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Pub Guide

Opening Times

Issue 129 Winter 2006

Download a copy of Opening Times 129 as a PDF file - 1.7 MB

BRIXHAM - Beer and Birds

This is an account of a holiday in Devon. We began with an overnight stop at the Waldegrave Arms in Chewton Mendip, Somerset, chosen from the Good Beer Guide because of its location and its Butcombe Bitter. On arrival after five hours travelling in need of refreshment, we were aghast—no Butcombe Bitter! However I settled for an excellent pint of London Pride, and after a very fine meal the Butcombe arrived to send me to bed happy.

Next day off to our destination, Brixham, Devon, which was bereft of pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide. An e-mail to the local branch chairman had brought no welcoming news on the beer front, so our own practical research was the order of the day. It was the day of England’s fateful match against Portugal, so two tasks lay ahead - find a decent pub with decent beer and a big screen. After a quick check of the harbour and High Street we decided on the harbour and the Sprat and Mackerel which provided Otter Bitter in very good condition. Four pints and a bad result later we trudged back up the hill to our chalet.

The evening saw a variety of entertainment. We were very lucky in that 2006 marked the 50th Anniversary Tall Ships Race, a repeat of the 1956 race from Torbay to Lisbon, this time with over 70 ships competing from over 20 countries. Two magnificent ships from the Tall Ships Youth Trust were moored alongside the New Fish Quay in Brixham, manned by new trainees from the Trust. A superb Irish folk band performed their drinking songs outside on the quay and the evening finished with a bang - a fantastic firework display. It was this night that the birds really made their mark, on my car in particular, as hundreds of Herring Gulls flew around, screeching eternally.

Sunday saw us venture into Torquay on a real scorcher of a day and I’m afraid we gave up the search for Good Beer Guide listed Hole in The Wall and settled for the air-conditioned and aptly named London Inn, a Wetherspoon’s in the Strand and supped excellent Scattor Rock, Scatty Bitter. Days later we spotted the Hole in The Wall when driving through Torquay (100 yards from the Wetherspoons).

Monday saw us off to Princetown on Dartmoor. We lunched on the best fish and chips I’ve had for ages, sitting on a sunlit park bench. Then we went into the Prince of Wales, brewery tap for Princetown Brewery where I fought off the urge for Jail Ale 4.8% and tried the Dartmoor IPA 4.0% - which was excellent - and ‘enjoyed’ views of the prison. There are two Good Beer Guide pubs here within 200 yards, so we took a short walk up to the Plume of Feathers, which again featured Princetown but I tried the St. Austell Bitter, which I had not found for a while apart from at beer festivals. This is a good pub for kids, walkers and campers with bunkhouses at the rear.

The evening saw us find the best pub in Brixham centre, the delightful Maritime Inn, run by a lively Liverpudlian lady called Pat. Watch out for the parrot (especially if you’re in open toed sandals) and a mad dog called George. The pub is situated up a hill—stand on the quayside and look up. The beer that night was Otter Bitter but from the range of clips there was obviously a regularly changing guest beer.

Tuesday saw us off to Totnes where we walked to the top of the steep High Street and found a pub serving O’Hanlons Yellow Hammer brewed locally in Whimple. Williams Butchers, in Totnes High Street is recommended for their pies and sausages - gorgeous. After Totnes it was off to the Good Beer Guide listed Cherub in lovely Dartmouth for a house ale brewed by Summerskills of Plymouth and Sharps Doom Bar from Cornwall to delight the palate. A three tiered pub but with a fairly small bar and parking in Dartmouth sure ain’t easy.

Wednesday and we were off to Dawlish where just outside the town on Teignmouth Road is another Good Beer Guide pub, the spacious Smugglers Inn, with a lovely patio, good coastal views and good food. The local brewery–Teignmouth, supplied us with Reel Ale, another good brew.

You may wonder what we did when we weren’t in the pub? Suffice to say that Devon is the home of Cripple Cock Cider with flagons available everywhere. Devotees of the long gone St. Neots Riverside Festival will remember Dixie bringing along a barrel or two, which we had to ‘water’ down so that it wasn’t too strong to drink. Fresh fish from the harbour and sea food all washed down a treat. Those sea gulls bouncing around on the roof weren’t going to wake me up!

Thursday and we went to revisit a pub I had been to many years ago, the partly thatched, 13th Century Church House Inn in Torbryan, near Ipplepen, set in classic Devon country lanes, and situated next to Devon’s most uniformly attractive village church, a 15th century building of white beer stone. The grade 2 star listed building had changed on the inside but externally it retained its quaintness. It had been extended into two former cottages on either side of the original pub to provide 16-bedroom accommodation and an eatery, but the pub still retains its charm and its oak beams and wood panels taken from a Spanish Armada ship. The beer was Skinner’s Betty, with Cornish Knocker also available.

Come evening and it was back to the Maritime Inn where Teignmouth Springtide had replaced the Otter and the dog George was playing ball with any new unsuspecting drinkers.

On our last day, Friday, we decided to drive into Kingswear, which is just across the River Dart but a 20-mile drive. There is a ferry across the River Dart and you can also get there by steam railway. By road, the hills here are mentally steep, so it is best to park near the Station and walk to The Ship (Good Beer Guide listed) in Higher Street. Here I tried Otter Ale, a bit stronger than the ordinary bitter. The view from the outside patio across the River Dart shows Dartmouth in all its glory with the Royal Naval College a pronounced feature. It was back to relative flat land to Churston and the Good Beer Guide listed Weary Ploughman, a large free roadhouse with good food and multifarious real ales. I settled for my third Otter beer of the week and definitely the best – Otter Bright, a very more-ish beer. The Ship is next to the station for the preserved Dart Valley steam-railway, which runs from Paignton to Kingswear. Weighing everything up, looking at all aspects, the Ship was probably the best pub, luckily saved until last!! Oh yes, and the weather was good as well!

Mike Birch and Angie Sutton