Witney & Eynsham Crawl 16th May 2015

This Pub Crawl was a Birthday treat from my brother,he drove down to Witney in car and parked in the multistory car park which was free,probably because most people in the area are loaded with money.
Witney is a very pleasant town with a good stock of pubs,our aim was to do all pubs in the town.

Witney

1: Royal Oak

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A decent looking pub which claims to be a Free House but all four real ales were from Wadworths Brewery,i have no problem with that,the Wadworth Henrys IPA went down very well after the long drive down from Nottingham.
The pub seemed a bit too posh for our liking with most areas set aside for diners only,we sat on bar stools at the bar which seemed to be the only place to sit if only drinking.

We took a short walk through town and was in our next pub.

2: Cross Keys

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This pub is situated in the middle of Witney.
The pub was decent enough inside,there were three real ales on,i had a drink of Thwiates Wainwright which was a nice drink,the pub was also doing food which was quite cheap. 

There are a decent amount of pubs on the market place,so it was short walk to our next pub.

3: Eagle Vaults

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This is a large pub that could be mistaken for a Wetherspoons pub,but it is not.
There was only one real ale on here which was Doom Bar which was ok but nothing more.

4: Blue Boar

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

Another largish pub which is just up from the Eagle Vaults.
This pub was fairly large inside and was pretty crap in our opinion,two real ales on here,i had a drink of Brakspear Oxford Gold which was a decent drink,shame about the pub,my Brother commented it is more like a coffee shop than pub.

A short walk and we was on corn street,we noticed an old looking pub on the corner,but it is now called Koi,what was Greene Kings thinking in renaming an old pub like this.

5: Eagle Tavern

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A really nice looking pub and an Hook Norton tied house so well pleased,the pub was just has nice inside with a few different rooms some quite small.
Four real ales on here with three from Hook Norton,i had a drink of Hook Norton Bitter which was a very nice drink.
A very nice pub to visit if in Witney.

I decided to leave the other pubs on corn street for later in the day,so we walked back and found Witney's Wetherspoons.

6: Company of Weavers

(C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This looks smallish from the outside,but is much large inside,i had a drink of Belma Single Hop which was a very nice drink.
I quite liked this Wetherspoons.

It was a short walk to our next pub which is in a nice location opposite church green

7: The Fleece

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This is more of a dining pub but there is a decent drinkers area to the front so we sat here.
I had a decent drink of Belhaven Golden Bay,there were also two more real ales on the bar.
Not really my sort of pub, but it was on the list to do.



It was now time to do a bit of walking to do a few of the pubs that are away from the town centre.
We took a short cut by walking by walking down a footpath and crossing over the River Windrush,we ended up on newland where there were a couple of pubs close by.

8: Griffin Inn

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A really nice looking pub with a nice pub sign.
This pub is a Wadworths tied house so i was well pleased,i had a drink of Wadworths Henrys IPA a drink i really like,there were two more Wadworths beers on the bar.

9: Carpenters Arms

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A decent enough looking pub but not quite as good as the Griffin just down the road.
This was quite a smart pub with a separate pool room,i had a drink of Frog Island Lock Stock & Barrel which was a nice drink,there was one more real ale on here.
A decent pub just a shame it was empty on our Saturday dinner visit.

The next three pubs were a shortish walk up the road and roughly in a triangle area on three different roads.

10: Three Pigeons

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This is what i would call a picture postcard looking pub,stone built and it still had its old Courage signage in place.
The pub had a few rooms inside and a beamed ceiling,people were dining but no tables were laid so drinkers could drink anywhere,just how it should be.
Three real ales on here,i had a drink of Black Sheep bitter which was a very nice drink.
A very nice pub that was well worth the walk from the town centre.

11: Elm Tree

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A standard looking town pub situated on a busy road.
The pub was decent enough inside with a small room to the front and much larger room to the rear,four real ales on the bar,i had a  drink of Belhaven Golden Bay which was a very nice drink.
The pub was also quite busy with drinkers which is nice to see.

12: Old Court Hotel

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A smart looking white painted pub that is close to a very busy road junction.
Too modern inside for our liking and two unclipped handpumps,i asked for a drink of real ale and a box was brought from the back,this had Abingdon Bridge in it,this was a very nice drink.
The pub was empty on our Saturday afternoon visit.

We now walked back into the middle of Witney to pick up the pubs we had not done yet.
The Plough was still shut so we had to go to our next port of call.

13: The Angel

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This pub is situated in what i would call the middle of Witney.
the pub was quite nice inside and also very busy,four real ales on here,i had a  drink of Brakspear Oxford Gold which went down well.

A short walk up corn street passing the Koi first a Greene King pub that has been ruined,we did not bother with this pub.
After walking past pubs we would do on our way back down the street we hit our next pub.

14: Chequers Smoke House

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

Another Witney pub that has been spoiled,it is quite large inside and caters for younger diners who like burgers and the like.
There were three real ales on here,i had a drink of Brakspear bitter which was decent enough,the old style american music was very annoying.

15: New Inn

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

The last pub on corn street if heading away from the town centre.
This is a very pleasant and comfortable pub inside,five real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Tring Sidepocket which was a very nice drink.
A pub i could stay in for a session.

16: Three Horseshoes 

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A nice looking stone built pub that is also quite nice inside with a beamed ceiling.
There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hook Norton Lion which was a nice drink.
A very pleasant pub to have a few drinks in.

17: The Hollybush

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A nice looking stone built pub with a separate dining room,the front room is for drinkers.
There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Roosters YPA which went down very well.

There were two more pubs to do in Witney,one an estate pub which we we would need to drive to and the other a roadside pub.
We decided to leave these and go to Eynsham which had a decent stock of pubs and most of all an Arkells tied house.

Eynsham

18: The Talbot

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A very long fronted stone built pub.
This is an Arkells tied house a brewery i have done quite a lot of pubs as really like doing their pubs.
There were no handpumps on the bar which took me aback,but i then noticed barrels on stillages behind the bar,there were four real ales on all from Arkells,i had a drink of Arkells 3B which went down well.

19: Swan Hotel

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A decent sized pub situated in the middle of Eynsham and within sight of two other pubs.
There were a couple of rooms inside and two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Doom Bar which was ok.
Nothing special about this pub.

20: Red Lion

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A decent looking pub that looks up to the high street.
Pretty standard inside with two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Doom Bar which was ok.

21: Jolly Sportsman

 (C) Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A decent looking stone built pub that is situated on a crossroads in the middle of Eynsham.
There were two real ales on the bar and the same two as in the the Red Lion and Swan,i had a drink of Doom Bar which was a decent enough drink.

This was a great birthday treat from my brother,21 new pubs done and all sold real ales.
I also really liked the look of a lot of the pubs done on the crawl.

Next pub crawl will be an old one then i may do some of Nottingham City centre pubs that have long closed,that i have been in on many occasions.

Some pub stats will also be on at some point.