Next stop on the Cotswold caper was Fossebridge, a hamlet comprising a btidge and a hotel for folk too posh for Bourton-on-the-water (is that even possible ?).
Keen readers of “Notes from a small island” will know that Bill Bryson came here to unveil Roman mosaics at Chedworth; I came here for an irritating middle-class hotel bar tick, which is more impressive.
It looks exactly the sort of place that Hugo and Henrietta drive out from Cheltenham to dine at.
It’s nice to have a pub in the Guide with 6X and Butcombe on the bar;
it’s less good to have a pub in the Guide with EVERY table with a RESERVED sign on it.
Despite ALL the tables having RESERVED signs, there was only one table actually in use, with a nuclear family being licked by the pub dog while they perused the menu. The dog was called Maisy,you’ll be pleased to know.
The pleasant landlord recommended the Windrush, so I had that, seated at the bar, enjoying the sound of “Staying Alive” competing against the BBC News (score draw).
Jam jars, reserved signs, a dog called Maisy; you guess what I thought of it.
retiredmartin 
Nothing wrong with dogs called Maisy and nice to see Butcombe and 6X. Jamjars and reserved signs however are the work of Satan.
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The reserved signs are the issue. I believe animals should be able to choose their own names
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But what was the beer like?
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Ha, great minds think alike! 😀
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Wet
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Are you sure that wasn’t Maisy’s nose?
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I can’t see what there is not to like about this pub? Hopefully there are plenty like it in Northampton.
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Martin will sniff out every 6X and Pedi outlet in a 5 mile radius.
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How was the beer, though?
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The absence of comment on beer tells its own story. Competently kept uninspiring microbrew NBSS 3.
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Why didn’t you have something decent like Butcombe or 6X?
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No other ale drinkers so I must have followed the “what’s most popular ?” approach. I’d never normally go for a micro. The sparkler you get found here doesn’t suit the beer. Those Prescott beers taste very dull.
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Every table reserved…that’s a restaurant not a pub.
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The restaurants I go to/can afford for don’t have EVERY table reserved 😉
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I’ve said it before… GBG selection should automatically exclude these places but you’d think the lack of beer quality should do that anyway.
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What is almost certainly the best quality cask within 100 miles of me is sold in what is virtually a restaurant at weekends.
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Indeed. And the best/only cask in Northern Ireland frequently in upmarket restaurant miles from anywhere.
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Best cask I’ve had in NI was in the Dirty Duck, which cetainly wasn’t upmarket
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It was excellent there, even better at Daft Eddys at Killinchy. Not many like the Dirty Duck !
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Many branches seem to simply look at the selection of beers or the bar without paying much regard to quality apart from,maybe, having a couple of halves in there over the year and finding it not too bad.
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Exactly. Many members only visit rural pubs on once-a-year coach trips on a Friday night when a half of cask will be not bad and then a pub serving local micro is going to be regarded higher than one selling Greene King and Abbot,
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Restaurants are often slightly better on beer quality than you’d think, despite low turnover. I quite like the variety of outlets and being able to moan on this blog. If every pub in the Guide was as good as the Tynemouth Lodge I’d struggle !
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I wonder if diners under the TV enjoyed their porn cocktail starter…
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Another Windrush scandal; certainly looks like a hostile environment there.
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Too soon ! Too soon !
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But wasn’t “EVERY table with a RESERVED sign on it” despite there not being a customer in sight because the landlord knew young were on your way and wanted you to take photographs of the exterior, not interior, of the pub ?
And surely “The pleasant landlord recommended the Windrush” because he thought you should go forth overseas !
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Did hoards of diners descend to occupy the reserved tables or had the reserved signs been put there too early/left there too late?
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I guess they were there for the evening session, as there was only one table occupied. I find a reserved sign on a table an invitation not to linger !
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Reserved signs are a terrible thing but some pubs at least have signs saying “reserved from such and such a time” which means you can sit there until said time approaches. Not ideal but better than nothing.
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Good point. These just said reserved. it’s possible there was a big group coming in at 2pm,of course, but I doubt it.
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What is even worse is if you sit down at a table and are told to move because it’s “for diners only” despite there being no sign.
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That’s more frequent than you think, especially west London
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I know, or when signs say “Reserved for dining” or “Reserved for 3 or more diners” without any implication they’re reserved for specific pre-booked groups.
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You could almost have been in the New Forest – except there were other beers and not just Ringwood
😉
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