It was pointed out recently by DrinkDrank that everyone is talking about the beer on their travels, so I thought I’d mention my recent trip into Devonshire and the pub we stayed with.
A job in Stover, Devonshire, sent us south for a days work. We decided that we would stay at a pub we had been to before. Infact, it was the same school in Stover that we were working at before when we first found The Saint George and Dragon. Although the pub is quite a distance from Stover, we decided that it was so good that it was worth the travelling.
When we stayed here before it was a perfect summers day, the sun was shining, their was a light breeze which kept the suns heat at bay and clear views for miles around. There was three real ales available (St. Austell’s Tribute, Sharp’s Doom Bar and Brains’ Rev. James) and the food was cooked properly in house and not just microwaved, as so many pubs do these days. The rooms were clean and the beds were really comfortable. This time the weather couldn’t have been more different. It rained, and rained, and rained some more. This was unfortunate but didn’t stop The Saint George and Dragon from reminding us just why we liked it so much in the first place.
When we arrived I noticed that they had now added free wi-fi to their repertoire of amenities. We found the rooms were just as good as we remembered, with the same soft beds that provide a really good nights sleep. Later we had dinner in the pub, the beers available had changed (St Austell’s Tribute, Fuller’s Summer Ale and Butcombe Bitter as well as a board which said it had Purity’s Mad Goose which we asked about and was told “we gave it some pills and it’s better now”!) which were all fantastic (I had one of each). I remarked to myself at how poor the view was, since last time I was sitting in the same seat at dinner I could see the view across the Exe estuary (which was amazing), today I could hardly make out the horizon, still, that’s not the pubs fault.
The only thing that I can find against this really nice country pub is the atmosphere. A lot of the other patrons were also hotel guests, it didn’t seem to have any locals and there was a bit more of a restaurant feel to it than a pub at times. Some would argue that this is the most important aspect of a pub and I would usually agree with you. However, after a long days work you don’t seem to care about that so much and finding a decent pint seems like finding the holy grail, and find it we did.
Really all I can say about this pub; good views (in good weather), good food, good beds and good beer. What more could you want? This is fast becoming our “go to” hotel when we are in the Exeter area. I hope if we come back in winter they have the fire going.