retiredmartin

One last push to finish the GBG’s most unassuming county, rarely bothering you with daft opening times or short notice closure but rarely enflaming the passions or gracing my Top 100 pubs.

Norton Lindsey’s New Inn didn’t buck the trend.

Americans are desperate to get over here and stare at the history in these walls.

The New Inn is less ancient but equally lovely, and has the added advantage of being community-owned.

I sometimes think the sure-fire way to get your village pub in the GBG is to close (or threaten to close) it, get local CAMRA dignitaries to pose for a photo shaking fists and raging against Punch/Enterprise/BrewDog, then buy it as an investment and re-open it as a gastropub or boozer for your mates.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that the New Inn is like that. In fact, the display of leaflets offering walks from the pubs welcomes the tourist.

And a little book library thankfully short on the Bard.

And it’s anything but fussy inside.

Grief ! They’ve even got M & B Brew XI on.

Good job there’s a beer board as with the villagers sitting in front of the pumps* I’d never have spotted it any ended up with a Landlord, rather than a Brew XI in Landlord glass. Cool, well conditioned, creamy (NBSS 3+).

The barmaid was cheery, but you do always feel a bit cut off from the pub when everyone sits at the bar (I could never do that).

Still, a lively place, with more Malibu and white rum than cask sold and an irritating bird tweet ringtone the highlight..

Lovely to see the pub taking Covid so seriously, too.

*Yes, it’s like the last 19 months never happened, isn’t it ?