Day 966 (06/11/2024)
Market Deeping/Deeping St James & some surrounding villages…
Having already covered Oakham, Bourne, most of Stamford, some of Peterborough and a lot more of the surrounding area, I thought that using my Wednesday productively to fill in the gaps of Market Deeping and its surrounding area would be an excellent use of my time…
As always you’ll be able to have a look at all of the pubs I visited yesterday over on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8onUhvLBxM
Huge thanks to everyone who made yesterday so much fun and to Paul and Louise for joining me for the 2nd half of the day!
Here’s how I got on with the area…
My day kicked off in the village of Langtoft where there is a beautiful little pub called the ‘Waggon & Horses’ that peaked my interest on the way past with its lovely stone exterior and packed out car park… at 1245 on a Wednesday lunchtime…
So, forever being one to investigate, I headed inside to see what it was that had them so busy on a Wednesday lunchtime… and discovered that every Wednesday and Sunday they offer a full blown carvery which smelled AMAZING… and certainly had them as a hive of activity! One real ale on from JW Lees and a small keg offering with a lovely warm welcome, good restaurant space and cosy bar area with lovely old fireplace. Nice beer garden to the side as well. A really lovely little pub!
I then headed to the village of Peakirk so that I could make it to ‘The Ruddy Duck’ (the first of that name I’ve ever visited) which was open until 230pm before closing for the afternoon.
Another glorious old stone building with lovely beams and low ceilings inside. FOUR excellent ale choices on the bar alongside some really good taps that include Camden Pale. Another lovely fireplace and pub that feels like a little piece of village history and has been really beautifully maintained and has a super looking food offering…
The next village is Glinton and their pub is ‘The Blue Bell’ which is a Freehold of a Greene King building, meaning that the lovely publicans here have free reign over the choices made on food and drink… (much better) Having been at the helm of this gorgeous pub for the past 11 years, it’s clear to feel the love for the old place as you walk in and they have created such a beautiful vibe for the local people to enjoy.
Formerly 4 cottages, this place has stood since the very late 1700’s and has several old fireplaces to feast your eyes upon as well as a gorgeous dining area to the rear, super size beer garden and a really lovely feel to the place. It’s an absolute gem of a pub (but don’t take my word for it, see the tour in the YouTube video) with a couple of ales on and some decent offerings amongst the taps! Top pub all round!
It was then into the village of Helpston and to the 2nd ‘Blue Bell’ in a row! Another stunner of a stone building that was also built around the late 1700’s and is situated right next door to the cottage where Poet John Clare was born… and rumour has it, the man himself once worked as a pot washer at the pub! Gorgeous inside with another lovely welcome and some top locals who happily chatted away and filled me in on the history of the place. Food looked amazing, the pub itself is gorgeous throughout and there are 4 excellent ale choices on the bar alongside a brilliant tap offerings! Another top pub!
The village of Etton was up next and the pub called ‘The Golden Pheasant’ which has an incredible food offering, 3 fantastic ales on and a really good lager/keg set of choices. With a lovely team running the place, this grand old pub has a great bar area and excellent dining space to the rear as well as a marquee that is available for hire for private functions and a superb sized beer garden and children’s play area! This area certainly is spoiled when in comes to great places to eat and drink!
My final outskirts style village took me to Maxey and for ‘Blue Bell’ number 3 which made it a super clean sweep of excellent looking establishments named the Blue Bell. Young lady on the bar is a real asset to the pub, really friendly and attentive to anyone coming in and there are a top bunch of locals drinking at the bar. It’s dog friendly and Pearl who belongs to one of the regulars is a little sweetheart! Six excellent ale choices on at my time of visit and good tap selection. Another great stone fronted pub and one that should definitely be visited!
Into Deeping St James and to the micropub of the area which is ‘The Thirsty Giraffe’ and Steve has run this little belter for the past 3 years and it’s clearly gone from strength to strength and is an absolute little beauty! With 8 brilliant cask offerings on show and plenty of other choice for those who want something different, this little ripper will keep you happy no matter what your preferences are! I love a micropub and this is exactly why!
From there, it was a case of sticking in Deeping St James for the next few and along to ‘The Waterton Arms’ which was established in about 1830 and has had an extension over the years to encompass a cottage that would have been on the side of the bullying. Another beautifully stone fronted pub that’s got 5 decent ales on offer, a pool table, a warm welcome and yet another stunning old fire place!
Along to ‘The Bell’ which is another stellar pub with great exterior look and a long L-shaped bar. Landlord is a total legend and there are a couple of ales on alongside a decent tap mix. If you’re really lucky too… as I was… you might just bump into a bit of darting royalty sat at the bar in here… as Legendary Martin Adams aka Wolfie is a regular… and a thoroughly nice chap! Absolutely brilliant pub all round!
The final pub of Deeping St James… is ‘The Walnut Tree’ which is another old school looking pub with a couple of dart boards, a friendly demeanour and screens for the sport alongside three top ales and a good tap choice…
Over the border into Market Deeping and at the base of the town is ‘The Stage Hotel’ which is still a fully functioning hotel with accommodation. This gorgeous old coaching inn style hotel has a restaurant space to one side and a gorgeous bar area that contains an old well beneath the floor that sadly has been covered over with frosted glass so you can’t see down it… but everything about this place is top notch! Good mix between keg and cask and really friendly staff…
Across the road is ‘The Bull’ which is a 16th Century old coaching inn that is just beautiful…
It’s an Everards pub… and you already know what I always say… I’ve NEVER seen a bad building that these guys own… and this is no exception… it’s a super looking old place with some wonderful little areas of the pub including their ‘Dug Out’ space that’s well worth a look!
Next door is ‘The Square’ where I was lucky enough to meet gaffer Dean that has been at the helm for around 18 months now…
Now this was the 50/50 of the day from what I’d heard and I’m happy to be able to say that I actually really like the place… there aren’t any ales on these days as their new target market is the late night vibe so they stay until 1am and have plenty of spirits/bottles and keg choices (Neck Oil included) and a pool table on offer… don’t let the ghosts of the past steer you clear of here, because they definitely have a decent thing going on!
From The Square, it was a 2 minute walk along to ‘The White Horse’ where I bumped into a fellow Nottingham Forest fan named Joe who was a tap lad! There’s a couple of real ales on, a pool table and plenty of screens for the sport, in a well kept and nicely presented old pub building…
Along to ‘The Vine Inn’ for my penultimate stop off of the day which had come very highly recommended, with very good reason as its just an all round great pub! Staff are lovely and the blend of quality cask and keg offerings really shine through with this one that had a great mix of customers of all ages in and was absolutely buzzing even on a Wednesday evening! Top pub!
My final stop of the night took me back down to other end of Market Deeping where I decided to polish my night off at ‘Notty’s’ which is a really friendly little wine/cocktail bar… now, they may not have had a Pinà Colada on the menu… but as I walked in… Barry Manilow’s song was actually belting out across the speakers so I’ll take the little victory in that way haha! What they do have is a warm welcome and a brilliant line up of wines and other cocktails and this one is a little piece of class and a great place for a date night! A lovely way to round off my Weds!
Day 966 New Pubs Visited : 16
4169 – The Waggon & Horses
4170 – Ruddy Duck Peakirk
4171 – The Blue Bell Glinton
4172 – The Bluebell
4173 – Golden Pheasant Etton
4174 – Blue Bell Maxey
4175 – The Thirsty Giraffe
4176 – The Waterton Arms
4177 – The Bell Tavern Deeping Saint James
4178 – The Tree
4179 – The Deeping Stage
4180 – The BULL Market Deeping
4181 – The square pub Market Deeping
4182 – The White Horse (can’t find a page)
4183 – The Vine Inn, Market Deeping
4184 – Notty’s Cocktail and Wine Bar
Running Total Of Pubs Visited : 4184
