November 2026. Cottenham. Cambridgeshire.
Yes, that red P above Village College is a Good Beer Guide entry for Cottenham, which according to my spreadsheet is the first in at least a generation, whatever a generation is.
But I had been to the Chequers, nicely placed at the village crossroads next to the war memorial,
at least once.
Back in May of 1986 I did a “World’s End” style pub crawl for my (ex) brother-in-law Wayne’s stag do.
It couldn’t have been that epic a crawl, only five pubs on the trail, but I was teetotal and remember the midnight 3.9 mile walk home along Fen roads with something less than fondness.
Still, I know we finished (pre-kebab, stag dos were cheap affairs in the ’80s) at the Chequers, I probably drankl Snakebite, so I merrily coloured in the entry in GBG27, but let’s do it properly, shall we ?
It’s always seemed the smarter of the village’s 3 survivors comparee to the Hop Bind and Waggon & Horses, with a notable pizza trade, but felt quite pubby this Thursday lunchtime.
The genial landlord seems surprised (but pleased) by his Beer Guide entry; isn’t the GBG for pubs with lots of pumps ? Two is plenty etc. etc.
Regular readers may look at the features and discern what has belatedly got the Chequers into the GBG.
It deserves it.
A cosy, unfussy pub,
with a cool and tasty pint of Langton (VERY GOOD), a beer normally seen in south Leicestershire gastros. INXS, Carole King and Dire Straits (“Sultans of Swing”, obvs) your soundtrack; you could have had that in 1986.
The landlord tells me cold days means quiet lunchtimes, and I applaud him for a rare noon opening in the Fen Edge villages.
Love that painting.
