The Old England

This is one of my favourite pubs of the moment.
Twenty years ago, it was the scuzzy haunt of hippies, but now it is pleasantly quiet, even on a Friday night. The juke box play quiet reggae, the few punters at normal times are relaxed, convivial and about 50/50 black and white. The beer is kept well, but to keep me as well they serve two types of good quality draught cider.

Out the back, where the pub yard abuts the old vicarage, there are cricket nets which still see regular usage. Apparently, having these nets makes the Old England unique in England.

It's difficult to find a perfect pub. If one is too popular, it becomes noisy and hard to find a seat. If a pub is not popular enough, the place will be too quiet, there will be no atmosphere, and besides there is generally some good reason for a pub to be deserted. The Old England falls into the gap between the extremes, with great atmosphere and spare seats, not too noisy to have a conversation yet not so quiet that one has to whisper; and it's lovely. So is the barmaid, for that matter.


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