Boats, Trains and Automobiles... and a Minibus

Weekend Trip to Exeter, October 2007

Autumn soon rolls around in our CAMRA calendar and thoughts turn to the Weekend Away. Organised by the brothers Kevin and Gordon Clarke Exeter was to be our base this year.

Thursday

Stalwarts of these excursions know full well that in fact the weekend starts on Thursday and so there we were on the train to Exeter leaving Birmingham at just after 10am. Watching the countryside passing by Kevin and Gordon opened a little snifter - a pint each of Young's Christmas Ale... a bit strong to start the day off with, but certainly helped pass the time.

Rendezvous time was about 1pm at our digs the Great Western Hotel just opposite Exeter St. David’s Station. It is a large hotel with 35 rooms ideally suited to a large party. It isn't exactly luxurious, but more than adequate for our needs. Not only a convenient place to stay, the Hotel has also won the Exeter & District Pub of the Year award from the local branch of CAMRA twice in the past few years and is well known for having about nine real ales available in the Loco Bar. It was to here we congregated after signing into our rooms and well; we had a drink of course. The menu was quite extensive sporting Archers Drunken Punch and Road Hog; Branscombe Vale Branoc; Draught Bass; Cottage Breast Bitter; Fullers London Pride; O’Hanlons Royal Oak and Yellowhammer and Princetown Jail Ale. All were in good condition apart from the Drunken Punch and the Cottage Breast Bitter, which was coming to the end of the barrel and was a little flat (no jokes please, we did them all!). The O'Hanlon beers were particular favourites, especially the Yellowhammer.

Once we were all gathered and ready we made tracks to our first port of call on the Exeter pub-crawl. The Imperial Hotel is a Wetherspoons pub less than 100 yards from the Great Western. Kevin and Gordon's plan for us to wait here until 5:30 for a few stragglers before setting off in earnest for the pub-crawl... and what a place!

Acquired by Wetherspoons in 1994 it is set in its own grounds with extensive outside seating. This is a massive place with a conservatory the size of most pubs! Its routes derive from a building built in 1810 and it became a hotel in the 1920's. The conservatory was originally an Orangery, which had previously been part of Streatham House and is reputed to be designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. One can well believe that with all the decorative ironware on show. Of great interest too was the bank of handpumps. Exmoor Gold; Hidden Brewery Hidden Pint; Greene King Abbott Ale and Hooker Number 2; Marston's Pedigree; O'Hanlons Firefly; Sharps Atlantic IPA and Special Ale; Skinners Betty Stoggs; York Nugget and for the cider drinkers Old Rosie Cloudy Scrumpy weighing in at 7.3% ABV what a way to start the day. Suitably encumbered with beer we retired to the garden to enjoy the warm and sunny climate of Exeter, only punctuated by a wonder to the bar for refills. Although all the beers were in good condition the Firefly proved a particular favourite. I am led to believe Julia enjoyed the cider. As the afternoon wore on we ordered a bite to eat to fortify us for the coming evening and at 5:30 spot on we were on our way.

It is as well to mention here that our guide Kevin had been to university in Exeter and knew the best pubs to visit (is this what we pay our taxes for) and the way to them. We started at the GBG listed Brook Green Tavern, a real back street local near the football ground and the farthest one from our digs. The pub, which has been traced back to the late 1870's is a Punch house that takes its beers from the Society of Independent Brewers lists. Filling the handpumps at the time of our visit were RCH East Street Cream; St. Austell Tribute; Shepherd Neame Spitfire; Skinners Cornish Knocker and Teignworthy Reel Ale. Not all the beers were sampled but those we did try were in good condition. I am led to believe Julia enjoyed the cider. Although out of town it is well worth a visit and is not too far from our next port of call the Old Firehouse.

Originally the fire station of the West of England Fire Insurance Company it was opened in 1834. Becoming derelict it was refurbished and opened as a pub in 1986. It really is a rabbit warren of a pub. There are three floors and a small courtyard and the lighting inside is a little dim but what a gem. This was to prove the best pub in Exeter beer wise. Four beers were on offer, Red Rock Red Rock; Teignworthy Beachcomber and O'Hanlon's Port Stout and Warrior Brewery's Golden Wolf all in superb condition... we could have stayed all night but the night was yet young.

Calling the troops together we next visited the John Gandy in the city centre arriving there via the smallest street in Exeter which some of our more portly members just squeezed down! The pub is in the style of a wine bar, noisy and with an upstairs balcony. The beer is served through unusual fonts. A glass viewing slot allows you to see the beer being drawn up the font, a little reminiscent of the Banks's method but vertical if you see what I mean. Anyway two beers were available here, Archers Away Day and Red Rock Back Beach. The Red Rock was in good condition but the Archers didn't go down a storm. Better luck maybe at our next pub the Well House.

Located on Cathedral Yard The Well House looks right out over the cathedral. It is actually part of the Royal Clarence Hotel and dates back to the fifteenth century. Like the John Gandy it is wine bar-ish but has an interesting if gruesome exhibit. Down in the cellar area and next to the well (hence its name) is a glass case containing a corpse, supposedly a victim of the Black Death but experts think it is the body of an Anglo Saxon. Once we had taken a look at this we turned to the beers. The pub has its own house beer brewed by Otter called Wellhouse. Supporting cast was Cottage Golden Seahawk; Sharps Doom Bar and O'Hanlons Yellowhammer all in good condition. A cider was also available, Broadoak Moonshine at 8.4%! A small taster revealed this to be pure rocket fuel!

Mid evening our minds turned to a bite to eat so we headed to the reliably cheap and cheerful Wetherspoons, the Georges Meeting House, a converted Presbyterian church built in 1760. Even though it was early evening we struggled for a seat but managed to order a meal whist having a go at the beer range which consisted of Red Rock Humber Mild; Blackawton Headstrong; Hidden Hidden Quest; Courage Best Bitter and Marston's Pedigree. We tried a couple of the more interesting to find them in good condition, but the place was so packed we wanted to be on our way a soon as possible.

We moved on to a much more sedate pub the City Gates Hotel near Ironbridge... no, not the one in Shropshire but near an iron bridge that bridges a valley in Exeter. Formerly a coaching inn known as the Crown and Sceptre it is now a Young's house with a lovely garden/patio yard at the back complete with classical sculptures and a pool. Behind the bar was Young's Bitter, Special and Waggledance and Wells Bombardier. The Bombardier was in first rate condition. However, I didn't partake here saving myself for a final assault back at the Great Western.

On the way back and opposite the Great Western is the Jolly Porter which we put our nose round but left it out as Deuchars IPA was the best of the bunch. So, we moved on back to the Great Western, but what a disappointment. When we left earlier in the day some of the beers were running out but on our arrival back no new ones had been put on. I decided to hit the hay as we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Friday

Friday began with a filling breakfast in the Brunel's Restaurant where discussion centred round today's itinerary. At 10am we were all outside boarding our coach and heading towards our first brewery for the day

Navigating Devon's famous country lanes we found Red Rock Brewery at High Humber Farm near Bishopsteigton. In a converted barn in the farmyard the brewery and was set up in 2006 by ex-teachers John Parkes and Martin Griggs, of whom John is the active half of the duo. The brewer is his son Lewis who used to work for Teignworthy Brewery. Whilst on our visit Lewis arrived the worse for wear having celebrated his stout - provisionally called Keep Guessin' and later named Dark Ness in a competition - winning Dark Beer of the Festival at the South Devon CAMRA Beer Festival at Newton Abbott. The brew house consists of four fermentation vessels with a total capacity of about four barrels each and John brews three to four brews a week. The hops used are Goldings, Cluster and Styrian Goldings. Tuckers supply the malt and Palmers from Bridport in Dorset supply the yeast. Unfortunately no cask beer was available to sample on our visit so John kindly broached innumerable bottles of his bottle conditioned beers. Driftwood, a dry, nutty beer; Break Water a lager style beer; and Port Stout, all in excellent condition and unusually not at all gassy, each one distinctive and with plenty of flavour.

Savouring the beer in the sunshine with buzzards circling overhead we reluctantly took our leave and headed to our first pub of the day the Lamb Inn at Longdown, only to meet with our one and only disaster. On finding the pub closed - and I mean closed full stop, I enquired of the garage across the road who confirmed it had closed a month ago. We all looked to Kevin and Gordon for direction... they did not let us down a substitute was right on hand and so without further ado and no hard feelings we were on our way to the Nobody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh and what a substitute!

A superb country pub dating back to the 16th century, it sits in the centre of the village, snuggling under the Halden Hills. It became an inn in the 1700's when it was known as the New Inn. Its interior is timeless and to top it all serves beer direct from the barrel. In the barrels were Cottage Metropolitan Ale only just put on and still a little young and the other had had Malton Crown Bitter just taken off. Oh well. We contented ourselves with handpumped Red Rock Back Beach and their house ale brewed by Branscombe Vale called Nobody Inn, a fine best bitter. Its excellence doesn't just stop at the beer. It also does meals and has an excellent selection of local cheeses with a wine and whisky list which is unbeatable. In fact Kevin and I wondered where they kept all the wines and whiskys... so I asked the friendly staff who promptly invited us to take a look. We were shown into the cellar behind the bar to find it packed floor to ceiling with bottles. There are 2000 wines and 200 whiskies in there! So cramped was it in their that you could not literally turn round easily. As a final accolade they even do B&B… what a pub and we hadn't even planned to visit it!

Our next port of call saw us in the deep-sided lanes of Devon heading for O'Hanlon's Brewery in Whimple. This brewery has for many years been on my agenda to visit due to its fantastic beers. Like Red Rock it is based in a farm complex. Indeed, it seemed more brewery than farm. On arriving our guide Alex apologised that they were too busty to give us a tour of the brewery but a colleague Sarah showed us the bottling plant and pointed us in the direction of the sampling room. We didn't mind that. We plumped for the sample room first where we charged our glasses with Yellowhammer, Royal Oak or recently bottled Thomas Hardy Ale, which at 11.7% was maybe a little bit too strong at lunchtime! Apparently over 10,000 bottles are brewed a year, most of which are exported all over the world. Thus set up we followed Sarah through to the cacophony of the bottling plant. The noise was overpowering in there so we quickly gravitated back to the sampling room where we were joined by the brewery owner John O'Hanlon. John is an unassuming Irish man from County Kerry whose family have been in the trade for some ninety years. Seeing how busy the brewery was we said our farewells to John leaving him to do some concreting. On the coach and we were on our way onto our next brewery at Newton St. Clyst.

Beer Engine is based in the pub of the same name and has been in operation since 1983. A brewery trip was not arranged for us but we could view the brewery through a glass window on our way to the conveniences. In the pub Piston Bitter, Rail Ale and Sleeper heavy were on handpump. A real cider, Dragon Teas from Clyst St. George was also available. With a full glass I explored the pub. It has a balcony leading down to a garden with much decking in evidence. However, the noise from the railway line at the bottom of the garden does distract from the peace of the garden. Nevertheless we all sat outside savouring the September sunshine. The interior of the pub is a little bland, one roomed with an adjacent restaurant but quite acceptable. A short visit was planned here so we were soon supping up and ready for the off.

Crediton was next on our list and the Crediton Inn. A disappointing pub with little character or so it seemed to us although to be fair it was a Friday afternoon so we may have not seen it at its best. Unfortunately the beer range was not up to scratch either being Badger Fursty Ferret and Tanglefoot; Fullers London Pride and Sharps Doom Bar. However they were in good condition. The pubs saving grace were the Light Bites, fantastic value at £1.75. We did not need to be chivvied back on to the coach as we felt we had "done" The Crediton Inn and were keen to be on the road to our next pub.

Yeoford and the Mare and Foal was our objective. The pub is in a beautiful setting, again in a typical Devon village. It is also surprisingly large and rambling and also acted as a small village store. It is also keen on draught cider. We, in the main kept on the beer, which again was a little disappointing being Teignworthy Real Ale; Brains Reverend James and Black Sheep Bitter all in good condition. So again, back on the coach for our last pub of the day, which as it saw to be the current National CAMRA Pub of the Year had to be stupendous... didn't it?

Nothing quite prepared me for the Tom Cobley Tavern at Spreyton. Reading the Good Beer Guide led me to believe that we were in for a treat. We were not disappointed. It is as the Good Beer Guide says "a true gem". Licensed in 1589 it is said to be the pub from which the famed Tom Cobley and crew set out to Widecombe Fair in 1802. Why they would want to leave such a cracking pub I really don't know because believe me this pub is worthy of its accolade as National Pub of the year.

On entering there is a large bar to the right, whilst straight on leads to the restaurant area. Accommodation is also available so you are set up for a fine weekend if you choose to stay here. Indeed I doubt if you would venture far past the pub front door as it serves some twenty beers, or did so on the night of our visit. I did not try them all but sampled twelve of them all of which were in good to excellent condition. On tap were Cotleigh Tawny; Cottage Atlantic and Brunel's Eastern; O'Hanlon's Yellowhammer; St Austell Tribute and Proper Job; Sharps Doom Bar; Lizard Ales An Got; Teignworthy Reel Ale; Wizard Ales Druids Fluid; Palmers Bitter; Exe Valley Exeter Old Bitter; RCH Firebox, Pitchfork and Steam Special; Butcombe Gold; Summerskills Devon Dew; South Hams Eddystone and Clearwater Cavalier and Olives Nectar. With a range like that everything else was a bonus and that comes in the form of the publican Roger Cudlip. A larger than life character with an enthusiasm for his pub that is unsurpassed (other publicans take note). He took time out to talk to us and was more than willing to show a small party of us his cellar and to talk about the pub and the beers. We sat down here to a superb meal accompanied by beers after which we retired to the bar to complete our sampling exercise! All to soon it was time to leave for our home base, where again the beer range was unchanged from the previous night... still we had had a cracker of a day!

Saturday

Saturday our final full day and were we flagging? Well maybe a little. A hearty breakfast soon cured that and we were on our way for our day of trains and boats; a visit to a maltings and a beer festival. Daunting? Possibly. Achievable? Definitely... I think!

Gordon purchased a massive wad of Exe Valley Circular train tickets at the station for our day on the Exe Estuary and in no time at all we were all on the 9.50am train to Newton Abbott and the famed Tuckers Maltings. Tuckers is one of the few maltings left that still germinates the grain on the floor in the traditional way. I have wanted to visit it for years so today was a milestone for me. On arriving we were offered an unexpected pleasure in the form of a tour of Teignworthy Brewery which is on site at the maltings. We were joined by two knowledgeable Canadians who were very keen on small breweries and brewery owner John Laughton answered all our questions as he described the brewing process to us all. The brewery uses Goldings, Fuggles, Brambling and Challenger hops. The malt comes from Tuckers (of course). Moving on rather quickly to the sampling room as is our way we enjoyed the best pint of Teignworthy Reel Ale that we had tried all weekend. Why oh why can't they serve it like this in the pubs I thought? The Scrum Down and the Beachcomber were not quite as good. Having sampled we gathered for our tour of the maltings.

Tuckers supply enough malt to make six million pints a year. Small scale in the scheme of things but to see the malt drying on the vast drying rooms and machinery, some of which is over 100 years old is a sight to see and evocative of a tradition rapidly disappearing. Our tour was well over an hour and included a visit to the sample room where we tasted Teignworthy's naturally conditioned bottled Maris Otter at 5.2%... rather nice. Unfortunately we were now seriously behind schedule by an hour, having not expected the brewery tour so we knew that our visit to the South Devon Beer Festival would be curtailed by an hour.

Somewhat out of town at the race course the festival was luckily not to busy and with over 140 beers, ciders and perrys we had to be selective. We formed a small team and tried about twelve beers in about half an hour. We had not enough time to do the festival justice. The venue is spacious and food was available. The best beers for me were Goachers Real Mild and Marble Ginger Marble, the others being fair to good as is par for most beer festivals (apart from Solihull's of course!). Time was so tight we had to leave to get our train out to Star Cross to link with the boat across the Exe estuary. At Starcross we just had time to nick into the Atmospheric Railway for an uninspiring Draught Bass and not interesting Otter Ale, which was in good condition. As to the pub... definitely not atmospheric and not a place to tarry. Across the road rather snappish and a quick jaunt and we were all on the ferry cross the Exe.

Standing at the prow of the ferry and Kevin having done the Titanic take off, the fresh air cleared our heads whilst the sun beat down on us, everything seemed right with the world... well it would do for the bunch of half drunks that was the Solihull CAMRA contingent.

So, leaving the ferry at Exmouth, we headed for the Grove on the Esplanade, a Young's pub. It is an imposing Victorian building with decorative barge boards spoilt by an inept extension on the front, whilst inside it is both bland and characterless having suffered the one room makeover in which to cram in as many holiday makers as possible. However, on our visit 90% of the patrons were sitting in the garden and so charging our glasses we to joined them. An outside balcony at first floor level alongside the restaurant seemed inviting but on closer inspection was closed so we sat at bench tables. The usual Young's beers were available namely Bitter, Special, Waggledance and Courage Directors which were in good condition. It was just a shame that the guest beer was not very imaginative. With the sun beaming down on us we were loathe to make a move, but move we did.

A quick walk up the road bought us to the Powder Monkey a typical Wetherspoons pub opened in 2000. The pub takes its name from one Nancy Perriam an Exmouth resident whose sewing skills with shirts and sails were much appreciated by the Royal Navy. She also acted as a 'powder monkey' which is naval slang for the young boys who filled shells and cartridges with gunpowder. We were so short of time here that the Cotleigh Buzzard; Greene King Hooker No. 2 and Abbott Ale; O'Hanlon's Yellowhammer and Royal Oak together with Marston's Pedigree hardly touched our throats before we made a mad dash for the train which we duly missed. We decided therefore to give the Redwing at Lympstone a miss and go straight to Topsham. After a few phone calls to tie in with meeting local CAMRA members we settled down to await our train, entertainment being provided by Bob Jackson scrumping apples alongside the track.

Topsham is a lovely little town. Originally a Roman settlement, it was granted a Charter in 1300 by Edward I. It developed into a major British port and shipbuilding centre. There are Dutch houses from this maritime past, and many examples of Georgian and Edwardian architecture. In 2000 it celebrated its 700th year, with a visit being made by the Queen. But a little more of that anon. Our first Topsham pub was the Globe. Dating from before the 1700's it is now a hotel with a lively bar (called the Inn Bar), which is full of character but unfortunately has a dreary bland lounge dominated by a large screen TV, which suited some who needed a Rugby fix. Me, I preferred the bar and the range of beers. On tap was Fullers London Pride; Dartmoor Best Bitter; Sharp's Doom Bar; Butcombe Bitter and Otter Ale. I tried the Darmoor Bitter, a pleasant light bitter. Interestingly the name the Globe could originate from the sign of the Portuguese Wine merchants who traded in the locality in the past, which is a globe.

As it was early evening our minds and stomachs turned to thoughts of food and so we moved on to the Lighter Inn on the waterfront and though ideal for our evening meal, lacked any distinctive character. However the beer was in excellent condition but not very imaginative being King and Barnes Bitter and Badger Gold. Surprisingly the pub has a long history, once being the Customs House. The present building is a new build from the 1970's when the original was burnt to the ground. Its location is adjacent to the quay where ships unloaded their wares onto lighters, boats that were small enough to pass through the Exeter Ship Canal. Hence the name, "Lighter Inn". Furthermore on the quayside is the "King's Beam" once used to punish sailors for any bad behaviour and to hang those condemned to death. Then again another source calls it the "King's Weighers" the remains of a huge set of scales which weighed the bales of wool, and other goods coming into and out of the Topsham. At this late stage in the weekend both stories sounded plausible to me!

After replenishing ourselves with pub fare we moved onto our final pub for the night the Bridge. I have tried many times to visit the pub when it is open and until now have failed miserably. Apparently mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 it is on the CAMRA National Inventory of heritage pubs. It also has the accolade of being the only pub the Queen has visited. It is a gem of a pub dating back to the 16th century where beers are served by gravity from the cellar. It has a large bar and a small sitting room where access is limited by the pubs owners to regulars and friends. There were six beers on when we arrived Exmoor Beast; Adnam's Broadside; Branscombe Vale Branoc; Stonehenge Great Dane and Cotleigh 25 all in good to excellent condition.

An eye on the clock saw us move swiftly to get the train back to Exeter, where once again there were no new beers at the Great Western. However, being our last night we partook of pint or two to retire to bed contented with our day and the weekend.

Sunday

Hold on though... there is always a little bit of Sunday to try another pub... and where else in Exeter could we go? There was two choices the Turf or the Double Locks on the Exeter Ship Canal. The Double Locks won. Built in the early years of the 18th century as the lock keepers cottage and stabling for horses working the canal it is not easy to get to in a car. You have to negotiate a tight bridge over the Exeter Canal to get there but it is worth the visit. When we arrived the place was seething with families, walkers and cyclist, so much so that it was impossible to appreciate the traditional qualities of the pub. It is a Young's pub which relies very heavily on the food trade, but has a superb unspoilt bar. The beers were somewhat predictable being Wells Bombardier; Young's Bitter and Waggledance but welcoming to see Otter Ale and Bitter; O'Hanlons Firefly and Yellowhammer and for the cider drinkers Green Valley Cider which was served from a precarious hanging contraption above the bar.

Things must come to an end and soon we were motoring up the motorway back to Solihull. Were we happy and contented? I think so considering the gentle snoring coming from Kevin and Gordon in the back. So a quiet thank you to them both for organising a cracking weekend. Liverpool next year?

Steve Dyson. Photos: Gordon Clarke