Spring Pub of the Season 2008

At our April meeting we had the tough task of voting for our pub of the season, as ever a close contest which was won by The Cricketers, [Wyndham Road, Bournemouth, BH1 4RN]. With the dearth of decent real pubs in Bournemouth, it is really great to have another pub serving real ale in the town and this is a real gem. It is the oldest pub in Bournemouth, dating back to 1847, the comfortable lounge area once hosted a boxing gym that was frequented by some famous names in its' time.

We made the presentation on Friday night and found it to be well worthy of the award. Three real ales were served, the standard is Fuller's London Pride, the two guests were very unusual for the area however: Celt's Golden Ale and Newmans' Last Lion of Britain, we just missed Titanic Captain smith which ran out on our arrival. All the beers were excellent, so much so that we decided not to wander on and stayed there til closing time.

Well worth a visit and close to Bournemouth Train station and travel interchange, it is a really friendly welcoming pub with all the modern stuff and lots of history too, and if you are a prog rock music buff check out some of the posters in the lounge - anyone remember Camel? Also the Sunday lunches are fantastic!! What can we say, congrats to the landlord and landlady and all the staff, and to everyone else pay The Cricketers a visit.

Spring Pub of the Season

At our April meeting we voted for our Spring Pub of the Season; the pubs nominated were:

Cock & Bottle, East Morden
Crown & Anchor, Wimborne
Royal Oak, Kinson
Saxon, Child Okeford
Shoulder of Mutton, Bear Cross

The winner of what turned out to be a very close contest was The Royal Oak at Kinson. On Wimborne Road in the heart of Kinson’s shopping area, and at the entrance to Somerfield's car park, this is a thriving locals pub often ignored; this is a mistake. Dave and Angie the landlord and landlady have Ringwood Best, Sharp's Doom Bar and Wychwood Hobgoblin as regulars and ensure there is usually a guest ale on tap, when I visited to take the photo it was Hidden Fantasy.

We will be presenting the award on June 23rd, planning to arrive around 6.30 and presenting the plaque roughly 7.30. All are welcome so do drop in and raise your glass to Dave, Angie and all the staff and thank them for doing a great job.