The Double Locks, Exeter

Published: Sep 18th, 2009 | Author: The Beeralist

We popped in to the Double Locks on the canal near Exeter for lunch on the way down to our recent holiday Wembury. It’s an old favourite of mine and I’ve been coming here sporadically for 30 years.

The Double Locks, Exeter

The pub building itself hasn’t changed in that time, but what was originally a free house selling mainly Wadworths 6X became a Smiles pub in the late 90s and then a Young’s pub after the demise of the Bristol brewery.

Although a Young’s pub the beer selection does still feature some local Devon beers – notably from O’Hanlons and Branscombe Vale. Many of these are served on gravity from barrels racked up behind the bar and I’ve no proof but I bet they all outsell the Young’s own beers. The beers are all well looked after and my usual favourite is the O’Hanlons Yellowhammer (although that had run out).

The canal-side location for the Double Locks is superb in good weather and the pub is best approached on foot or by bike. By car the pub is tricky to find and then you have to drive across an extremely narrow bridge over the canal to get onto the towpath and then on to the car park.

My curse on the residents of Exeter is that is always rains when I visit the Double Locks so we have to eat and drink inside. Whilst I love the place, not all members of my family agree and liken the inside to a bus station waiting room. It’s not helped matters that sometimes the food has been a bit average in the past. This summer however it was pretty good. I still may struggle to keep everyone onside next summer.

I’ve just noticed that the Double Locks is no longer in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. I’m wondering if that’s because the competition in the area has got better – I hadn’t noticed any drop in beer quality on my (admittedly infrequent) visits.

You can read a more recent review of the Double Locks here.

Filed in: Devon, Pubs | Tags: O'Hanlons, Young's | 1 Comment