I doubt there are many folk whose highlight of a trip to West Wales would be a return to Haverfordwest, 22 years after a Christmas visit to the unchanging Pembroke Yeoman.
Sadly, my other previous tick has lost a few letters and acquired some garlic.
Yes, not for me the Guardian readers pashmina-friendly bolt-holes of Solva and St Brides.
I’m here for the county town of Pembrokeshire, described by the hilariously-named Rough Guide to Wales as “dull” and “hardly a place to linger” in its half page demolition job. A demolition job to match the one Cromwell did on the castle.
Well sorry, Mr Rough Guide, but I loved Haverforwest, with one tiny reservation.
Lovely colours,
a statue to ward off the evil BRAPA,
authentic Ye Olde Shoppes,
and a properly steep walk to the Creative Common Co-working Coffee House on Goat Street which deserves its plug here.
Artisan without the san, this had that V60 coffee you all love, and a gorgeous bacon butty/bap/roll. Wish I’d had the clever dripper. “WTF” says Russ.
No bearded hipsters (apart from me, obvs), but a lady called Fran was leaving her children called Nesta and Tegwin with her friend Rosie, so nearly there.
Late breakfast ticked, I was ready for the Spoons, my Guide tick.
You can see the William Owen on the Google map above, but bluntly it’s hard to miss the Spoons, isn’t it ? They really are the Woolies of the 2010s.
A decent crowd, mainly families, and only really one choice on the pumps.
It was as terrible as it looks (NBSS 0.5), cheerfully changed for a Cwrw I was assured by the delightful barmaid was from “a barrel put on fresh that day“. Sadly, fresh or not, it was still barely drinkable. And you know how poor Spoons are in the provision of pot plants.
Anyway, in an hour I’d mentally upgraded Haverfordwest from the status of “Welsh Bridgwater” to “Welsh Elgin”, which will no doubt delight the Tourist Office. I even dropped a quid, a whole one, in this guy’s hat.
Not sure how accurate the medieval painting of the dragon is though.
retiredmartin 
I’ve been very disappointed with the cask ale quality in a lot of Spoons recently, more down south than at home. They’re fine if they are serving plenty of cask. More often than not, all you see going over the bar is John’s Smooth, Lager, Tea & Coffee and cheap eats. Mind you, they seem to sell an awful lot of those combinations.
LikeLike
Same here.
Deterioration fairly widespread and fairly quick.
In fairness the majority of Spoons I go in nowadays are in smaller towns in Scotland, Wales and other places that aren’t cask strongholds.
I rarely see cask ordered (while I’m in drinking my refillable coffee, he says).
LikeLiked by 1 person
We shall see on Friday in Uttoxeter as the Spoons is our meeting point 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Horse racing the previous evening should clear a few gallons through the lines.
It’ll be the first pint Tim’s sold me since Rugby so I’m really quite excited.
Now I must get back to wrapping Richard’s birthday presents.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The quality of the beer mats finished it for me, Richard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The town never stood out when I researched the area. You make it look pretty nice in the photos.
LikeLike
Not one for the pubman but prettier than I expected.
LikeLike
Mrs. E and I thought that it was OK as a place. We ended up in the Bristol Trader, mind you, so can’t comment on the pubs mentioned here.
LikeLike
Bristol Trader looked the pub I’d have picked out if I wasn’t compelled by Ticking Rules to do the Spoons.
LikeLike
…where I was asked if I wanted my pint through the sparkler or not, which is a first or near first, and makes a very refreshing change from my request to have it “not” completely ignored.
LikeLike
“In the late ’50s this was the first pub in town to have carpet on the floor.”
I also went in the Three Crowns where one of the locals suggested I looked like Inspector Morse.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you take it as a compliment (not being sarcastic)?
LikeLike
He obviously thought I was a bit of an intellectual 😉
Better than a nutter telling me I look like Elton John 😮
LikeLiked by 1 person
Coincidently Mrs TSM recently said that she thinks one of her brothers looks like Inspector Morse which I don’t see but I have occasionally thought that he looks like you.
Mrs TSM used to say that I looked like Sgt Lewis but that was over twenty-five years ago when I was young not old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re not old.
LikeLike
– that’s not what my knees keep telling me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry, it has to be asked. And the difference between a clever dripper and BRAPA after six pints is?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The accent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
BRÁPA?
LikeLike
Never heard of him.
LikeLike
On my visit in 2015 I had some terrible Summer Lightning in the Pembroke Yeoman. Glass put on the drip tray, pump pulled with one hand, flat as a fluke. From memory, as it was clear(ish) and not actively rancid I didn’t bother to get it changed. On my birthday as well 😦
It’s an unsually multi-roomed Spoons.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Not actively rancid” is the new minimum standard for inclusion in the Beer Guide.
LikeLike
I don’t think it was in the Beer Guide at the time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
> …with one tiny reervation.
New word ? Or typographical error ?
LikeLike
Both.
LikeLike
Thought so !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Both.
Hang on. You’re not Russ.
Know your place 😉
LikeLike
Can’t understand why Russ hasn’t commented on it. Maybe he has a newer dictionary than I, and hence did not see it as a typographical error ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, for the month of June, I won’t be posting until after midnight UK time as my wife has 23 catering jobs from June 4th onwards. 😉
But I graciously let the Prof (whom I’m assuming that is) fill in for me. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Russ,
“23 catering jobs” – an hour a day on each ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
““23 catering jobs” – an hour a day on each ?”
Ha! Good thing she doesn’t read this!
While some are small others are not. For example, one was for 12 box lunches for boat trips; so yes, about an hour’s prep. Another is breakfast, hot lunch and afternoon snack for a dozen for the entire week, plus all of the cleaning of the dishes and cutlery and serving trays and whatnot afterwards. She’s also cooking for people in their rental homes while they are up here fishing for a few days. She did hot lunch for 145 kids last week. She was up at 4:30 this morning to prepare a fruit tray for a dozen people for delivery at 7:30; then went shopping for her lunch time catering later today; then came home and took the 55 box lunches for boat tours that she’d prepped last night and early this morning (whilst doing the fruit tray) down to the docks. She’ll be back in 20 minutes to start making the 30 or so major items for the lunch truck. Then the lunch catering and afternoon snack. Then pick up the coolers and whatnot from today’s boat tours. Then go cook dinner for eight in their rental home. Then start all over again tomorrow. 🙂
I drive the lunch truck every day, plus do the clean up of all the dirty dishes and cutlery etc. as well as try to do as much shopping for her when I can to save her some time.
Cheers!
LikeLike
“I doubt there are many folk whose highlight of a trip to West Wales would be a return to Haverfordwest”
Yes, yes. We’re all agreed you’re a bit, um, unique. 🙂
“Garlic”
Should’ve been curry instead of garlic. At least that would have explained the rewording to Kings Hot. 🙂
“described by the hilariously-named Rough Guide to Wales as “dull” and “hardly a place to linger””
Heck, our first trip to Mexico was to a place where their tourist brochure basically said ‘don’t come here for the night life’.
“As seen in Dr Who in 2011.”
I do believe you’re right.
“Just there”
Was the map right this time?
““WTF” says Russ.”
Only because I read that as clever stripper. 🙂
“Where’s the smokers at the door ?”
They’re all in the Conservative Club across the street as it’s still legal there. 🙂
“Ceiling better than carpet”
This is me showing decorum by not typing what I was thinking.
“I even dropped a quid, a whole one, in this guy’s hat.”
Not into his open guitar/banjo case?
“He was doing Kangaroo Air Force Ventilator covers”
(slow golf clap)
Cheers
LikeLike
The point about the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet is interesting. They tend to direct you to ancient buildings and churches rather than places of human interest. And you won’t find Burton on Trent or Rugby there.
LikeLike
Burton Bridge’s version of DBA gets all the way over there but, other than actually in Burton, I’ve not seen it in Staffordshire.
LikeLike
This was the first taste I’ve had and it was awful. Not Burton Bridge’s fault but they’d be horrified by what their beer tastes like.
LikeLike