Located on the corner of St.Mary’s Street in Gloucester, the city’s Pelican Inn has been named Regional Pub of the Year for 2025. This is the first year that the newly-formed West Central Region has made such an award.

CAMRA judges were not only impressed by the quality and variety of the many beers and ciders on offer at the Pelican, but they also commended the strong and welcoming community ethos that characterises the 17th Century pub. Owned by Herefordshire-based Wye Valley Brewery, the Pelican is run by landlord, Mike Hall, with help from his able and enthusiastic team of staff. Equally popular with locals, visitors and rugby followers (Kingsholm Rugby Ground is just a short walk away), the Pelican famously boasts to only selling cask ales and ciders, along with an eclectic range of craft beers in cans. It also runs numerous events, including a number of well-attended and successful beer festivals.

Unusually, the Pelican doesn’t sell the keg lagers pushed so hard by the multi-national brewers in favour of the more local and interesting – and this is something that clearly works judging by the crowds that enjoy frequenting what has become nothing short of an institution for the city of Gloucester.

Landlord, Mike Hall had this to say about winning the prestigious award: “I’m overjoyed the Pelican has been recognised with this award. I’m blessed with passionate staff and loyal customers; good local suppliers and the support from Wye Valley Brewery. It’s reassuring that a small local pub, with its traditional values, can still thrive in an ever-changing pub landscape.”

The Pelican now goes forward to be judged in the prestigious CAMRA National Pub of the Year competition, which will be decided later in the year. Running-up in the regional competition was the Red Lion at Horley in Oxfordshire.

Text acknowledgement: Mark Haslam (15/08/2025)

Pub of the Year 2025

The Oxfordshire round has been completed and the clear winner was the Red Lion, Horley. The Crown, South Moreton and The King’s Arms, Wantage came joint second, with the Grapes, Oxford in fourth place. There were nine judges, but only from SOX and Oxford branches.

The Regional round will be between:

• Red Lion, Horley (Oxfordshire)
• Pelican Inn, Gloucester (Gloucestershire)
• Olde Tavern, Kington (Herefordshire)
• Fleece Inn, Bretforton (Worcestershire)

New tenant at the Sun

The Sun at Hill Bottom, Whitchurch Hill has a new landlord. John O‘Grady moved in on May 19th from running a Batemans–owned pub in Cambridgeshire. John and his wife Svitlana had turned around a failing pub in Swaffham Priory, the Red Lion, and been awarded two CAMRA accolades, notably ‘the most improved pub’ and the ‘Rural pub of the year’ awards.

Despite these achievements, John and Lana were keen to run a free-of-tie pub and jumped at the chance to take over the Sun when it became available. Their plans suggest South Oxon drinkers will have a centre of real ale excellence to visit, as John is passionate about real ale and is keen to build upon the freedom to purchase different ales that running a free-of-tie pub will provide.

There will be two pumps dedicated to local Ales, probably Loddon ‘Hoppit’ and Renegade ‘Good Old Boy’ and two more pumps offering rotating ales from far and wide. There will also be one ale offered straight from the cask each week, and during events, it is planned to have ales available in the outside Bar. In addition, a rotating real cider will be available from a pin.

It is planned to have two beer festivals on the May Bank Holiday weekend and at the end of September to coincide with National Cask Ale week. Several ‘tap takeovers’ will take place each year when the pumps will be exclusively dedicated to beers from a selected brewery. Furthermore, CAMRA members are offered a discount on the price of ales purchased.

We wish John the best of luck and look forward to visiting soon!

Many thanks to Keith Grant for his report of which this is an excerpt and for the photo of John.

We are delighted to announce that South Oxfordshire CAMRA’s Pub of the Year 2025 is The Crown, South Moreton.

Many congratulations to Di Humphrey and everyone associated with this fantastic community-owned village pub.

As ever, it was a tight competition as the other contenders are all equally great pubs. The runner-up this year is the Spire & Spoke, Watlington.

We’ll be presenting the Award to the Crown in due course. It will now go through to the Oxfordshire County round together with the PotYs for the other branches covering the county, which are the Kings Arms, Wantage (White Horse); the Grapes in Oxford (Oxford); and the Red Lion, Horley (North Oxfordshire).

Our Winter Pub of the Season 2024 Award has been presented to Di Humphrey at The Crown Inn, South Moreton (pictured above with Branch Chairman Graham Hards).

This community-owned village pub goes from strength to strength and is a wonderful example of a welcoming pub that is the beating heart of the local community. The cask ales, including from local brewers Loose Cannon and Amwell Springs, were in excellent condition as well! Well done to Di and everyone involved with the pub!

Many congratulations to Corinne, husband Mouse (pictured, together with our Chairman Graham Hards), and all of the staff at the Red Lion, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, who have been awarded our branch Pub of the Season for Autumn.

Corinne and Mouse, took over the pub in February 2020, just weeks before the first lockdown. From Day 1 both have remained resourceful and entrepreneurial and have created one of the most hospitable and welcoming pubs in the branch area, and a true community asset.

As well as an ever-changing seasonal food menu, four cask ales in excellent condition are usually available, with Loddon’s Hullaballoo, Amwell Springs’ Stay Jammy and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord always available, plus a guest ale predominately from local breweries such as Amwell Springs Brewery Co., Loose Cannon Brewery and Vale Brewery.

CAMRA members - you can now nominate your champion beers from the past 12 months!

The Champion Beer of Britain award is one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world and it all starts with individual nominations from CAMRA members and tasting panel nominations.

Please do get involved and encourage fellow CAMRA members to cast their vote too. You can nominate up to five beers across 12 different beer style categories. Vote before 4 November 2024 at the Champion Beer of Britain portal.

A good handful of branch members together with, it seemed, most of Blewbury turned out on the evening of the 8th August to celebrate the presentation of our Pub of the Season for Summer 2024 award to Annabel Cochrane and John Hunter, owners of the Red Lion in Blewbury (pictured with our branch Chairman, Graham Hards. Photo courtesy of Bob Smith).

Annabel and John took over this lovely old pub in June 2021 and rapidly set about re-establishing it back to its rightful position as a wonderful, charming and, as a result, thriving country pub, at the heart of the local community.

It’s a tricky task getting the balance right on how to pitch the pub to have as wide an appeal as possible both to locals and visitors, and we think that Annabel and John have done a great job in getting this just about right. There is still a cozy and comfortable bar, where anyone can pop in for a good beer and conversation. But there are other rooms which can be used for diners to enjoy a classy menu of top quality, traditional, and locally sourced pub food.

Probably most importantly, the pub also boasts a really lovely garden, complete with the large festival tent and the garden kitchen, the Lionsden, that makes it a great outdoor venue for the summer months.

Close to our heart, of course, is our love of real ale, and the Red Lion has recently been accredited under CAMRA’s Locale scheme, as it always serves at least one beer from a local brewery, from such as Loose Cannon, Rebellion and LoveBeer. This particular evening we were also treated to a rare cask ale, Cell Count, from Tap Social, which ran out in three hours!

Many congratulations to Annabel, John and the team at the Red Lion in Blewbury!

The National CAMRA AGM took place in Dundee over the weekend of the 27th-28th April, where, amongst the voting for committee members and debating motions, the Branch Magazine of the Year winners were announced, and we are delighted to report that our SoxonAle magazine took second place!

There are some excellent CAMRA magazines out there, so this is quite some accolade for the Branch. Overall winner was Ayrshire & Wigtownshire branch's Full Pints, and third place went to Tyke Taverner - the magazine from Bradford branch.

Many congratulations to David Cooper, our editor, who puts a considerable effort into producing each copy and to all those who have contributed articles over the past year, and not forgetting all those who have helped distribute the 3,000 copies to our pubs, clubs and other outlets!

A splendid evening yesterday (30th April) presenting our Spring 2024 Pub of the Season Award to Ben & Charmaine Tavassoly Moss at a very busy The Lamb, Little Milton.

They are doing a great job keeping this village pub very much a part of the community, are garnering an increasing number of awards for their food, but also serving cask ales in consistently fine condition. Well done to all at the pub!

A great evening was had presenting our Winter Pub of the Season Award to Lottie Mitchell at The Greyhound, Whitchurch-on-Thames. Another splendid Oak Taverns Ltd pub, which focuses on serving great cask ales. Congratulations to Lottie and everyone at the pub!

Pub news:

• The newly refurbished letting rooms at the Royal in Wallingford are now open.
• The owner of the Horse & Harrow, West Hagbourne has appealed against the refusal of their first planning application (to run it into several dwellings).
• The Perch & Pike, South Stoke reopened in September – possibly being run by the same team as the King William IV.
• The John Barleycorn in Goring is back on Brakspear’s ‘available’ list.
• The Bottle & Glass, Binfield Heath is down to a single handpump – a varying Loddon beer.

Pub news:

• Huge congratulations to Liam (pictured left with Branch Chair Graham Hards) and Kim, licensees of the Plough in Long Wittenham, in winning our Pub of the Season award for Summer 2023. As well as serving three excellent cask ales, the pub is very much the heart of the community, hosting the Mikron travelling theatre group each year and numerous village functions including the charity music festival Wittfest. We hope they both continue an already impressively lengthy tenure of 11 years well in to the future!

• SODC has withdrawn permission for Oak Taverns’ pubs to have mobile street-food vendors on or around their premises. This was apparently triggered by a resident’s complaint alleging litter outside the Greyhound in Whitchurch. This has of course caused the pubs and the vendors considerable financial loss. It is unclear what the current position is, or indeed what the problem is since other district councils don’t seem to have the same approach. Branch Chair, Graham Hards has written to the Henley Standard on this matter, and we are now optimistic that a solution is forthcoming. The good news is, as of the start of September, some of Oak Taverns pubs have restarted hosting mobile street-food vendors, so some sort of solution has been found.
• A new planning application has been submitted for turning the Horse & Harrow, West Hagbourne into dwellings. It appears to be hardly any different from the previous one that was turned down. The closing date for comments was 21st August.
• The George at Upton at Upton has now reopened after some internal renovation.
• The Perch & Pike in South Stoke is closed. Brakspear seems to be having problems finding a new tenant.
• The owner of the Crazy Bear at Stadhampton has gone into administration. Ownership has been transferred to another company.
• The Red Lion, Britwell Salome, reopened in August.
• New licensees have appeared at the: Red Lion, Drayton; Boat House; Bell and the George Hotel, Wallingford.
• Currently being advertised are: Chequers, Berrick Salome, the White Hart and the Maltsters Arms, Rotherfield Greys.
• Corinne Cook, licensee of the Red Lion, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, has signed a new lease renewal from Wellington Pub Co for another 10 years. This is great news as it secures what has proven to be a successful operation of the pub for some time to come.

Brewery news:

• Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company is closing Wychwood brewery. More information can be found in this Oxford Mail article. It is currently not confirmed where Brakspear beers will continue to be brewed, although it is most likely to be at Marston's brewery in Burton-upon-Trent.

The South Oxfordshire branch of CAMRA is delighted to announce that their Festival of Ale will be returning at this year’s Woodcote Rally.

Click or tap on the flyer, or go to our dedicated festival page for more details.

We are delighted to announce that the winner of the South Oxfordshire Pub of the Year 2023 is the George, Sutton Courtenay. This Oak Taverns owned pub won a very close competition, in which the other candidates, the Spire & Spoke, Watlington; the Plough, Long Wittenham; the Red Lion, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell and the Plum Pudding, Milton all scored strongly.

Saved from Greene King, the local independent pub company, Oak Taverns, purchased the George (or George & Dragon as it was named then) in December 2019. It lies in the heart of the village of Sutton Courtenay and is an imposing 16th century Historic England Grade II-listed half-timbered pub, with genuine beams inside, but with a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. The pub overlooks the village War Memorial on the green and is adjacent to All Saints Church, where in the churchyard lie both Lord Asquith, Prime Minister of Great Britain at the outbreak of the First World War, and Eric Blair, better known as the novelist George Orwell.

The George is primarily a wet-led pub and serves an excellent pint of locally-brewed Amwell Springs Rude Not To and Loose Cannon Abingdon Bridge cask ales. A third changing beer is also offered during the busy summer months. Rotating street food vendors are available on some Friday and Saturday evenings, with pizzas and Japanese street food currently on offer. A small deli counter has also been set up just inside the entrance, before entry to the two main bars to the left and right. This sells local produce, both sweet and savoury, coffee and cakes to both pub customers and passing trade. Pies, scotch eggs, sausage rolls and pre-packed sandwiches are available to take into the bars and enjoy with your pint. Small picnic hampers can also be made up for visitors. The pub is a great asset for the local community and the regular pub quiz on Tuesday evenings is very popular.

Many congratulations to the licensees Rodney and Hanna Parker on this Award. The Branch will be making a presentation to them on 23rd March.

Pub news:

• We were very pleased to award our Winter Pub of the Season 2022 to David (pictured above right) and Emma Howse at the Cross Keys in Wallingford. Since Oak Taverns acquired this pub from Brakspear early last year it has gone from strength to strength, serving four cask-conditioned ales from around the country, in great nick. A very well-deserved winner!
• The Bear of North Moreton reopened on 08 December 2022. The new tenants, Rob McGregor, Sam Smith and Aimee Hunt, who operate the Five Little Pigs in Wallingford, have a 10-year agreement with breaks at six months and six years.
• The Horse & Harrow, West Hagbourne is expected to remain open until at least 25th February
• The Crown, Benson, closed after New Year’s Day for refurbishment. It will reopen on 02 February.
• The Baskerville has reopened with four ales: London Pride, Doom Bar, Rebellion IPA and Humbug
• The Plough Shiplake, opened on 09 December 2022 with Rebellion IPA.
• A planning application has been submitted for the Royal Standard for the four B&B bedrooms to become en-suite. There are no indications of when it will reopen, or indeed whether it will reopen as a pub.
• Phantom Brewing Co has applied for permission to open their bar in Henley, with table-service only.
• A planning application has been submitted to convert the Lamb, Satwell, to a dwelling.

Brewery news:

• South Oxfordshire Brewery has taken over White Horse Brewery (WHB) in Stanford in the Vale. Neither Titanic Brewery (who previously owned WHB) or WHB appear to be publicising the purchase on their websites or social media, but we wish SOX Brewery continued success and hope that the WHB brand remains strong despite the take-over.
• Amwell Springs Brew Co has started a membership scheme.

Pub news:

• Immediately preceding our October branch meeting the CAMRA Regional Director Alexander Wright presented Di Humphrey, licensee of the Crown, South Moreton, with the Central Southern Pub of the Year Runner-up certificate. Many congratulations to her and the team.
• The Bell, Crowmarsh, and the Bird in Hand, Sonning Common, have both reopened.
• Our pub preservation officer, David Cooper, visited the newly reopened Three Horseshoes, in Benson. The decor has changed quite a bit and the beer showed potential!
• The Olivier at the Chequers, Aston Tirrold, has reopened with a large wine list but not much in the way of beer for now.
• Possible changes of licensee: the Chequers, Berrick Salome, in July and the Coach & Horses, Chiselhampton in August.
• The Bear at Home, North Moreton closed on the 22nd September, although we are hopeful that this will be short-lived.
• The New Inn, Kidmore End sadly appears to be winding down and is likely to close soon.
• The Fat Fox in Watlington has now closed.

Brewery news:

• The South Oxfordshire Brewery is setting up operations at the rear of Chiltern Aerodrome. The new tap room will open on 29th October where visitors will be able to sample the brewery's cask and keg offerings, as well as enjoy food provided by their new neighbours, Nyama Catering. Check soxbrewery.co.uk for further details.
• It is believed that the owner of Philsters Brewery has decided to wind down the company sadly due to personal reasons.
• Brewery58 is still going to close but still delivering a few bottles to an outlet in Wallingford.

Pub news:

• The Red Lion, Britwell Salome, has changed hands and is now being run by Liaan (previously of the George, Dorchester).
• The Three Horseshoes, Benson re-opened on 2nd September for drinks only for now.
• The George Hotel in Dorchester is expected to re-open on the 12th September following a multi-million pound refurbishment. The hotel is now part of the Coaching Inns group which is owned by Red Cat Inns.
• Renovation work is being carried out to the Bell, Crowmarsh. A staff recruiting fair for the Bell was recently held in Greene King's neighbouring pub, the Boathouse. The pub is due to re-open on the 17th September.
• The Ferryboat, Whitchurch closed on 21 June. Owners Heineken Star have some matters that need to be cleared up before it can reopen.
• The Baskerville, Lower Shiplake closed on 01 August. Sadly the tenant said that the business just isn’t viable. It is believed that the owner is a local consortium.
• The reopening of the Plough (ex-Plowden Arms), Shiplake, has slipped to the autumn.

Pub news:

• The Miller of Mansfield has re-opened under new management after previous licensees Mary & Nick Galer were unable to continue running the pub following a rent hike from the owners Stonegate. The Galers are now running the restaurant at the Goring & Streatley Golf Club.
• The Red Lion, Peppard, currently under refurbishment, now has four handpumps on the bar, the garden has been revamped and most of the outside of the building has been re-painted. There is even a new post and pub sign frame hopefully ready for a nice shiny new sign in the near future!
• The Chequers, Aston Tirrold, is clearly in for a total makeover – the roof had been removed a few days ago.
• The Red Lion, Brightwell, now has is a fourth pump that, by request from a clearly influential villager, will deliver St Austell Tribute (4.2% ABV).
• A new Vary to Designated Premises Supervisor licence has been granted to the Lamb, Chalgrove, implying it may reopen soon.
• The Coach & Horses, Chiselhampton, is currently closed. It is expected to reopen on 5th June following a change of ownership from an individual to the Barkby Pub Group.
• The Goring Social Club is about to get new stewards: Debs and Cal Newell-Akers.
• The Bull on Bell St is closed for refurbishment and is expected to reopen on the 9th May.
• The tenancy for the Little Angel, Remenham Hill is being advertised by Brakspear.
• The Five Little Pigs in Wallingford received a good review from the Observer restaurant critic, Jay Rayner.

Brewery news:

• The branch is aware of a new brewery in our area, SOX Brewery. We understand that currently, brewing is taking place somewhere in West Berkshire, but owner Chris Savage is hoping to set up permanently in Checkendon in the near future. Mr Toad’s bitter (3.9% ABV) has been spotted in several pubs in the Checkendon area including the Black Horse and the Highwayman, and has had a good reception from branch members so far.

A splendid evening was had last week as we presented our Winter 2021 Pub of the Season Award to John and Heather Norris at The The Bear of North Moreton, North Moreton. They have sympathetically refurbished this great pub since taking over in 2019 and they serve four ales in great condition sourced from small independent breweries nationwide. The Orkney Brewery Red MacGregor (4% ABV) was in absolutely top form. Congratulations both.

The Branch Good Beer Guide 2022 selection and surveying processes were completed on schedule with 5 new entries winning recognition:

Special mentions must be made to Nick and Hazel Wilson at the Flowing Spring, Playhatch for 10 consecutive years in the GBG, and to Graham & Celia Steward at the Bird in Hand, Henley for 27 consecutive years in the GBG.

Congratulations to all of the Branch's licensees who have made it in this year!

The Branch continues to keep a very good awareness of what is happening to our pubs, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of Bob Smith as our Pubs Data Coordinator.

On a very positive note, it is pleasing to record that none of our 130 or so pubs have yet closed permanently as a result of the Covid lockdowns. Only 3 have failed to re-open at all, but two of those will be reopening soon under new owners/leaseholders (Crown, Pishill and Mulberry, Didcot). Only the Greene King pub, the Bell, Crowmarsh has failed to reopen at all and the prospects for this one do appear somewhat bleak. We are also pleased to have one recent gain as a pub, with the Keep, Wallingford, re-converting back to a micropub from being temporarily an off-licence only. Additionally, several other long-term closed pubs look set for re-opening under new ownership in 2022 – so we are actually set for an overall gain in the number of pubs in South Oxfordshire by this time next year!

Overall, the quality of the beer offering in several of our pubs has improved markedly over the last two years, with a number now being operated by small independent pub companies or individuals, where good quality cask ale is a key feature of their offering. An example of this recently is the Greyhound, Whitchurch on Thames which has been bought by Oak Taverns from Punch Taverns, to be operated as a wet-led pub.

All the breweries in the Branch area (bar Bell St. in Henley) are continuing to operate.

A great evening was had yesterday (1st September) presenting the South Oxfordshire Branch Summer 2021 Pub of the Season to Di Humphrey (pictured with our chairman, Graham Hards) at The Crown, South Moreton. A very well-deserved winner that really is at the heart of the local community and a great example of a flourishing community-owned pub. All the better by serving excellent locally-brewed beers from the likes of The Loose Cannon Brewery and Amwell Springs Brewery Co. Well done guys!

Each year, every CAMRA branch selects a Pub of the Year (PotY). This is the first stage in a lengthy competition where winners progress through county and regional stages, with a select few going on to a final shoot-out at national level. The process for selecting a PotY is left up to each individual branch. In South Oxfordshire branch (SOX), we agree a short-list of five at an open branch meeting. The winner is then selected by secret ballot, open to all branch members. Along with a number of other CAMRA branches, SOX excludes the previous year’s winner from taking part.

This year’s candidate list was (in alphabetical order):

• Fleur de Lys, East Hagbourne
• Flowing Spring, Playhatch
• Highwayman, Exlade Street, Checkendon
• Plough, Long Wittenham
• Plum Pudding, Milton

This is a very strong field and inevitably led to a very tight result. However, the winner by a small margin and South Oxfordshire’s 2021 PotY is: the Fleur de Lys, East Hagbourne.

This is a real testament to licensees Darren and Ruth Sargison who have now won the SOX title for the third time. They’ve succeeded in developing a pub that is woven into the fabric of the local community. As well as hosting darts, crib and Aunt Sally, it’s a venue for club meetings, music evenings and seasonal events. And then there are the big set-piece events such as Fleurfest, which is coming up at the end of July.

So our congratulations to Darren and Ruth, and to all the other SOX pubs that have weathered the tough times over the past year. Roll on July 19th!

Now that, finally, pubs are opening up to actual visiting punters, we felt we should revisit Corinne and Mouse at the Red Lion , Brightwell cum Sotwell to present them with the proper framed and signed award for our Pub of the Season for Autumn.

Many congratulations to Corinne (pictured right, together with our Chairman Graham Hards) and Mouse, who took over the pub in February 2020, just weeks before the first lockdown. From Day 1 both have remained resourceful and entrepreneurial and have created one of the most hospitable but COVID-secure environment of any pub in the branch area, and a true community asset.

Oh, and they have also managed throughout this time to serve beer in excellent condition, with Loddon Hoppit (3.9% ABV) and West Berkshire's Good Old Boy (4.0% ABV) always available, plus a guest ale predominately from local breweries such as Amwell Springs Brewery Co., Loose Cannon Brewery and White Horse Brewery.

To accommodate outside drinkers and diners in warmth and comfort, Corinne and Mouse have recently invested in a marquee, which has been thoughtfully decorated as well as adorned with heating and light.

Whilst we are now in Lockdown 3, pubs are allowed to provide takeaway and delivery services for meals and other provisions, but not beer sales. This is grossly unfair on our pubs and is an issue CAMRA is lobbying government to change. The better news, however, is that our breweries and cider-makers are allowed to provide off sales from their premises, as well as delivery services.

South Oxfordshire CAMRA has been in contact with all our pubs over the last week and around 40 are now providing a takeaway meals service at this time. This is a magnificent effort. We have updated our Directory of the takeaway services of all the pubs in our area to show the details of these pubs. So, if you fancy a break from cooking, there is likely to be a pub near you that is providing an excellent take home dining option, so please do consider this and continue to support your local pub.

Our local breweries and cider-makers are also continuing to provide drinks click and collect takeaway, off-sales and in many cases, free home delivery services. Details of these are also shown in the Directory.

Graham Hards - Branch Chairman

It is with great sadness that the Branch mourns the passing of Roy Denison, who passed away on Friday 13th November, aged 80, with his wife Mya and family at his side at his home in Goring-on-Thames.

Roy was heavily involved with CAMRA in its formative days in the early 1970’s, but colleagues in South Oxfordshire Branch will remember Roy as brilliant company with an exceptional knowledge of all things pubs, breweries, railways and indeed CAMRA. It was always a delight to be sat within earshot of him on one of our pub crawls or Christmas dinners where he would regale everyone with his great stories and anecdotes. He was a magnificent raconteur.

Roy moved to Goring in 1980 and joined in with the social side of the Branch and also often helped out behind the bar at the Branch’s real ale tent at the Woodcote Rally. He loved joining in pub crawls organised by the Branch, especially if they involved a train journey, and in more recent years he organised numerous Branch trips to London. These pub crawls often involved visiting several eclectic pubs, but all of which served excellent cask ale, and they always had a railway-themed component as part of the trip.

However, we must mention Roy’s earlier times in the early 1970’s as a pioneering force in CAMRA’s formative days. His lifetime’s career was on British Rail in various posts on Western Region then at London HQs. His two great pastimes were pubs/breweries and railways, which he extensively photographed, examples of which have been widely published. He travelled extensively to search out the remaining classic basic unspoilt (sitting room) houses. On joining CAMRA and whilst living in Sittingbourne, Kent, he soon became the Area Organiser for Mid-Kent, set up two of the local branches, and was very active in spreading the word about the benefits of real ale and the perils of the inferior pasteurised, filtered and pressurised keg interlopers. He encouraged drinkers to join up to CAMRA wherever and whenever anyone expressed an interest in beer. With thanks to Roy’s long-time colleague Roger Corbett, the attached press cuttings from Kent newspapers in 1972/73 attest to Roy’s passion and enthusiasm. Although great company, Roy had an acerbic wit and could be very forthright when something needed saying – as indeed these articles also reveal.

Coming back to his storytelling, one of Roy’s favourite yarns, and claims to fame, concerned an early meeting of the CAMRA hierarchy in a pub in the Fleet Street area of London, where there was much discussion about the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale being a naff name for the fledgling organisation and that it wouldn’t get traction with the population at large, let alone be pronounceable after a few beers! The audience was told that it was too late to change the name as the CAMRA ties had already been made and delivered! At this point Roy stood up and suggested they just simply rename it as the Campaign for Real Ale! The rest is, of course, history! Whether this is absolutely true or not, we may never know, but knowing Roy, we wouldn’t be at all surprised!

Roy – you were one of a kind, and will be sadly missed by everyone in the Branch who knew you. We raise a glass to you and say thank you.

Graham Hards – Branch Chair

It is a real shame our pubs have had to close again, and we just have to hope that it will be short-lived and that they can survive this new lockdown. At least our pubs and breweries can now offer takeaway beer, as well as food, and many in the South Oxfordshire area have moved very quickly to offering their communities this valuable service. South Oxfordshire CAMRA Branch has updated its Directory to provide details of beer and/or food takeaway, off-sales or home delivery services, being provided by our local breweries and pubs. Please visit the Directory of all the pubs/breweries in South Oxfordshire area providing takeaway/delivery services to find out the details and then check the links for each brewery or pub to find out further information, such as ordering details and menus.

South Oxfordshire CAMRA Branch will be keeping this as a live document, and new updates will be provided as soon as we get any latest information, but please first check with the establishment whether they are still offering the services listed, and to arrange a collection time-slot if ordering takeaways, before venturing out. Any pubs and breweries in the Branch area who are offering takeaway services and haven't been included in our Directory, or those in the Directory who have changed their services in some way, please feel free to email us and we will update the Directory accordingly.

Pub news:

• The Red Lion in Blewbury, is being advertised by Brakspear for a new tenancy.
• The Beetle & Wedge Boathouse has been recently refurbished and reopened on 26th August 2020, with a new owner,
• Hook Norton’s website says that the Crown in Benson, will reopen in October.
• The following pubs have recently reopened: The Perch & Pike in South Stoke; The Red Lion in Cholsey; The Le Secret Garden at The Plough in Great Haseley.
• The following pubs have new licensees: The Sun, Whitchurch Hill (Bob Hurst); The George Hotel in Dorchester; The Little Angel, Remenham; The John Barleycorn in Goring (Peter Fisher); The Crown, South Moreton.
• The following pubs remain closed: The Red Lion, Peppard Common; The Mulberry, 
Didcot; The Home Sweet Home, Roke (the tenancy expired in September).

Brewery news:

• Bell Street has suspended brewing, with no date, as yet, for restarting.

Don't forget if you are visiting a local pub, we really appreciate it if you could give the beer a rating using the beer scores section of What Pub. These scores are invaluable as part of the process for selecting pubs for the national Good Beer Guide.

The Branch continues to hold monthly meetings and socials via zoom, and will probably have to continue in this way for quite a few months yet. You should get the invitations to join in each month, so it would be great to see you at some of them. Attendance has actually been excellent at many of these meetings.

The 2020 AGM is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 4th November at 8.00pm. More details to follow.

The great news is that nearly all of our local pubs in the South Oxfordshire Branch area reopened on 4th July, or will do soon after. It has been wonderful to see these much-loved local pubs reopen their doors. However, your local needs your help! Please do what you can to support our pubs, breweries and taprooms as they come out of lockdown.

Our pubs need customers to support them during this period of reopening and the licensees have worked extremely hard to make sure they are complying with all the regulations and guidance to make their pubs a safe and enjoyable experience. Most pubs have reopened, although opening hours may have been modified and bookings will likely be needed for tables inside the pub, although maybe not for the outside spaces. South Oxfordshire Branch has established, and is maintaining, a Directory of the reopening details of all the pubs in our area. We are keeping this as a live document and updating it as frequently as we can. Please do check the links for each pub to find out further information and to book your table if necessary.

Several of our pubs, breweries and cider-makers are continuing to provide food and/or drinks takeaway, off-sales or home delivery services, and in some cases providing groceries, fresh produce and other essential provisions. These pubs are identified in the Directory, together with the latest details of the service.

For pubs outside our Branch area, and indeed nationally, that are providing these alternative food and drinks services please see What Pub, and for breweries also offering delivery services visit CAMRA's PullingTogether brewery initiative. In addition, CAMRA is launching a new app nationwide in early May – Brew2You – which will be a one-stop on-line shop for customers to find and purchase fresh local real ale, cider and perry, and other provisions. See Brew2You for more details.

We are supporting the community group who are trying to save their village pub, the Reformation at Gallowstree Common and make it a community hub. We share their concerns about Brakspear's intentions concerning the future of the pub. It has served the local community very well over many years and is the only facility left in the village.

The community group has set up up a Facebook Page Reform the Reformation, and they welcome contributions or support in any form on this page, either in the form of testimonials, memories, photographs etc. So, if you have fond memories of visiting the pub, please take a look at the page and leave comments.

It is with much sadness that South Oxfordshire CAMRA reports the passing of Dave McKerchar, one of the founding members of the Branch, back in the early 1970's. Dave had been ill for a number of years and had had many rounds of chemotherapy. He died on 8th April in Royal Berks Hospital.

Dave will be remembered as a larger-than-life character with a great wit and sense of humour, forthright in his views and opinions and great company.

Dave held many positions on the early Branch Committees, including Chairman, and was highly instrumental in establishing the CAMRA Real Ale tent at the Woodcote Rally in 1977, which continues, very successfully, to this day. He was also Brakspear Brewery Liaison Officer, and co-editor of the first "Real Ale in Oxfordshire" books in 1975 and 1977. In the late 1970's Dave became Regional Organiser and then a member of CAMRA's National Executive, but he also continued his involvement with the South Oxfordshire Branch for many years.

A more complete article on Dave's involvement with the Branch will be published in the next SoxonAle Branch Magazine.

Congratulations to the Bird in Hand in Henley, which has been named our branch Pub of the Year for a record sixth time.

The Bird in Hand in Greys Road, which is the only free house in the town centre, received the award from the district branch of the Campaign for Real Ale. Graham and Celia Seward (pictured centre) have been behind the bar since 1993 and have kept it as a wet-led pub.

Graham said: "It was an honour to receive the award again — [considering] no pub is allowed to win it two years in a row. It is nice because there are so many other good businesses around here. It means we are still doing the basics right. To me it demonstrates that we have set ourselves a standard and we are still achieving it."

"We would like to thank our regular customers for their support over all the years. We have had some great times with them. They are more like friends than customers."

Celia said that the couple hoped to remain at the pub for many more years.

Graham Hards, CAMRA Branch Chairman (pictured left), said: "The Bird in Hand is just a great community pub and you get a friendly welcome from the landlord. It is a traditional pub with lots of strengths — you have to have good beer, which is why it has been in our Good Beer Guide for the last 25 years."

We made a presentation on Thursday 28th November to David Haines (pictured right), landlord of the Royal in Wallingford, as the Branch Pub of the Season for Autumn 2019.

Branch Chairman, Graham Hards (pictured centre), in presenting the award, commented:

“With around 18 pubs a week closing across the country, it is great that the Royal Standard is bucking the trend, by re-opening as a pub after many years trading as a restaurant, the Partridge. Close to the heart of CAMRA is that the pub is aiming to be a valuable asset for the whole of the local community by offering a wide range of activities and services. Furthermore and, very importantly, is that the Royal Standard is supporting the local, Cholsey based brewery, Amwell Springs Brewery, by serving three of its cask-conditioned ales in tip-top condition. We hope that the Royal Standard continues to prosper and we wish David every success in this exciting venture”.

The photo is from the presentation, which also includes David Gibbons (pictured left), Chairman of Amwell Springs, who also attended the presentation.

Pub news:

• The Crown Inn at Benson in Benson, has been bought by Hook Norton Brewery. Branch Chairman, David Cooper attended a meeting with James Clarke, Managing Director of the North Oxfordshire brewery, and signs are very positive with the brewery planning to invest heavily into making it a good community-focussed pub. The plan is to re-open the pub before Christmas following some major refurbishment.
• The Reformation, Gallowstree Common has re-opened under a one-year tenancy of Bob Hurst. Gravity and Oxford Gold on pump, but only snacks and sandwiches at lunchtime food-wise.
• The ACV for the Fleur-dy-Lys in Dorchester expired in April 2019 and has not been renewed. The pub remains closed.
• The Red Lion in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, is once again being run by very popular landlady Sue Robson, and is proving to be very busy and popular with the locals. However, as her intention was not to continue running the pub in the long term, she has put the lease back on the market, but will only hand this over to someone who will run it as she and the community would like.

Brewery news:

• The owner of the Lovibonds site in Henley has won his appeal for his application to demolish and build anew in the tap room area.

The Plum Pudding in Milton has just become the 2019 Cider Pub of the Year for the Central Southern Region; this means that the pub owners Mandy and Jez Hill (pictured either side of Elvis Evans who is the Regional Cider Coordinator) had to fend off other cider pubs from Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as Oxfordshire.

Lets hope we can get another Oxfordshire based National winner, as we did in 2012 with the Royal Oak in Wantage taking the crown.

Pub news:

• The Crown in South Moreton, held a shareholders’ party on Good Friday and is now properly open as a community venture.
• The Crown Inn at Benson in Benson, is up for sale. The ACV is about to expire and needs to be renewed quickly. David Cooper (Branch Chairman) is currently drafting it.
• The ACV application for the Reformation, Gallowstree Common, has failed. Apparently it wasn’t strong enough on the community use aspect of the application. Unfortunately the Parish Council member who completed the application is no longer in a position to work on it, so unless someone else picks it up, the ACV application will not be taken further.
• The Station House, Henley, has a new tenant who has renamed it after himself: it’s now Hof's Bar & Dining.

Brewery news:

• Philsters’ new five-barrel plant is up and running but is actually sited just outside the SOX boundary.
• Bell St is currently brewing Brakspear Old.

Pub news:

• Residents of Crays Pond are celebrating a notable victory in a 5½ year campaign to recover their village pub, the White Lion, following success in the High Court on Thursday 21st February 2019. The judgement is the culmination of over five years of campaigning by the Crays Pond Action Group. South Oxfordshire District Council also deserve a lot of credit for pursuing this and we are grateful for their persistence. We hope that the village will be able to buy the White Lion and turn it back into the thriving community hub it once was. To find out more, download the following news article Persistence Rewarded - White Lion, Crays Pond, written by our Branch Chairman, David Cooper, for the next issue of What's Brewing.
• Sadly Patrick and Lucy Marples will not be renewing their tenancy of the Bear of North Moreton when it expires at the end of March. We are also aware that the pub’s ACV expires at the end of March, so it is important that it is renewed. Our chairman, David Cooper, will be contacting North Moreton Parish council to check whether the intention is to renew the ACV.
• The Kidmore End Parish Council is in the process of renewing the ACV for the Reformation.
• The Plough Shiplake closed on New Year’s Day – it is uncertain why.

• The Little Angel is currently closed for refurbishment, reopening in mid-March

Brewery news:

• Philsters Ales, Beehive Brewery has finally found a home for its new enlarged brewing kit.

Pub news:

• Unfortunately having reported last month that The Reformation had reopened, it is now once again closed.
• Renovation work continues on The Crown, South Moreton. Reopening is still planned for February 2019.
• The Crown, Stadhampton may have reopened.

• With particularly festive appropriateness, the third Crown in the Branch News this month - The Crown in Benson has a new manager.

Brewery news:

• Bell Street Brewery has two new seasonal beers. November: Sax on Fire, and December: Very Merry at 6%. 13 firkins have been brewed.

Pub news:

The Reformation has reopened.

The Three Tuns, Henley, has a new landlord.

Brewery news:

Bell Street Brewery’s recent seasonal was Henley on Toast (4.1% ABV) was created in collaboration with Toast Ale, uses surplus bread from Lawlor’s bakery in Henley.

Pub news:

The Mulberry, Didcot opened on 2nd July. Initial reports indicate that the refurbishment has been well executed and three ales were on sale: Good Old Boy, Abingdon Bridge and Roundhead.

The Crown, Stadhampton, has closed: our current assumption is this is not permanent. This pub is owned by Hawthorne Leisure, i.e. the company created to take excess pubs from Greene King.

Pub news:

The Cross Keys in Wallingford has reopened with the availability of quality real ale high on the agenda. Four cask ales sourced from the Marston's subsidiaries, including a weekly changing guest are currently available.

The campaign to save the Crown, South Moreton, has raised pledges for £230k and this has enabled them to offer the current owner, Worthmore Investments, £340k. The balance would be made up with loans. However, this offer appears to have been turned down because another potential buyer has offered £450k.

Our award of Pub of the Year to the Flowing Spring, in Playhatch, was generously covered in the Henley Standard, with a shorter article in the Reading Chronicle too.

There are new tenants in the Cherry Tree, Stoke Row, and the Station House, Henley.

Brewery news:

Bell Street has produced a special beer to mark the Royal wedding – Hooray Harry at 4.1%.

Amwell Spring in Cholsey is planning to produce cask ale in addition to the current bottled range.

Loddon has a new mild – ‘Wilfreds’. The flavour is dryer than one would expect from a mild.

The Branch Winter 2017/18 Pub of the Season is the The Catherine Wheel in Henley. Heather Harris is shown here holding the award that was presented by South Oxfordshire CAMRA Branch Chairman David Cooper.

The slightly belated Branch Autumn 2017 Pub of the Season is the The Sun at Whitchurch Hill. The licensees are Giles Langford and Nina Taraborrelli. Giles is shown here holding the award that was presented by Chairman David Cooper.

The Fleur de Lys in Dorchester is up for sale. It has an ACV listing and the community are proposing to buy it and run it for the village. They need to raise about £600,000 from a mixture of share sales and loans. The deadline for them to put in a bid is 27 November and are, at present, about £200,000 short of their target. They are collecting pledges to subscribe for shares in the Community Benefit Company that has been set up. The minimum subscription is £100 and maximum £100,000. No money need change hands yet. Offers of loans are also welcome

The Fleur is a popular pub in this attractive tourist destination and currently profitable. It is a past Branch Pub of the Season and GBG entry. We encourage all CAMRA members to make a pledge and help to save this historic pub for our area.

For more information, see their website.

The Nags Head in Reading has been voted as our Regional Pub of the Year for 2017. 2nd Place went to the Royal Oak in Wantage, followed by the Valiant Trooper in Aldbury in 3rd.

Our Regional Club of the Year for 2017 has been chosen as the Royal British Legion in Marlow, followed by the Stanford Social Club in Stanford in the Vale and then Goring Social Club in 3rd.

Congratulations to our Regional winners who will now be put through to the National competition.

South Oxfordshire CAMRA has made The Keep, Wallingford, our Cider Pub of the Year. The Keep, as many will already know, is the branch's first micropub which opened a year ago in what was a record shop just off the crossroads in the centre of Wallingford. The photo shows branch Chairman David Cooper handing the certificate to Sam Smith, one half of the partnership that owns the pub.

The Branch Spring 2017 Pub of the Season is the Blueberry, Blewbury. The licensee is Mariana, who is shown here holding the award that was presented by Chairman David Cooper.

South Oxfordshire CAMRA’s 36th annual darts tournament took place this month; this year’s venue being the Dolphin, Wallingford. In a closely fought contest Jamie Manson and Nik Kudryavtsev emerged as winners of the two mini-leagues with Jamie taking the crown in a best-of-three final. The photo shows Jamie (right) receiving the champion’s shield from branch Secretary Paul Dixon.

South Oxfordshire CAMRA branch recently gave the representatives of the Woodcote Rally a donation of £2,500 which came from the money the Branch made by running the beer tent at the event last July. This will be used to support local charities. The picture shows Pete Solomons of the Rally Committee receiving the cheque from Derek Graham, the SOX Festival Treasurer.

Four times a year the SOX Branch makes a Pub of the Season award. This often (though by no means always) recognises licensees who have been making an effort to improve pubs that previously may have been under-performing a bit. The Fleur de Lys, East Hagbourne, was a tad sub-optimal when the current licensee Ruth Sargison (pictured right) took it on. Now, assisted by police sergeant husband Darren, she has elevated it into the latest Good Beer Guide and the Branch is delighted to recognise Ruth and Darren’s achievements by awarding them 2016 Autumn Pub of the Season. The Fleur is a Greene King pub but has a generous guest beer policy. There is a wide range of good pub food on offer and regular entertainment. Each July, Fleurfest features a full weekend packed with entertainment. See http://www.thefleurdelyspub.co.uk for more details.