HEY HO, LET’S GO. TO HEYFORD

 

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Another “Last GBG Pub In The County” for you, and more evidence that Northamptonshire is an underrated pubby gem (don’t argue, I’ll fight ya).

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Even more so than, say, Dorset or Gwent, Northants throws up villages seemingly untouched by progress, reflected in the pubs.  Last year we had the magical Three Horseshoes in Ecton, now it’s the Foresters Arms in Nether Heyford.

Admit it, you’ve never heard of it, even though the lovely Mrs RM is working only ten miles away.

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Two minutes off the M1, but clearly a crack in the Space/Time continuum allows Heyford to continue in about 1973.

If it was in Oxfordshire, you’d have a pashmina parlour and artisanal deli, here it’s just a One Stop Shop for your chocolate and two pubs.

And golden stone, of course.

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St Peter & St Paul
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A typical house

So surprised was I to find a village pub actually open at lunchtime I appear to have falling over while taking the photo of the Foresters Arms.

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A couple of Old Boys finishing their pints, a couple of Young Boys (not the Swiss) fixing the pool table, a couple of beers.

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Two is plenty

I’m sure there was a conversation which ended with me saying “Two beers is plenty !” in an over-enthusiastic way.

Tim Taylors Knowle Spring seems to be the new Plum Porter, popping up in rural free houses all over the place and being remarkably consistent.

Away from the high tables I enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the brewerania and the successful fixing of the pool table, accompanied by a cool, crisp pint (NBSS 3.5)  and a packet of Wednesbury scratchings (not pictured for health reasons).

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Thatchers glass actually a bit of a classic

An entirely appropriate way to finish a genuine beer drinkers’ county, staring blissfully into the distance at the Bass mirror I couldn’t quite fit in my jacket pocket.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

25 thoughts on “HEY HO, LET’S GO. TO HEYFORD”

  1. I’ve often wondered where pubs find all the knick-knack they place around walls and on all available shelf space. I suspect there are are massive factories some place in the Irish countryside producing “old” mirrors, photos, posters etc.

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    1. I share your speculation, but it can be more mysterious, Morten. I was in one pub with a large collection of polished old brass and copper paraffin blowlamps, for instance.

      I know that such things exist, but how do so many come together in one place?

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  2. 1973 eh? Do they still have elm trees then?

    I think that the stone colour in that part of the world is a bit special, the best, even, whatever.

    So, come March 2019, some people think that the whole country will turn into Heyford, do they?

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  3. It looks like Flowers on a shelf rather than on the bar this time.
    And over the fire place is one of those reproduction Bass mirrors made I forget where.
    In August I was in a village pub actually open at lunchtime seven miles from there, the Red Lion at East Haddon.

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  4. No mention of the mighty Grand Union Canal that passes through/round the village? I remember it well…we last visited the Foresters Arms in 2001…it looked a little different in those days, but not too much has changed outside (can’t remember the inside!)

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      1. Didn’t need the map, I’ve sailed that particular stretch of cut many times in the past, but we rarely stopped at Nether Heyford – usually, Weedon and Stoke Bruerne were our favoured watering holes!

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  5. This is completely off-topic, but I wanted to put it somewhere. I have today,for the first time, thrown beer in a plant pot. It was the best part of a pint of Serenity Idaho #7 SIPA in a bar in Lerwick. It was ferociously hopped, undrinkable and set me back the thick end of a fiver. Only trouble was, the pot I poured it into contained some sort of plant which evidently doesn’t need much watering so the soil was bone dry and the over-carbonated filth went everywhere. Hi de ho. I walked out discreetly.
    Back on track, Heyford gave its name to a heavy biplane bomber in use by the RAF in the 1930s. (Courtesy of the DEPT of Dull Facts)

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    1. One of the GREAT understatements there BeerMat. To be fair it’s only in recent years the treasures of rural Northamptonshire have revealed themselves. Bet that Chicago Rock Cafe would make s cracker of a LAF post !

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  7. I admit it. I have Nether heard of Never Heyford. In fact, worse, on seeing the article titled Heyford and the map of Northants, I thought it was Heyford in the south west of the county, which would be absurd as said settlement is actually in Oxfordshire. Minus points for me.

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  8. That Knowle Springs is a nice drink. I had a sneaky preview case of bottles a while back and thought it excellent. It’s much easier to cellar than Landlord which should only go to licensees who have either been on course, or a proven track record in keeping it. If kept well and turned over it is a cracking pint of beer, if not then it can be appalling. Boltmaker (Best Bitter) is much easier to keep and a lovely pint of bitter.

    Mind you I’m surprised you didn’t go for a mainstream brand – think I can just see Fosters tap?

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  9. Pingback: ‘Allo ‘Allo It’s Nether Heyford – Life After Football

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