It’s the Perfect Day for a Pub Trip
By Peter George
Pubs of all shapes and sizes, whether thronging urban watering holes or magnificent country inns, are undoubtedly key to Britain’s cultural landscape. Often treasured community assets, each one has its own character and heritage, with its own particular perks — perhaps a sunny beer garden or a great open mic night, homemade chips that hit the spot every time or the friendliest pub dog you’ve ever met, or the one with the cosy seats in the corner for you and your tribe. Of course, each pub also has its own group of regulars and locals ready to tell you that THIS is the pub to go to.
But as anyone partial to a weekend pub lunch or a spontaneous evening pint with friends can tell you, pub numbers in the UK have suffered a worrying decline over recent years. Sometimes, however, a pub comes along which manages to buck this trend. For three years, to much local consternation, the inn at the heart of the Devon village of Walkhampton stood empty, a history beginning in the seventeenth century threatened with ending up as just another pub-closure statistic. But in winter 2017, as the village prepared to switch on its Christmas lights, the windows of the pub also lit up again. Having taken the reins only a fortnight before, finding the pub’s bar with no beer lines and abandoned food still in the kitchen, manager Frazer and dad Chris had raced to get the inn ready for the big night, when with just a few bottles behind the bar they took the first step towards their aim of giving the pub back to the community.
Fast-forward five years and the Walkhampton Inn is once again a busy local hub, one of those places you can always be sure of a friendly welcome and where you’re more than likely to run into someone you know. When Chris and Frazer took over the Walkhampton, they wanted to create the kind of pub they’d like to go to themselves, and to make sure that it was the kind of place where people would be able to come in and socialise regularly rather than visit only every now and then, where the prices are as welcoming as the atmosphere. As well as great food and drinks, the pub now hosts performances by local musicians, a regular quiz, and has that all-important sunny beer garden — complete with Doris the pub dog.
The journey of turning the inn around had its challenges, not least due to the restrictions of the pandemic. Although as ever the Walkhampton found an upside with the overnight launch of the pub’s successful takeaway service, which saw staff ferrying bags of burgers and cartons of beer around the local area, Frazer still remembers the return of customers after the lifting of the first lockdown as one of the happiest points in his time at the inn. He says that the philosophy behind the pub — and potentially the reason for its success — is that if you can bring in the locals then others will follow. He and Chris’ ideas for the business have been shaped through community interaction. A focus on creating mutual relationships remains at the heart of the way they do things. These aren’t just with customers, but also with the many suppliers with whom the pub has built direct relationships. Meat comes from local butchers, veg is grown locally wherever possible, and a range of local brewers, distillers and cider makers help keep the bar well stocked.
The hard efforts of Chris, Frazer and the rest of the Walkhampton’s ever-friendly team have turned the pub into one of my absolute favourite spots for anything from an evening meal to a quick drink whilst out cycling, adding another good reason (if one were needed) to squeeze in a bit of extra time in the area of Devon where I grew up. Nestled in the valley below the village’s medieval church, Walkhampton’s location on the edge of Dartmoor makes the pub the perfect place to relax after a walk around the nearby Burrator reservoir, to the top of Sheepstor to enjoy the stunning views over moor and sea, or for those eager to cut more quickly to the warmth of the bar, a shorter stroll on Walkhampton Common. The menu is entirely home made and features pub classics alongside their own variations, a shifting array of specials, and themed food weekends ranging from cider and sausages to Indonesian curries. Frazer recommends trying one of the pies if you’re visiting for the first time, advice that I’d definitely second whilst also recommending that you save some room for their delicious chocolate marquise or steamed pudding and custard (something sometimes easier said than done given the generous portion sizes!).
Grab a G&T or a pint of local cider, tuck into some dirty fries with freshly-cut skin-on chips, and relax outside in the garden or inside by the fire: I’m sure you’ll agree with me in no time that THIS is the pub to go to.
If you’re in town on a pub crawl, check out Peter’s placelist below to find more pubs around Plymouth, including The Walkhampton — only on Bimble
All photos courtesy of The Walkhampton Inn. Find them on Facebook and on Instagram
If you have a story you’d like to share about a great little place or other bimbling experiences, get in touch with us at hello@bimble.com.
