After visiting such good pubs in Alton (The Railway Arms) and Selborne (The Selborne Arms) I thought the pubs of Hampshire couldn’t get much better. The misses and I decided to have a day out in Winchester. After a look round museums and the sights I looked in the GBG to find a suitable place to have lunch. The Black Boy sounded an interesting place from the description and it was not far from the town centre so we headed off. From the outside it looks rather bland and almost looked as if it was closed.
As soon as we walked though the door we could see that it was going to be a nice little pub, but nothing could prepare us for the rest of this amazing pub.
At the bar were a number of ales including Hop Back Summer Lightening. This was my first choice. I think my pint might have been from the bottom of the cask as it was not quite right. We also noticed that there was no food being served for some reason.
Under normal circumstances I might have been a bit annoyed but this pub had so much intrigue I soon forgot about my slightly iffy pint. The pub has been extended quite a bit but still looks good from the outside. The inside has been filled with an amazing variety of stuffed animals, plastic meat, old keys and a huge amount of other items. We sat down and just looked around in amazement. It is better than any museum and so packed with interesting things I have forgotten lots of them (wish I had my camera).
The back room was my favourite. Its décor is based on a country style kitchen complete with Aga. Everything makes it feel like a kitchen, apart that is from the stuffed donkey wearing a straw hat!
To find out more about this pub visit their site at http://www.theblackboypub.com/ or even better visit the pub its self.
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3 comments:
Hi Tom, I'm interested to see that you visited a new place and then let the Good Beer Guide decide on which pub you went to - I use exactly the same technique when I visit somewhere new.
However, I've been thinking lately about whether or not it's the *right* approach. I wonder what we miss out on by consulting the GBG instead of letting our fancies decide. We obviously (nearly) always end up in excellent pubs with excellent beer, but just what else do we miss...?
What do you think?
Thanks for the comment Mike.
I think that as far as finding excellent beer and excellent pubs in a place you don't know the GBG can't be beaten.
Having said this i have been in some nice pubs and drank plenty of good beer in pubs that are not in it.
In towns with lots of pubs selling real ale i feel that some perfectly good pubs that serve very good beer can be missed out. Some of these pubs can be better if you are looking for something different e.g. live music, food or accommodation.
Spot on Tom - in town'w replete with good pubs, they'll only include a few, so you can miss out on somewhere that would make your day.
To anyone visiting London, I wouldn't slavishly follow the GBG or any other pub guide, as some of the best places don't make it in there, but would if they were in a real ale desert. The same could be said for many other towns and cities.
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