Sow & Pigs, Dunstable

The pub sign can still be seen, at the Cuckoo. It was bought at auction and given to the son of a former landlord of the Sow and Pigs, who runs the new pub almost opposite.

The Sow & Pigs is a proper pub just off the village green in Toddington. It’s a bit of a legend in the Bedfordshire CAMRA circles as it hosted the very first meeting of CAMRA in Bedfordshire over thirty years ago and has been ever present in the GBG over all those years to present day. And that is made even more of an impressive feat by the fact that this is a Green king pub. Yes I was shocked too. It certainly deserves its regular appearance in the GBG’s for beer quality if the pint of IPA I had was anything to go by. If it was this good all the time I could even get used to drinking it. And it also deserves to be in there for continuing to remain a proper traditional pub. Internally it has one long narrow bar, with a traditional wood decor with a plain oak floor and half panelled walls, wooden bench seating and tables and a large stone fireplace. Then there’s a collection of pig and golf memorabilia dotted about. There is a separate dining area in a room upstairs and a substantial garden out the back. And unusually nowadays there are no televisions or fruit machines to disturb the drinking and conversation. The bar supports three hand pumps which were IPA, Abbott and a guest beer, although this was another from the GK stable. The Sow and Pigs also has a high reputation for food, but I cannot pass comment on that as I was only here for the beer.

Official site of the Sow & Pigs - www.sowandpigs.co.uk

Official site of the Sow & Pigs - www.sowandpigs.co.uk