The Fox, Basingstoke

Approached along narrow lanes, this seems to be a small cottage with a single room on 2 levels - bar & fire at street level, with a more modern area up a couple of steps (there may be more to it - I didn't explore). 3 handpumps served up 6X, Doom Bar (naturally) and Suthwyk Skew - the latter in good form and the Doom Bar also seemingly good too. There is a small menu of relatively straightforward food: not expensive, good quality and decent portions. While the weather was atrocious, the Fox was very quiet on a recent Saturday lunchtime visit. I gather the pub had changed hands in the weeks before my visit, so the experience may not be typical. Hopefully business is generally brisker than I saw and the pub can thrive.