Ireland Holiday 1 - Worcestershire Stopover

The first leg of our family holiday in Ireland was a stopover near Grimley, Worcestershire. Our ferry was leaving from Holyhead at lunchtime, which would have meant leaving Suffolk in the early hours of the morning. Instead we were lucky enough to be put up by Jo, an old friend of Fi's. In planning our visit Fi had mentioned to Jo that I like real ale and so Jo's husband, Pen, had picked a couple of pubs to take us to.

Camp House Inn, Grimley

The Camp House Inn is a charming, and rather rambling, old building, overlooking the River Severn. It is rather hidden away so I'm not sure how easy it is to find - we were just following Jo and Pen who had met us in a layby after telling us that it would be too difficult to give us directions to the pub! No doubt a SatNav would get you there.

The door from the car park takes you into a corridor, at the end of which you turn a corner into the bar. I have to say I found this a little strange but don't let the layout of the building put you off. The staff were friendly as they served us but I didn't really take in my surroundings in the bar. Once we had our
drinks we moved outside to sit in the rather large and well kept beer garden. There was a lovely view of the river and a covered stage where, so I am told, bands play from time to time; in fact there is evidence of this on the pub's Facebook page.

Our visit was rather brief, as Pen wanted to take me onto another pub while Fi and Jo went in search of fish and chips for dinner. Therefore I missed out on trying Theakston's Tour de Wot and only had time for a solitary pint of Bathams Best Bitter. Coming from Adnams countyr as I do this looked very pale for a best bitter, but I have to say that I rather enjoyed it. No tasting notes I'm afraid as it wasn't really convenient but I rated it well on Untappd. From my rather hazy, and distant, memory it was slightly sweet - as is typical of Black Country beers and something that I like myself.

The Fox Inn, Monkwood Green

Pen drove us to the Fox; again I don't think I would have found it easily. As we pulled up in the parking area beside the village green I had my doubts. I could see the pub name on the wall but, with the modern uPVC windows it rather looked as if it fallen prey to change of use and conversion into a house. Pen assured me that it was still trading. Once we got through the gate in the rather tall hedge it was clear that this was a pub garden, and the rather small bar inside was classic village pub.

We had two pints in quick succession - Butty Bach and Hereford Pale Ale, both by Wye Valley Brewery. Like the Batham’s, both of these beers were very pale; Butty Bach was just about golden while HPA was straw blonde. They also both had a slight sweetness to them which to my mind went better with the traditional English hops of the Butty Bach than it did in the slightly citrusy HPA.

After the Fox it was back home for a fish and chip supper, with a quick stop off in a convenience store for beers to drink at home.