A couple of winners to end Wales Part I, on that hallowed stretch of A40 road that takes you from Brecon to Bass in the Bear at Crickhowell.
Apart from the posh Bear (return visit overdue), there’s some renowned pubs like the Star in Talybont, and the New Inn in Bwlch (always pronounced wrongly). So many pubs, it’s a wonder the Guardian readers on mini-breaks from West London actually get any walking done.
The Three Horseshoes in Groessford, an hour’s walk from Brecon Spoons, has the best floral display of the lot,
and a view almost as good as the one from our garden,
but is slightly let down by reserved signs and uncontrolled dogs hoping to lick the Beer Guide that Simon touched last month. A shame, the Pale was a solid NBSS 3+.
And so to Bwlch. As it were.
A real oddity, this one.
A bit of kitsch, a blackboard menu and those essential board games for the mini-break Londoner.
But with bunkhouse accommodation (I resisted) it also had a walker’s trade, some fast-moving staff, and the sense of a proper boozer.
The Felinfoel was noticeably better kept than most I’d had recently (NBSS 3+), but not a patch on the Double Dragon I remember fondly from West Wales 20 years ago. A Welsh Donnington BB ? I do hope not.
retiredmartin 
“Double Dragon – A Welsh Donnington BB ?
Others will disagree but to me there’s nothing negative about Donnington BB while the metallic taste is a negative aspect of Double Dragon.
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More often than not, your pics of rural pubs in the day are empty scenes, save for a few older diners. The pubs themselves all appear pretty decent and often attractive, yet they are deserted, save for maybe an hour or two in the evenings and at weekends.
So where are all the people? Probably hard at work, a few locally, the majority further afield in the nearest urban area. All that’s left are retired people and tourists. Not everywhere gets high footfall of visitors and the local people will have a negligible bus service. Just another example of how wider politics affects pubs.
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Don’t get me started on bus services! Salient points Rich https://lifeafterfootball839.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/ha-ha-ha-ha-staying-alive-staying-alive-in-coxbench
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Bus services, yes.
I’m planning a brief trip to Cornwall early next month but the 16mph buses from Falmouth to Helston and Helston to Penzance mean that I probably won’t have time for the Blue Anchor.
I’m sure they went faster before Thatcher deregulated them.
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“it’s a wonder the Guardian readers on mini-breaks from West London actually get any walking done”
Isn’t it called pub crawling?
BTW, how could any music fan resist that Redemption beer?
And I always though that Felinfoel led directly to feeling foul.
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Was tempted to use that last line but after Grotney sued in the 70s…
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They didn’t sue because all the publicity would have been bad for them and CAMRA didn’t have the money for damages – but the “Avoid like the plague” edition of the 1974 Good Beer Guide was replaced by an “Avoid at all costs” one.
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“…the New Inn in Bwlch (always pronounced wrongly).”
Being an American, I’m sure it’s pronounced ‘belch’, and you won’t convince me otherwise.
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I’m sure you’re right !
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Thank you for the photo -I have spent the last 10 mins messing with my phone to find a similar exciting effect,without success,thank goodness.I may have been tempted to indulge.Black & white was the best I could find (It’s a new,but cheap Nokia )
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I’m like a little kid with an etchasketch.
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But etchasketch was only any good for drawing flights of stairs
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“and the New Inn in Bwlch (always pronounced wrongly)”
That would mean the ‘B’ is silent and the ‘ch’ sounds like ‘ly’? 😉
“and a view almost as good as the one from our garden,”
Yes, but from what I understand, yours would never have a pint in the picture. 🙂
“Ah ! Yatzy (What ?)”
It’s coloured; explains ‘Yatzy’ vice ‘Yahtzee’.
“Russ is what ?”
By the looks of it, I’m a cross between a bear and a raven?
Cheers
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