SAUNDERSFOOT SHUFFLE

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Still a flood of Welsh posts to come, most of them very short.

But not all involving plant pots and urinals.

As The Spreadsheet will soon reveal (calm down, Duncan), I’ve now visited more West Wales Guide pubs than those in any other county this GBG season.

Next up, A Proper Pub. With people drinking in it. Welcome to seaside Wales.

Saundersfoot

If Tenby is the Welsh Whitby (discuss) then I suppose Saundersfoot is its Filey. I await the Coldwell backlash.

Lacking the grandeur of its neighbour, but with great views on the walk down from the station and loads of colour, it’s the sensible choice for families who can’t afford Tenby’s daft prices.

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They like their pale here
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Too far to walk to the sea just to dip my foot in it

It’s a bustling place, filling up with a good mix of accents and ages.

And the Royal Oak has that view to the sea that gentlefolk will willingly pay a premium on their beer for.

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Hello

Truly, a door of the day contender.

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There’s a couple of Old Boys at the bar, but they’re not blocking my view of that always unusual “multiple beers on handpumps” setup.

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What Would You Do ?

Sometimes in Wales this means they’ve got 3 ciders in boxes, but here it’s 6 of the best. A bit like Weymouth, it at least felt like a place where someone might try the cask.

I gave the Mantle a chance. You know how I like my tiny breweries.

Inside, the sound of dogs competing to bark the loudest was offputting.

Outside, all was calm.

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No cars!

The Dark was, er, dark and very tasty, if lacking a bit of crispness. The Southworths would have scored it a 3+, and so did I.

Next up, I get to meet America’s men and women of cask. Well, the ones who escaped Logan Airport, anyway.

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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.

50 thoughts on “SAUNDERSFOOT SHUFFLE”

  1. When I was a kid in the 1960s we went on holiday for four years in Saundersfoot, so I have fond memories of it. Rather more intimate than Filey, I would say. Never went in a pub, obviously. We actually stayed for a couple of years in a guest house just up the street from the Royal Oak,although it doesn’t look as though it’s a guest house now.

    I remember the imposing Hean Castle Hotel opposite. Interesting that WhatPub says it has one cask beer: Sharp’s Doom Bar (Poor) 😮

    I always struggled to get my juvenile head round the fact that it faced east and Tenby was situated to the south.

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    1. Certainly more intimate than Filey. Was referring more to a pleasant place in the shadow of a bigger neighbour.

      Good job my east/west confusion wasn’t exposed to that geography!

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      1. I can’t comment on your comparisons, other to say I’ve never visited that part of Wales, yet. I could comment on your scant, or possibly deliberately blasé, knowledge of Yorkshire – Filey’s larger neighbour is undoubtedly Scarbro’ the original and still the best seaside town. Whitby, the darling of the chattering pashmina wearing classes, is much higher up the coast.

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      3. Would like to visit Tenby, only been as far down as Ceredigon. Was a brilliant little pub there, just out of the town, over the bridge, like stepping back into a time warp. A really old man ran it and everything had gone past BBD but the company was amazing.

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      8. Richard,
        Yes, the Castle in Castle Street, Cardigan, a proper time warp pub, and still with its Hancocks sign, but no good beer.

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      10. I must admit to rarely getting to Cardigan but Beeching is to blame for that.
        Last time was when we were staying in New Quay’s Sea Horse my main memory of which is the karaoke with the licensee doing a very loud rendition of Country Roads Take Me Home.

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      1. I’ve never seen that either. WhatPub has always seemed to me to have a pollyanna-ish attitude that all real ale is great. (and loads of different real ales is even better)

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    3. “When I was a kid in the 1960s we went on holiday for four years in Saundersfoot”
      Four years ?
      Luxury !
      When I were a lad we only managed a week, and that were in a hovel .

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    4. We had enjoyed a great family holiday in Saundersfoot, when my sister and I were kids. We stayed in a caravan, on a hillside, over-looking the bay.

      It literally took all day for my father to drive us there from Kent, back in the day before the M4 and the Severn Bridge.

      Nice beach and nice harbour. Tenby was good too. Both towns on my list of places to re-visit from childhood.

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      1. I will be shocked if you don’t enjoy a return visit Paul. Tenby is really a magical place. I am always wary of return visits since the memories often exceed the reality. I don’t think that would happen with Tenby. And someday I intend to make it to the Royal Oak in Saundersfoot.

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  2. “But not all involving plant pots and urinals.”

    With Si, each post involves urinals. Poor boy needs to have his bladder checked.

    “I’ve now visited more West Wales Guide pubs than those in any other county this GBG season.”

    Blimey!

    “They like their pale here”

    What’s with the blue bollard thingies?

    “Too far to walk to the sea just to dip my foot in it”

    Go have a pint and wait for the tide to come in. 🙂

    “What Would You Do ?”

    Do they have six on or do the three on the bottom indicate ‘coming soon’?
    (and that’s a reverse of your first photo)

    If six, I’d have the Dark Heart. If only three, I’d patronise the local brew and have the Royal Oak best bitter.

    “I gave the Mantle a chance. You know how I like my tiny breweries.”

    Ah. So they did have six (and you chose what I would have). 🙂

    “No cars!”

    Yes but, not much of a view.

    “Well, the ones who escaped Logan Airport, anyway.”

    I’m all a tingle. 😉

    Cheers

    PS – Oh, and happy Lindisfarne raid day anniversary.
    (my wife has some Norwegian ancestors, so I get to complain about bloody Vikings every so often) 🙂

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      1. It’s a cumulative effect too. He’s fine for 3 then has to go 3 times in each pub.

        How have i reached the stage of taking such an interest in a 40 year old York man’s bladder 🤔

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      4. “And aging past forty…”

        Agreed. Long car trips now usually have me pondering the ‘b’ word and how to avoid the ‘p’ word. 🙂

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      4. “They’re just bollards. Only blue, to match the sea.”

        I say ‘bollards’ to that.*

        * could be a slight misspelling there. 😉

        Oh and as for blue, perhaps it’s to show most folk around there are abstinent?
        (hence the blue bollards*)

        * could be a slight misspelling there. 🙂

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  3. I have counselled a number of tickers on the wisdom (or lack of it) of drinking pints but will they learn? Well yes actually, eventually, though often after some mishaps along the way. Anyway great news the spreadsheet is going to make a welcome reappearance. I’ve missed it.

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      2. 88% at the end of August 2018 so past that point. Target was 91% for this year. Although I need to travel further for ticks, there’s more to do when i get there e.g. dozens in Devon.

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  4. Interesting you mention Tenby and Whitby. Both favorites of our group and two that we associate as well. I think they are two of the finest harbor towns in the UK. Whitby has a bit more of a carnival atmosphere to me and a wider range of pubs\beer. Both really great places though. We rank them top two for coastal visits. Good people; good beer; strikingly beautiful. Tourist locations that seem to be more than just holiday places.

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    1. You’ve never been to Hartlepool, have you?

      Failing that, I thought Falmouth had it all, even though it’s not particularly a seaside resort.

      And Harwich is hugely underrated.

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      2. No. I think you’ll find that’s one of the few things that Peter Mandelson changed in his time as MP, along with the banning of mushy peas after 9pm.

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      3. Here you go again raising the ante. Hartlepool, Falmouth and Harwich added to the list… Regarding Falmouth if it has water, it counts. I was there 30 years ago. Need to return.

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      1. It might be just avoiding unnecessary distance. .
        Like Nottingham residents going to Skegness and from Hull to Withernsea.

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