Now first I must say that this pub is within walking distance from Pipwell Manor and is not on Lesley's list of places to eat. That having been said, I must comment that the host, Steve Goodison, is exactly what you would expect a publican to be like. He made friends with our friends on their first afternoon when they went off in search of lunch and he made up sandwiches for them even though the pub wasn't serving food at that time of day and he remembered them when we came in a couple of nights later. He chatted with us the entire time we were in the pub as he is a great fan of America and often visits here.

In spite of the warm welcome, this is a smoking pub and we all reeked when we left and felt as if we would never get away from the smell. The food was just what we expected - pub grub. I had scampi and fries which in pub food terms has nothing to do with pasta, it's fried small shrimp. It was no better, no worse than I expected. Al had lasagna, a brave choice I thought, and he enjoyed it even if it was unlike what he expected. It didn't really have any sauce. Joe had a safe choice, gammon steak which in American terms is ham steak. Very passable. The lager was cold and the welcome was warm. The dessert was hot Belgian Apple Pie and it was not made by Steve's wife Val, it tasted store-bought but what the heck, this was a great chance to spend an evening with the locals and just chat. Give it a go.