Tag Archive: pub

Review: The Bennetts End, near Ludlow

Sometimes you get a better view from a hill than a mountain. You’re probably expecting something philosophical now, but I meant it literally. Take the Clee Hills, for instance. Driving up over towering Clee Hill you are greeted by one of the vastest views in England. Stretched out before you are four different counties, and …

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Review: The Butcher’s Arms, Eldersfield

Well, that was jolly good. The Butcher’s Arms is a proper country pub, honest and comfy. I’m getting heartily sick of walking into gastropubs that turn out to belong to a boutique chain of identikit establishments, walls hung with photos of pheasants and foxhounds, deja vu menus of hand-dived scallops and sticky toffee pudding. So …

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Review: The Pound, Leebotwood

I’ve driven past The Pound dozens of times without looking twice. Oh, it’s a decent enough looking pub, but it’s right on the busy A49, the main trunk road for the Marches. Both the pub and the little village of Leebotwood that the A-road grinds its way through pass by in a grimy haze without …

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Review: The Dysart Arms, Bunbury

The Dysart Arms is part of the Brunning & Price chain of pubs, one of those groups that has worked out the gastropub formula and is busily replicating it in 30+ places across the country. Normally I’d pick an independent instead, but Harden’s gave it a thumbs up and we were winding our way home …

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Review: The Talbot, Newnham Bridge

All over the land the same story is played out. A country pub closes, typically a tired boozer beloved of the village, and like a phoenix from the ashes it re-opens as a country hotel with cosy rooms, period features and an aspiring dining room. Some pay lip service to their old role by leaving …

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