The Waggoners, Ayot Green

The pub backs onto the A1M, and outside, you can hear it. It is down a cul-de-sac and so otherwise quite. We sat outside at a pavement table. On offer was Greene King, Adnams, Abbot, Pride, and Doombar - I had the IPA. Good, clear and well kept.

Inside the place is cosy enough to spend an evening. It looks to be mid 19th century and well-kept and the decor is very well done.

There was a menu on the table, and, although we weren't going to eat, it persuaded me we should - if you search around, you'll probably find the menu on the net - this is good stuff: not cheap but quality, the chef has quite some skill - I did look to see if it had a Michelin star - it hasn't. The service from the bar staff was only fair - it may be different inside in the dining section.

The locals were very friendly and a couple of hours had gone before we knew it.

Take a note of where it is if you are belting up or down the A1M - you'll not be disappointed.

30 Jul 2017 02:12

The Gate, Bricket Wood

I called in with my wife about 9 months ago for the first time in 25 years! It had changed... It's well laid out in a smart but informal way in a sort of "traditional country pub design". It seemed mainly, but not exclusively, for diners. This is not unreasonable, as the immediate population is not very high. The garden is small but pleasant enough, and the place is dog friendly.

There were a couple of decent beers - the name of the guest beer eludes me - I think I had the Charles Wells - no complaints. I ordered a glass of wine for my wife and was staggered when I was charged the best part of £6! When asked why this was, the opportunistic barman told me that as I hadn't been specific, he had given me that wine - the cooking stuff was about £3 - I did get it swapped.

The menu looked good and I spoke to someone about the meals - they were full of praise.

30 Jul 2017 01:53

The Old Fox, Bricket Wood

Well - the pub was next to a wonderful area for walking dogs, and people do walk dogs and then they did go to the pub. The theme of "smelling of dogs" seems to have taken off, but I never noticed it and I'm not really bothered. I like pubs that accept dogs and would not go to one that didn't. OK - that's dealt with - if you didn't like dogs, you shouldn't have gone to a dog walking pub.

The essence of the place was that it was unaltered from time immemorial - this is how pubs were: bare boards, nooks, small rooms - it was great. I've been quite a few times in winter and there was a huge log fire burning - perfect!

The staff were always friendly enough to me and other customers. The restricted opening times did make a difference but I reckon the landlord had other things to do the rest of the week - why shouldn't he have opened when he wanted to?

The beers were always the same - Ridgeway and Toad - never had a bad pint, and it was cheap enough.

You will note that this review is in the past tense - The Old Fox closed about 9 months ago - rumour has it that it has structural problems, so whether it will ever open again as a pub nobody knows. I hope it does. I always felt that I was one of a select group who knew of this very traditional and isolated pub that had been trapped in a time warp and I appreciated it.

30 Jul 2017 01:36