The Shire Horse, Littlewick Green

We were en route to a 40th birthday party at the Snooty Fox in Warren Row where we had made lunch reservations, hoping to relax into our weekend in the country before the party. Unfortunately, although perhaps thankfully (I'll come back to this later) it took so long to leave the big smoke we weren't going to arrive in time. We therefore decided to stop at the Shire Horse, a few miles down the road before checking into our room.


The Shire Horse is a large Chef and Brewer country pub with extensive beer garden. We however sat inside. It is a recently refurbished 18th century country inn with traditional old beams. It was extremelly busy on a Saturday afternoon, with many families in attendance, perhaps for the great value set lunch menu.

Gipsy Spread had already decided on the gammon from the Snooty Fox menu, so this is what he had to have at the Shire Horse. Although there was an extensive vegetarian selection. I was open to being a bit more adventurous with the specials and opted for the halloumi salad.

We had been driving for quite a long time and welcomed the rest, however our meals did not arrive for 45-50 minutes. Hospitably, when we enquired after our meals, the proprieter took our drinks of the bill. This is a wonderful country pub, with all the classice accoutrements one would expect. The service last Saturday was a bit slow, but was very friendly and the food was hearty and satisfying.


Now, returning to the Snooty Fox, where we had hoped to eat  lunch and where we had breakfast the next morning. The food at the party we attended in the evening was good, however, it was a buffet and the hot food was most likely cooked by them, but not prepared. The venue itself was wonderfully bijous and eclectic with a range of lovaly ales on tap. Sadly for us the experience was marred by our experience of the accommodation above, which I would rate as poor. I think they need to decide what they want to be and stick with it. If they are just a bar with food, then that is what they should be and not offer accommodation that is sub standard. If they are also a B&B, then some improvements need to be made. We felt relieved that we hadn't made lunch here after our experience upstairs which was a bit lazy, tired and dirty.