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Branch Trip To
Warwickshire, February 2003
The first pub we
visited was the Red Lion at Northend, near Southam. Due to careful planning, we
arrived half an hour before opening but, thankfully, the licensee took pity on
us and let us in. A pint in this hospitable pub helped set the theme for the day
- swift pints and loads of travelling.
The Castle is hard to miss, with its
distinctive architecture. The pub gardens overlook the surrounding countryside
and you can brush up your knowledge of the English Civil War inside the pub, as
it has photographs and details of the Battle of Edge Hill, and DON'T trip over
the cannon!
With another wonderful bit of timing, we visit
the Norman Knight, Whichford, one week before they start brewing their own beer
at the pub.
The brewery will be quite small, so
don't expect to see much available in the free trade. Reason enough to visit
this lovely pub again sometime, I trust. A good front garden affords views of
the village, although it was a bit cool on the day.
The Norman Knight looks almost too
much of a village pub to be true, but it's attractive and popular with locals
and visitors alike. The friendly gaffer, Mike, made us very welcome and told us
about his plans for brewing. There's a car park at the back in case there's a
surge of scoopers trolleys.
The George Hotel has a fine set of
pumps dispensing most of the Hook Norton range of beers and a real fire, making
for a dozy Saturday afternoon. There are some good illustrations and cartoons of
locals dotted around. Let's hope the artist wasn't sketching us...
Who can be tempted to try their hand
at Aunt Sally in the pub garden? Nobody, by the looks of it, especially when the
rugby and football sports results on TV grab everyone's attention.
The Cottage Tavern is another pub with
a real fire as well as real beer. Also, there's a good dartboard available, but
the travellers seem to be tiring after such a hectic day. A craving for food
becomes apparent, and so far not a chippy in sight.
The Granville Arms at Barford is a
large, comfortable pub with a good restaurant. Although we didn't have time for
a 'proper' meal, sandwiches were available for those not satisfied with
scratchings or crisps (unless they'd eaten vegetarian sushi on the bus).
The famed Case Is Altered, at Five
Ways, Rowington. A great small and popular pub near Warwick, but maybe sudden
arrivals of groups of fifteen can get in the way of locals. At least the bar
billiard table doesn't claim as much floor space as do pool tables in some pubs.
The pub is bigger than first appears,
with a side room and corridor. (Photos taken in the gents will not be shown on
these pages for the sake of decency. However, they may appear in a future photo
quiz of "In Which Pub Were These Photos Taken?"
Some good pub games are in evidence,
such as shove ha'penny. (Worth a try, as it's a lovely game.)
A rare sight indeed. The Case uses
cask pumps to dispense the beers, which save on pipe-cleaning and seem to work
well. Once the bar billiard games were over, we piled onto the bus and back to
the Anchor to go our various ways.
Phil Glover © February
2003
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