retiredmartin

One last Bucks tick before we tuck ourselves in for the night, at yet another debut GBG gastro. I guess they have to introduce dining pubs to the Guide round here as there’s no appetite for micros.

The Hundred of Ashendon, named after the purest form of the game played on the village green, is no micro.

The Harrow down the road is marked on Bing Maps by a knife and fork; this one by a bed. As you’ll know, a Proper Pub is denoted by a mobility scooter.

But I’m not knocking the Hundred, named after the traditional subdivision of counties (refer to Pub Curmudgeon for full details).

It’s open every day, closing mid afternoon like pubs used to, and with ten minutes till 18:00 re-opening I had time to top up the Taylor tan on a quick stroll round the gorgeous village.

And then I stood there at the stroke of six, welcomed back by the rules.

The Hundred is from the more “rustic” school of gastro design. Two photos tell you all you need know. What do you notice ?

Yes, no beer mats on tables.

The beer range in Home Counties GBG entries is basically a mix of Chiltern, Tring and Rebellion.

So I get a Chiltern in a Rebellion glass and wish I’d had a pint of Tring. You know the rules; beer tastes best in a pint glass (FACT) and dreadful in a thin glass (see also : Cheshire). In a better glass it might have edged an NBSS 3.

I left at 18:10, just as the first (proper) customers arrived. “Reservation for Jenkins, 18:15“.

Oh, and if you wondered about the pub name, it refers to the number of tentacles on the octopus gracing the sign commemorating the first showing of the best Bond film in the Aylesbury Regal in 1983.

According to the website, that octopus is still on the menu.

Anyway, on to our stop for the night. It’s brill.