A splendid Route 33 bus tour Saturday 20th June – excellent pubs and great beers, especially Bristol Beer Factory’s Independence (this year’s Champion Beer of Britain) at the Plum Pudding. Also good to see 12 members making the trip, particularly the few of haven’t made it out with us for a while.

The next branch social will be a trip to Ealing Beer Festival on Friday July 10th.

It is pretty tough in hospitality at the moment, with costs increasing left, right and centre, and the general public tightening their belts at the same time and not spending so much. It’s great therefore that we should take the opportunity to celebrate the best pubs that we have.

Pub of the Year 2026

The most prestigious of CAMRA Awards for pubs is the Pub of the Year competition, which is a nationwide competition to find the country’s best pubs. This starts with each Branch awarding its own Branch Pub of the Year, and this year South Oxfordshire Branch members have voted for their winning pub to be the Cross Keys in Wallingford.

All the 140 or so pubs in the branch area, have been judged by CAMRA members against a range of factors - their atmosphere, welcome, inclusivity, community-focus, service, value for money and, of course most importantly, great cask ales served in excellent condition, preferably coming from some of the 1,600 small, independent, and often local breweries, that have sprung up in the UK in recent years.

The Cross Keys ticks all these boxes and strongly demonstrates what a great pub should be. It was formerly a Brakspear pub, but was bought by the Thame-based pub company, Oak Taverns early in 2022 and reopened with Dave and Emma Howse at the helm (pictured with Branch Chair Graham Hards) in May of that year. The pub has gone from strength to strength ever since, and previously won our Pub of the Year in 2024, but its reputation continues to grow and thankfully it continues to serve a great always varying range of ales, in consistently great condition, alongside it’s house beer Howse Beer, which is a special release of Amwell Springs’ Stay Jammy.

Cider Pub of the Year 2026

CAMRA also supports and promotes proper cider and perry producers, and the pubs that sell their products. Proper cider and perry is made from 100% from squashed apples or pears – not from diluted fruit concentrates or from adding excess sugar to increase alcohol content, processes that most of the big-brand commercial producers use.

CAMRA therefore also has a national competition for the Cider Pub of the Year, to recognise pubs that promote and provide great real ciders, which again starts with branches voting on their own winner – and we are pleased to say that the Cross Keys has carried off this award too!

It is with great pleasure that we present these Awards to Dave and Emma on occasion of being voted winners in South Oxfordshire CAMRA’s overall Pub of the Year 2026 competition and also winner of our Cider Pub of the Year for 2026. Many congratulations to you on these fantastic achievements!

The pub now goes forward into the County and then possibly the Regional phases of both competitions (where it would be competing against the best of the 3,000 or so pubs in Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire). This then leads to the National finals later in the year.

Article credit to Graham Hards (Branch Chair)

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Cross Keys, Wallingford has not only been voted as our branch Pub of the Year but also our branch Cider Pub of the Year for 2026!

Huge congratulations to landlord and lady Dave and Emma Howse, who work tirelessly to provide a superb mix of cask ales always in great condition, as well as continue to run a thriving and popular pub with masses of events throughout the year!

The Cross Keys will now go through to the county round of the competition where it will be up against the Butcher’s Arms, Balscote, the Crafty Pint in Witney, and the King’s Arms in Wantage. Best of luck!

Our Wallingford award winners do not stop there either, as we are extremely pleased to announce that our branch Club of the Year for 2026 is the Comrades Club!

The Comrades’ is our first winner for a while and it fully deserves the accolade with 2-3 cask ales always available (4 at busy weekends) as well as 2 real ciders, all to be consumed in extremely comfortable surroundings.

Huge congratulations to Oz and the team!

We are embarking on a festival of certificate presentations on Friday 8th May starting at the Cross Keys shortly after 5pm, and then at the Comrades’ Club at 8pm. We hope you can join us to celebrate!

The Perch & Pike in South Stoke and the Chequers, Berrick Salome have reopened.

The Red Lion, Peppard, has successfully acquired planning permission for an extension, mainly to the kitchen.

The planning application to convert the Crown, Stadhampton, largely to a dwelling has been withdrawn and the pub is back on the market.

The Maltsters Arms, Rotherfield Greys has closed due to heavy losses.

The Coachmakers Arms, Wallingford has been abandoned by the Henley Pub Co and taken on by Gary Flux (It is still owned by Brakspear).

The Royal, Wallingford re-opened on Friday 16th January. It will be run by Lynn, previously of the Coachmakers prior to its takeover by Henley Pub Co. The intention is for the pub to be open 7 days a week and with Rebellion cask ales available.

Phantom Brewery has collapsed, apparently £2M in debt. Consequently, Echoes in Henley has closed too.

The SOX Brewery Taproom in Ipsden is closing on Friday 23rd January. It is not yet known where it will be moving to.

The tenants of the Six Bells, Warborough are working out a six-months’ notice with Brakspear.

B-MAN Brewery is opening a taproom in Salter’s Boatyard near Donnington Bridge, Oxford.

The Old Post Office, Wallingford freehold is on sale for £1.25M.

Landlord changes have taken place at the Miller of Mansfield, Goring and the Station Garden, Didcot.

We understand that the Home Sweet Home, in Roke may have closed once again. Hopefully this is another short-term spell.