The Oddfellows Arms, Dunstable

Cosy pub on the Market Square. Only Doom Bar available when I called but it was a decent pint. Happy to call again.

Toddington's five pubs are all within walking distance of each other and this is viewable from both The Bell and Cuckoo around Market Square. A two-roomer, this has a small games room accessed via a door to the right (pool table and darts), served by a small bar counter with the main bar through a door to the left. This room is L-shaped and has exposed beams and low ceiling with a few hundred pump clips affixed to it. The floor is flagstoned here with the remainder carpeted and a mixture of red upholstered bench seating, dark wood tables and small stools, with their larger cousins against the bar and small Jack Vettriano prints hang on the walls here. An open fireplace is located at the rear of this area, inhabited by wood burning stove and a flatscreen TV affixed above the mantelpiece. A three ale line-up from four stumps (one unclipped) - Fuller's London Pride, Adnam's Broadside and Woodforde's Wherry, with an unclipped stump in the games room side (which the Wherry was confusingly poured from). The Wherry came out cloudy, but was replaced without fuss. Another credit to Toddington, although the range of pump clips on display compared to what was on offer seemed at odds.

The Oddfellows Arms is a Grade II listed fifteenth century building on the far side of the green at Toddington from the Bell and the Red Lion. It’s a nice looking white washed building from the outside with a couple of wooden bench seats to the front overlooking the green. When you enter there is a double door arrangement with separate doors off to the left and right. The comfortable lounge bar area is off to the left and then the games room, mainly taken up by the pool table and darts board is off to the right. The lounge is heavily beamed with comfortable bench seating surrounding the L-shaped bar. There is a small unobtrusive flat screen tele on the wall above the wood burning stove in the fire place on the connecting wall between the two rooms. There is a decent collection of Pewter mugs hanging from the ceiling and there is an ever growing collection of pump clips attached to poles connected to the ceiling in front of the bar area. Of the seven pubs in the village of Toddington, the Oddfellow Arms would appear to offer the best Ale choice as there are four hand pumps on the bar. Fullers London Pride and Adnams Broadside are the house ales and then the other two are guest beers, which seem to rotate fairly frequently if the pump collection is anything to go by. The two guests on during my latest visit were Green Jacks Orange Wheat Beer and Tring Brewery Jack O’Legs and as the latter was being pulled through as I entered I plumped for this, and a very nice pint it was. I still need to visit some of the other pubs in Toddington, but this is being made difficult on my infrequent visits as I am usually drawn back to the Oddfellow Arms for a reliable pint and to see what is on.