the shelves at £1.50. The only other price reduction is on Greene King’s Very Special IPA which is £1.49 – pretty good for a beer that’s 7.5%! But that’s way too strong for me.

Cans

A very uninspiring selection of cans in at the moment but one cheap price did stand out – 4 x 440ml cans of Thwaites Mild for £2.98. Perhaps appropriate for CAMRA Mild Month…

Non-Alcolholic

No special deals at all on any of the alcohol free brands, and unfortunately the delicious Bavaria 0,0 Wit seems to have disappeared off the shelves completely now.