Pubs - Opus One!

Okay, I've talked about the cathedrals (although probably not enough for some people) but, to date, I've totally neglected mentioning any pubs - and it isn't exactly like we haven't been in quite a few!  So, this blog is going to be about some of the ones we've visited.  We haven't been in every one we've seen but we've taken some photos of them too!

Kathleen's first "awakening" was that the Brits distinguish between beer and lager. - and they are quite different.   After ordering beer a couple of times and finding it too "beery", she now orders lager.  However, because the Brits don't appear to actually make many lagers, she has been reduced to having Foster's, Carlsberg, St Miguel, none of them English!  Imagine her disappointment when she found out she wouldn't be sampling English "beer".  I'm trying to convince her to branch out, be more flexible, and work on developing a taste for British beer but no luck so far!  

Okay, back to the pubs.  One of first "oldie-worldie" ones we went into was in Branscombe (Devon) where I took Mom's cousin and her husband a few years ago.  I'm sure the Masons Arms must date from the 16th or 17th century.  The ceilings and floors are all uneven and it all adds to the charm.

The Mason Arms in Branscombe

Bar at the Masons Arms

Fireplace at the Masons Arms

Behind the bar at the East Dart Hotel

Up on Dartmoor, we stopped in at the pub in Postbridge for an orange juice and a tea - yes, really!  Even so, the guy was still happy to take our picture behind the bar.   








Ye Olde Salutation Inne - East Looe

In Looe, we had a drink in one pub that dates from the 15th century and then another which purports to be the "oldest pub in Looe".  Not sure which one wins that contest but since one was on the east side and the other one the west, maybe they are both right.  Both were filled with locals, mostly fisherman in the one in West Looe.




Inside the Jolly Sailor



The Jolly Sailor (West Looe)

              






 



The Ship Inn in Mousehole

Further west in Cornwall, we stopped for a light lunch in a pub in Mousehole called The Ship Inn.  There seems to be one with that name in every village along the Cornish coast!




Kath at the bar in The Ship Inn

Back in Penzance that evening, we had dinner in a very funky (and old) pub called The Admiral Benbow.  The front of the pub was chock-a-block full of knick-knacks, etc. and the back was fashioned like the stern of a ship.  The floors were again really uneven and the ceilings quite low.  It was an "interesting" evening as they say and having dinner there was a lot of fun.

Penzance's Admiral Benbow

and the restaurant



Inside the Admiral Benbow bar



Dinner at the Admiral Benbow

So, that about sums up the first week or so of our pub experiences.  There is a reason why the title of this blog is Opus One.  You can expect more on this topic!