retiredmartin

I know many of you were disappointed, nay devastated that I couldn’t close the Devon chapter of the Good Beer Guide with a pint of the nation’s favourite, but I was able to make up for it the next day in Laymore’s Squirrel, at Dorset’s end.

I’ve included a helpful OS extract to show you where the Squirrel lives, edgily close to Somerset’s edgiest towns.

I challenge you to find ANYTHING about Laymore on t’web apart from the pub, so here’s something from an estate agent’s collection. Yours for £825k.

The Squirrel had thwarted me with (shock, horror) opening times different from the ones on Facebook, but phone calls and visits by my butler had confirmed its opening before I set foot on the mat and nearly squashed the pub mascot.

Now, as Mrs RM will confirm I’m not animal expert but that’s not a squirrel, is it ?

Is it ?

But that is definitely Doom Bar (cool, rich, 3+) the nation’s favourite etc etc.

Folk seemed to come from all over the valley (is there a valley ?) to a comfortable if plain allrounder with young folk in the pool room and Old Boys in the sun.

I ask you, what better way to spend an evening ?

Well, turn up on 6 January and see the local tradition of the Ashen Faggot;

I can’t see any problems with Health & Safety there at all.

Anyhow, that was Dorset, which left England looking like this;

Suddenly the GBG looked doable, but before Awesome August I needed a break from ticking,,,