According to official figures, over half the population DIDN’T watch the England matches, and you know I always take the majority view.
Our Wednesday night stop at the Lower House (there’s only a lower, middle and upper) in Huntington was actually back over the border from Gladestry, in the area known as “Scary Herefordshire” i.e. the bit that’s not in the Malverns.
An inherited farmhouse run very informally by a lovely couple who seem to leave all their doors open at night. In Cambridge the National Trust would charge you £8.95 to visit it.
We’d popped into Kington for some deli bits in case the local pub was beer only, which turned out to be a wise move.
The Swan is described by What Pub as “eccentric”; our B & B hosts gave the impression they hadn’t been in since Christmas (when it was closed). Look at how keen Mrs RM was to find out.
Yes, it was Wednesday. Yes, it was 7.30 (pm). Yes, the biggest communal event since 1966 was on TV. And, of course, the pub was closed. I presume the owner wanted to watch the game by himself with cans of Cloudwater and Cheesey Wotsits like BRAPA.
Whether it was as good as the Anchor, Anchor, I may never know. Unless you do.
So, we had a walk, 45 minutes in glorious countryside and I swear to you we never saw a soul.
On our return, the hosts again invited us to watch the game with them. There might even have been sherry.
We declined, retired to bed, and heard an “Oh no” as Denmark scored. Oh well, fun while it lasted.
retiredmartin 
How did you happen upon that lodging?
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Booking.com Dave.
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“Well I stumbled on a farmhouse looking for a place to stay,
I was mighty, mighty tired – I’d come a long, long way…”
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Is that Mike Oldfield too ?
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Are those stairs the stairway to heaven?
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Those stairs are to make it easier to mount horses, especially for women wearing skirts who are riding sidesaddle.
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If a horse had walked (?) past our window at 5 in the morning I wouldn’t have been surprised, Paul.
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Oh, THOSE stairs – thought that you meant those in the tumbledown timber edifice. I wonder if the cart’s been there since it was built?
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Wow! What a fantastic place – reminds me a little of my brother’s house in France. And what a pity about the pub.
I’ve followed the click through to your piece about the Anchor, Anchor – a pub that’s been on my to do list for too long. Unfortunately something seems to have happened to the photos since 2016. Perhaps I’ll go there and take some of my own.
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It’s a shame about the Anchor, they were great photos. Had some problems with WordPress early on. Will try and find them.
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There’s some on BRAPA.
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Sadly, having checked on Pubs Galore and WhatPub, it seems that the landlord of the Anchor, Anchor has retired and the pub has closed permanently.
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Visited the Swan Huntington this evening. Gem.
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Lucky sod !
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