The Famous Grouse - Telegraph

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The Royal Oak Hotel
Roath, Cardiff, Glamorganshire
Sunday lunches, church
pews, b&b accommodation,
free gigs… With its various
attractions, this large,
Victorian-built corner pub,
located to the north-east of
Cardiff city centre, draws a
diverse crowd, from young
students to long-standing
regulars (none so long
standing, however, as a
previous landlady, Kitty
Burns, who lived there for
57 years). The knock-out
feature here is boxing: there
is a training gym and boxing
ring upstairs, and the walls
are covered in black and
white stills of local champions
— including the 1910 Lonsdale
Belt winner “Peerless” Jim
Driscoll, a relative of Kitty’s.
�200 Broadway, Cardiff,
Glamorganshire, CF24 1QJ;
029 2019 1048;
www.theroyaloakcardiff.co.uk
Ye Olde Bull’s Head Inn
Beaumaris, Anglesey
Ye Olde Bull’s Head is a pub
of contrasts. It’s steeped in
history and has a traditional,
beamed bar, yet it’s a five-star
hotel with all the mod cons.
Its new annexe, the
Townhouse, comprises
a retro-inspired collection
of vivid, colour-themed
bedrooms — and ironically
was once home to the
Rowlands Temperance Hotel,
whose mission it was to
promote abstinence.
“Ye Olde” famous visitors
range from the commanding
(Civil War parliamentarian
general Thomas Mytton) to
the cultured (Dickens and
Johnson). If you want proof of
just how pivotal this pub has
been to the town over the
centuries, note the ducking
stool in the bar — which you
can still sit on.
�Castle Street, Beaumaris,
Anglesey, LL58 8AP; 01248
810329; www.bullsheadinn.co.uk
Ye Olde Murenger House
Newport, Gwent
Known as Newport’s “haven
in a superpub ghetto”, this
traditional hostelry is popular
with all ages — particularly
real ale fans, who appreciate
the fact that Samuel Smith’s
rare OBB cask ale is sold
here. In fact, Samuel Smith’s
brewery saved this pub from
collapse in the 1970s and
restored the building — the
last timber-framed one in
Newport. (In medieval times
a Murenger collected the tax
or “murage” for the upkeep of
the town walls from those
who lived within them.)
A ceiling upstairs, which
dates back to 1530 and the
time of Henry VIII, features a
plaster moulding of the Tudor
Rose and the Pomegranate of
Aragon – celebrating Henry’s
first marriage, to Catherine
of Aragon.
In more recent history, the
pub was a favourite with
local girls during the Second
World War, who came here
to stock up on items supplied
by the American GIs stationed
in Newport.
�52-53 High Street, Newport,
Gwent, NP20 1GA;
01633 263 977
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The Carts Bog Inn
Langley, Northumberland
You won’t find a more
traditional pub or a warmer
welcome in the North
Pennines. Set in an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty,
The Carts Bog — once a
coaching inn — is renowned
throughout the region for its
fine food and drink, and
panoramic views. The new
owner, who refurbished the
place last year, uses his family’s
farm to supply beef, and other
local sources for the freshest
vegetables, fish and game. Try
one of the popular Bog Pies,
accompanied by a pint of
Bog Bitter, sourced from
Newcastle’s Mordue brewery.
�Langley, Northumberland,
NE47 5NW; 01434 684338;
www.cartsbog.co.uk
The George and Dragon
Hudswell, North Yorkshire
Truly the hub of the village
of Hudswell, The George and
Dragon is owned by around
250 people, nearly half of
whom live in the village. This
truly cooperative venture —
the first of its kind in North
Yorkshire — has been made
a success by the commitment
of Jackie and Margaret, the
daughter-and-mother team
who run the place and
organise regular events. Part
of the pub is taken up by the
Little Shop — supposedly the
smallest shop in the country
— and it also houses a small
community library.
�Hudswell, North Yorkshire,
DL11 6BL; 01748 518373;
www.georgeanddragonhudswell.com
The King’s Arms
York, North Yorkshire
Situated at a low level on the
banks of the River Ouse, The
King’s Arms regularly falls
victim to the floods that
plague this beautiful medieval
city. Whereas some publicans
would have simply given up
and moved on, the landlord
here has turned the rising
water into a selling point, and
drinkers can plot each year’s
flood levels on a floor-toceiling
plaque in the bar.
Popular with locals and
tourists alike, who love the
quayside location, the pub is
filled with mementoes from
Scandinavian visitors who
come to town each February
for York’s Viking Festival.
�3 King’s Staith, York, North
Yorkshire, YO1 9SN; 01904 659435
The Lord Crewe Arms Hotel
Blanchland, Northumberland
Formerly part of Blanchland
Abbey, the medieval Lord
Crewe Arms is as atmospheric
a hotel as you’ll find in the
UK. Filled with huge stone
fireplaces, timber beams and
many a hidden nook and
cranny — not to mention
the occasional ghost — the
building is certainly historical.
The bar area is located in the
abbey’s old crypt, which adds
a Hammer Horror ambience,
while the garden, which looks
out across open moorland, is
renowned as one of the finest
in the North East. There’s an
excellent restaurant, too.
�Blanchland, Northumberland,
DH8 9SP; 01434 675251;
www.lordcrewehotel.co.uk
The Minerva
Hull, East Yorkshire
As befits a pub on Hull’s
marina, The Minerva is proud
of its seafaring links. The
views of the Humber Estuary
are second-to-none; there
is maritime memorabilia
everywhere you turn; and the
giant haddock and chips on
the menu is the finest in the
city. Made up of five higgledypiggledy
rooms, the pub is
home to the smallest snug in
the UK (accommodating just
two people), a tiny theatre,
and Hull’s only three-bar
billiards tables – all of which
add to the wonderfully oldfashioned
experience.
�Nelson Street, Hull, East
Yorkshire, HU1 1XE; 01482
210025; www.minervapub.com
The Plough Inn
Hutton Henry, Co Durham
The only pub in the County
Durham village of Hutton
Henry, The Plough has been
the community focal point for
centuries. Understandably
popular with locals, it is
equally welcoming to those
who pass through the former
mining village on their way to
and from the big cities of Tyne
and Wear or the dramatic
coastline of North Yorkshire.
Serving a good range of local
ales, it is a suitably authentic
place to stop amid the unique
landscapes, where industrial
vistas combine with stunning
rural scenery to create
a haunting beauty.
�Front Street, Hutton Henry, Co
Durham, TS27 4RH; 01429 836506
Savile Arms
Thornhill, West Yorkshire
One of just three UK pubs
partially built on consecrated
ground, this small village inn
has been here since 1777.
Originally called The
Scarborough Arms and Inn
and owned by the Earl of
Scarborough, Lord Savile, the
property is still managed by
the Savile estate. This friendly,
traditional pub with logburning
stoves and exposed
oak beams really hasn’t
changed much since the
1960s, apart from the addition
of a mural in one of the
rooms covering all four walls,
depicting the history of
Thornhill. Local artist
Stephen Hines took eight
months to finish the work.
�Church Lane, Thornhill, nr
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire,
WF12 0JZ; 01924 463 738
The White House
Hartlepool, Co Durham
A pub restaurant with real ale
and a locally sourced menu
that focuses on seasonal
ingredients, The White House
occupies what was once the
main building of a boys’
grammar school, St Francis
RC School. This is the only
pub in this residential quarter
of Hartlepool, and everyone,
old or young, is made to feel
welcome here — especially at
the weekly quiz nights.
�Wooler Rd, Hartlepool, Co
Durham, TS26 0DR; 01429 224392;
www.emberpubanddining.co.uk
Clockwise from main
photograph: the beer garden
at The Lord Crewe Arms
hotel looks out over the
moor; parts of Ye Olde
Murenger House date back
to 1530; Ye Olde Bull’s Head
has five-star quality
OCTOBER 16 2011 The Sunday Telegraph
Distributed with The Sunday Telegraph