(Get Your) Legs Down : January 2012

Yeah, I thought that might pique your interest! The idea here is a list of pubs within walking distance of caravan sites. A decent pint of real ale is important but ideally some grub too. These are all pubs we’ve visited whilst on our travels. Clearly more ‘research’ is needed - a tedious task but I'll do it for the benefit of others! Generally I've tried to stick to independent's rather than chains like Wetherspoons. I've nothing against them and readers of my blogs will know that we use them quite a lot - the beer is cheap and there's always a good choice of ale too, but they hardly need my support.

Wiltshire

Three Magpies, Devizes - 100 yards from @campandcaravan club site. Good pub grub and well kept Wadworth ales.

London

Westow House - 5-10 minutes walk from the Caravan Club site at Crystal Palace. Wide range of real ales and the food we had was good.

The Grape & Grain - same as above. 12 real ales and cider when we visited and the burgers were good. Jazz Sunday PM.

The White Hart - at the far end of the Crystal Palace triangle. Plenty of real ale on offer but have not yet tried the food.

Cambridgeshire

The Robin Hood - Green King chain pub but consistently good food and, on our last visit three real ales: Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and a seasonal. Less than five minutes walk from The Caravan Club site at Cherry Hinton, Cambridge

North Yorkshire

If you stay at the Caravan Club site by York's Rowntree Park, you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to pubs as it's only a short walk in to the city. The three pubs listed below are even closer and have all been painstakingly researched for your information!

The Old Ebor - the furthest away but an ever changing selection of real ales makes it well worth a visit. No food.
The Swan - A delightful old pub with two snugs and a central bar area. Plenty of real ales and ciders to choose from.You will have passed this on the corner on the way to the site.
The Slip Inn - the closest to the caravan site at less than five minutes walk away. Not open until 5pm during the week.

Rutland

The village of Greetham is home to the Rutland Caravan & Camping site and also three pubs. How convenient. Our second Twittercamp gave us plenty of research opportunities.....

The Wheatsheaf - smart pub and popular attached restaurant. Three real ales at time of visiting.
The Black Horse - under (very) new ownership when we visited - 4 days or so. Three handpumps but no real ale. Hopefully just teething problems.
The Plough - the nearest to the site and our favourite. Four real ales to choose from and the food we had was plentiful and tasty.

Warwickshire

The Caravan Club's site in Warwick is just a few minutes walk from the town and it's watering holes, of which there are ample. Here are a couple:

The Old Fourpenny Shop Hotel - Regular and guest ales with six handpumps if I recall correctly. Food, although only lunchtimes which we didn't get to sample. Our favourite pub during our October Twittercamp

The Old Post Office (@theoldpowarwick)- a gem of a place and heaven for real ale fans with beers straight from the keg. Local restrictions mean opening ours are limited, 12-9 Mon-Sat & 12-5 Sun. Well worth a visit. No food.

Cotswolds

Another Caravan Club site that is close to town and all that it offers is Moreton-in-Marsh.

The Black Bear Inn - Never got to try the food as, although it’s usually served seven days a week, it appears FA Cup Final day was not included! One of our party who got to sample their offerings during the week though said the pie was excellent. Three hand pumps if I recall correctly with beers from the local Donnington Brewery including the excellent ‘BB’. Also, the cheapest pub in Moreton at the time of our visit - May 2015
The Inn on the Marsh - Food available, although again we never got to try it. Plenty of real ale on offer - most from owner the Marstons group - including the delicious Ringwood Best. 2nd cheapest.
The Swan Inn - ate here twice and the food was pretty good without being outstanding. Three hand pumps with a changing selection of real ales. Function room at rear with a skittle lane. The closest to the caravan site and offers B & B too.
The White Hart Inn - Ales from the Hook Norton brewery on our visit. Food good although not particularly cheap. Dog friendly.
The Redesdale Arms - At least two hand pumps in this smart 34 room hotel. Didn’t get around to trying the food.

Bristol

The Caravan Club site at Baltic Wharf has a number of pubs within easy walking distance. Here’s what we have tried so far:

The Cottage Inn – Just a couple of minutes walk out the back gate from the site. Two real ales from Butcombe at the time of our visit. Ate there several times and never disappointed. Good value
The Nova Scotia – Just past the Underfall Yard but still only 7-8 minutes away. Four real ales on offer and the food was excellent value – tasty and a nice plateful.

(Get Your) Legs Down

Other Stuff:

Cambridgeshire

Bedfordshire

Gloucestershire

Pubs

Hertfordshire

Patsy’s Places

Norfolk