OXFORD.

The Anchor is a Wadworth pub (£2.15 a pint of 6X!) and stands on the crossroads formed by Hayfield Road, Polstead Road, Kingston Road and Aristotle Lane, in an area of Oxford known as Walton Manor. The first reference found to a “house of refreshment” in this area comes from Thomas Hearne’s journal for 1718. Hearne mentions the proximity of the well that used to stand on the opposite corner of the crossroads. It is, therefore, tempting to think this is a reference to the cottage that stood on the site of the present day Anchor. It was the proximity of the canal that led to the inn being called The Anchor, first found as such in Hunt’s Oxford Directory for 1845 and the landlord listed as one Anthony Harris. Food is served here at lunchtimes and early evenings; examples are: Soup of the Day £1.45; Jacket Potatoes from £1.80; Cajun Chicken £4.45; Steak & Kidney Pie £3.45; Beef burger £3.45. not a great choice for vegetarians: Broccoli Bake (served with a salad) £3.45. Sandwiches are also available. Look out for the specials board. A guest ale is usually served, on this occasion it was Early Bird from Hophouse. No accommodation here.

This is a Young's managed house. The pub takes its name from the nearby Angel and Greyhound Meadow, which leads down to the Cherwell, and is an attractive place to walk off the effects of an extra pint. The meadow used to grow fodder for two coaching inns, the Angel and Greyhound, both on the High Street. They are long gone, but the new Angel and Greyhound preserves their memory. The building, previously a wine bar (but before that a pub called, perhaps predictably, the Oranges and Lemons) has been sympathetically refurbished in a "new old" style, with a miscellany of pine tables and chairs. An eclectic selection of mirrors and old advertisements cover the walls. Two coal fires. Open May morning (ticket only). The current landlord, who worked for ten years at the King's Arms, has achieved a solid reputation for the pub in the three years that it has been open serving local regulars, students and tourists, who will find the walk across Magdalen Bridge worthwhile. Children welcome, though families may find space a problem. No garden, but there is outside seating on small patios at the front and rear. Disabled access OK, but toilet is upstairs. Bar games: chess, draughts, backgammon, dominoes, crib. The beers are Young's, Bitter ,Special, Oatmeal Stout, and a Seasonal ale. Food is excellent in value and covers a wide range of dishes (the majority home-made). It's available Mon-Sat 12-3 and 6-8.30, and on Sundays 12-2.30 (when a roast meal is also served). There are pies (e.g. chicken, ham and mushroom, beef in beer), curries, tuna bake, mushroom lasagna all for around £3.50. Traditional puddings such as spotted dick, apple cake, Bakewell tart.

This was the brewery tap of the Morrells brewery in the historic parish of Saint Thomas, almost on top of Oxford Castle. Unlike the brewery itself, this is a newly decorated and modernized pub with wooden floors and a piano - which looks like it hasn't been used for a long time. On the walls are old photos of brewing past and you can even spot the family member with the group photo of the 1903 employees. There is also a real log fire for winter and a beer garden next to the brewery shop in the summer. You can sit and stare at the castle if you like. The beers on are usually all those brewed by Morrells including Mild; Bitter; Varsity; Graduate; and College. You would think that the brewery tap would serve cask conditioned ales, but alas that isn't the case. You get the pasteurised version only. No accommodation here and food is available at lunchtimes only (not on Sunday). The good thing about the pub is that it provides tours of the brewery (1^st June - 30^th September daily at noon; 1^st October - 31^st May Saturday/Sunday at noon). Tours cost £3.50 for adults and £2 for children over 14. This latter point is obvious when you get to the end of the tour as there is a sampling session! It's best to book (01865 813036) in the summer as there is not a lot of room to move around in the brewery. After an audio-visual cringe you get to see the coppers and mash tuns and just smell the malt room!!!!! If you are lucky you will see the brewery cat, there to eat rodents, not drink beer. Alas the brewery is now sold and closed and so the beers are brewed outside Oxford. Not a scratch on what they used to be like. What can we say but "Goodbye" to this place.

This pub is easy to find being situated adjacent to the River of the same name, in a quiet district of Oxford having its own place in Oxford’s social history. Just turn left off the Banbury Road, shortly after leaving the ring road on the way in to Oxford, going down either Wentworth Road or Victoria Road. The Cherwell is a modern, welcoming, free house specialising in good beers. Specialities are Brakspears Bitter, and the new Brakspears Premium Smooth. There is a private dining room on the first floor is available for private parties to celebrate that special occasion, a birthday, a wedding or anniversary. Regular business meetings are held here. The pub is also home to the Oxford North Rotary Club, Oxford Isis Rotary Club and Oxford Round Table. No accommodation here.

You arrive at this Wadworths pub thinking it's going to be the usual ales only to find that they have a beer festival on. Well, that's what happened to me. The Folly is a large open-planned pub with a single old-fashioned wooden bar. It looks more like a firkin with those pine kitchen tables, but has recently been refurbished. Situated just outside the city centre it is a short walk from the Thames. The food is not very adventurous, burgers and chili style, average price £3.95. Beer festivals are held in the bar upstairs and the 24 ales were kept under cooler which meant that the ales were too chilly. Apparently this was a stipulation of Wadworths - why I've no idea. There were many beers from unusual brewers including: Bishops, Brandy Cask, Passageway, Daleside, Pilgrim, Flagship, Hexamshire, Orkney, Farmers Arms, Mildmay and Heather. There is no accommodation on site, but there is plenty around and about. Apparently they now have a regular beer festival every first Thursday of the month! What heaven indeed.

This is a traditional pub situated in the heart of the Colleges, University buildings and Museums on the north side of Oxford. According to local history, there has been a tavern called the Lamb in St Giles since medieval times. As such, The Lamb moved to its present location in 1617 and became the Lamb and Flag. For the history buffs, 'Lamb and Flag' comes from the symbol of St. John the Baptist, to whom St Johns College, next to the pub, is dedicated. Plus if you can remember your school reading, you might remember that the pub was the setting for Thomas Hardy's 'Jude the Obscure' (Jude's wife, Arabella, barmaided there). CS Lewis drank here at times. These days all you get are students, though they may be famous in the future. Its traditional and friendly atmosphere offers a warm welcome to all. The real ales available are Theakstons Best, XB and Old Peculier, plus 'guest' ales. On this occasion it was Conniston Bluebird. Food is served here and can be hot or cold. These feature tradtitional pies, casseroles and Ploughman's. All served 12-2.00pm and 6-9pm. vegetarian options available. No accommodation here.

Again very positive. After recently being refitted they have gone for an Irish theme style, with lots of interesting items stuck to the ceiling and walls. Good clean atmosphere with friendly staff, and customers. The main bar covers most of the pub but there are two side areas which are quieter. Furniture and seating was very good and there was plenty of room for prams etc if necessary. The toilets (I only saw the male toilets for obvious reasons) are clean and easy to find - which is never a bad thing. The pub never got over busy and there was a very personal feel to the place. Good friendly atmosphere. No negative comments on the beer front. Morrells Brewery have a good selection of real ales, as well as a large range of lagers and bottled drinks. The food was amazing. Food becomes available after mid-day. There is a huge main menu with a wide range of foods to choose from, from curry to toasties to steak, as well as a generous specials board. On Wednesday (after 6.30pm) they have a 'steak night' where special 16oz rump and T-bone are on offer, and their Sunday roasts are gorgeous. Portions are more than generous and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. However, on Wednesday and Sunday it can get quite busy (due to steak night etc). Staff are friendly and helpful - they will gladly recommend a meal if you have trouble deciding. Food times are from mid-day to late. Best: To be honest I thought the food was fantastic. So that has to be my favourite feature of this pub. No accommodation here. (Midge)

North Parade is a small mid-Victorian terraced street of upmarket shops and the Rose and Crown, a distinguished pub. In 1954 the licensing authority's criticism of its toilets threatened the Rose and Crown's continued existence. Among its defenders was John Veale, composer, who described the pub as a home of flippant and witty conversation. Perhaps in tribute to this there is definitely no juke box or piped music, and, mercifully, no electronic games either. Don't be surprised if you are asked to pay for drinks in pre-decimalisation money. This pub is a Sycamore Taverns pub. The company was formed in 1992 with 240 pubs across most areas of England, from Lancashire to the south. The guest beers tend to be from Bass and Whitbread, though this is essentially a Carlsberg-Tetley beer pub. Beers are Burton, ABC bitter, and Dartmoor Best. Food is served every lunchtime between 12-2.15 and every evening (6-9.45 Mon-Fri; 6-8.45 Sat; 7-8.45 Sun). if you are just peckish for a nibble with your beer, then Pistachio nuts are sold by the beer glass. For more conventional appetites, there is a good range of homemade food including unusual items such as fidget (i.e. gammon and apple pie) and whole trout. Main dishes around £5, snacks £2.50. Sunday roasts £5.95. Vegetarians are well catered for, though that ubiquitous lasagna is there. In the summer they also do barbecues on summer lunchtimes. There is no beer garden, but there is seating outside in the courtyard which can be covered by a rolling roof on rainy and cold days and heated by braziers like extraterrestrial mushrooms. There's also a small room beyond the courtyard which is open at lunchtimes. Children are not allowed. Disabled access is possible. Piano (and occasionally guitar) played Tuesday evenings. The pub sponsors the Oxford City Stars ice hockey team and also has a quiz and cricket sides. More idiosyncratically, there is also a tradition of dongola racing (six people paddle a punt and pretend to be hurrying to the relief of Khartoum)??????. There is no accommodation here.
 

You can get to this pub down a narrow turning right off Holywell St going east or down the alley (St Helen's Passage) from New College Lane, under the Bridge of Sighs. A tourist attraction in its own right. The Turf is a splendid low-beamed English tavern surrounded by venerable college buildings and part of the old city wall. Its foundations date to the 13th century, though most of the present building is 16th. The name derives from previous associations with gambling. The Turf also features repeatedly in literature associated with Oxford, and more recently has been seen on TV in Inspector Morse. Its popularity with students and tourists alike can lead to crowding, but there may be room to escape to the attractive (though small) garden and the covered yards at the back. Children welcome outside and in back room when bar is not in use (i.e. most lunchtimes). No music. No games machines. Braziers outside in winter. It happens to be a Whitbread managed house but that doesn't stop it from stocking some OK beers. on at the time were the usual suspects such as Flowers' Bitter, Boddingtons, 'Headbanger', Fullers London Pride, Old Speckled Hen, and one or two guests. It also does six fruit wines and mead and mulled wine in winter. The food is served daily at lunchtimes (12-3) and evenings (6.30-9.30). The food is a wide range of good home-made dishes including specials such as beef and beer pie, pork in cider and minted lamb for just under £5. At least two vegetarian specials daily. Student-oriented fast foods are also served and there is an extensive salad bar. Home made fruit pies plus gateaux - yummy! No accommodation here.

Real Ales on Tap: Wadworths 6X Tetleys plus guest.

Nearest Accommodation: The Eastgate or The Randolph (0870 4009191 for booking) expensive but luxurious..

The White Horse (open all day) is a managed house but still has a guest ale. Beers tend to be Tetleys, Wadworths 6X, Burton, etc. However, the guest bitter is a welcome change and tends to be changed every two weeks. On this occasion it was Youngs Ram Rod. The White Horse has a long, narrow bar finished in a traditional style of brown wood panels and plasterwork - apparently stained by generations of smokers (watch your lungs). The building is early Tudor and is a treat to the eyes. The White Horse is a splendid place to unwind after the intellectual rigours of browsing in Blackwell's world-famous bookshops on both sides of the pub, and probably underneath it as well. Busy trade from students, tourists and booksellers. When crowded, the White Horse is a bit claustrophobic, but is not rude or arrogant. On the walls are photographs of Oxford sporting clubs - from rowing to ballroom dancing (!). Viewers of Inspector Morse will recognise this as one of the lugubrious detective's most favoured haunts. No music. Wheelchair access difficult. Food is delivered in generous portions at the bar, all made on the premises. It is served daily 12-2:30pm, Mon-Fri 6 to 8pm. Some examples of the wholesome food are: fresh fish and chips, beef in Guinness, curries, and giant Yorkshire puddings. Prices are typically £5.50-£6.50. Vegetarian options available have been spinach, egg and stilton pie. Food is brought to the bar by dumb waiter. It has no certificate for children. No accommodation here. 

Other Pubs to try:

The Wharf House, Speedwell Street/Thames Street. 4 beers plus Belgian selection.

The Hobgoblin, St. Aldates. Up to 4 ales.

The Bear, Blue Boar Street. 4 beers.

The Head of the River, Folly Bridge. Fullers beers.

Far from the Madding Crowd, Friar's Entry, nr Borders bookshop. 3 beers.

The Old Tom, St. Aldates. Greene King

The Oxford Blue, 32, Marston St, Oxford, OX41JU. 01865 723898