Woodies at the Junction Inn, St Denys, Southampton

This fine street corner pub was built in 1864 and retains a good sense of a Victorian era interior, despite some alterations over the years. The corner location means that the pub has an L-shaped layout dominated by a servery which follows the same shape. A corner entrance, signed as the Bottle and Jug, leads you into the parquet floored bar area with the corner of the servery directly opposite. There are nice obscured windows along two sides with some retro-font letters picked out to spell 'Marstons Burton Beers' although the pub is now owned by Greene King. The bar retains some of the old partitioning that would have created a two bar layout back in the day, denoted by nice screens with decorative glass inserts and a doorway with a low beam across it. The bar has an attractive tongue and groove counter and nice bar back sporting plenty of decorative features including, most unusually, a tiled Victorian fireplace. Some bright potted plants bookended the bar counter and the bar back has been decorated with pump clips and some books whose pages have been cut to create decorative sculptures. Turning left on entering, you pass through a narrow space with high stools along the window ledge and a single table with low stools, before emerging beyond the bar into a raised carpeted dining area. standard tables and chairs have been set up here under pastel shaded walls with a nice old fireplace on the back wall and a collection of bottles, salvers and the like on some high shelves. From here you can access a deceptively large beer garden with a nice little hut offering some shelter from inclement weather. The right hand side of the pub sees a mix of standard tables and chairs and high tables and stools under grey walls that don't really compliment the look of the pub. Decor is kept to a minimum, but there was a TV showing muted Sky Sports News and a dartboard in the far corner. Music was playing in the background, but this was lost under the hubbub of a pre-match crowd made up of fans from both teams, with no sign of bother. As a Greene King 'Local Hero' pub, the usual Greene King standards of IPA, Abbott and Morland Original were available alongside some guests in the shape of Yeovil Ruby, Hammerpot Red Hunter and Red Cat Prowler Pale. The latter set me back £3.60 and was a pretty good pint although perhaps just a little past its peak. The staff seemed well versed in dealing with crowds and I was served promptly by a cheery barmaid whilst other team members brought tasty looking dishes out from the kitchen. This is an interesting pub with a lovely interior that I'm not sure I was able to do full justice towards on a very busy afternoon. It's certainly the most attractive example of a Victorian era pub I can think of in Southampton and a reasonably experimental ale range means there is a nice mix of the well known and the unfamiliar on the bar. Another good bet when you're in this part of town and well worth considering for a more civilised pre-match pint than you're likely to find in the city centre.

A nice looking building (apart from the Greene King branding), inside as previously described ,a large single curved room that was reasonably populated with locals on a Saturday afternoon although a lot of post football match attendees were bypassing the pub in favour of the nearby South Western Arms.Beers on were Greene King IPA,Abbot,Old Speckled Hen,Old Golden Hen, Hardy & Hansons Kimberly Bitter,Weltons Horsham Pale Ale and thankfully for me Red Cat Prowler Pale Ale which was in good shape. Its a nice enough pub but most of the beer didn't appeal and there is a much better option 150 yards up the road.

A long curved single room with a carpeted raised area at one end which had tables set for dining. Beyond here is a pleasant looking garden with a bit of play equipment for kids. The remainder of the pub is boarded and has mixed seating, yellowish colour washed wainscoting and bar front. There is a working dartboard down this end and there are a number of trophies on display behind the bar. This is an attractive building, Grade II listed and retaining three original etched glass doors naming the saloon and public bars and the jug and bottle. The arched windows are especially attractive, some have circular inserts and etched banding to the lower panes. Some of the glazing indicates one time Marston's provenance. The carpeted end has a partially concealed bar billiards table. The pub had a few in on my early afternoon visit including a group of four lads who were delighted when one of their number relieved the fruit machine of its £100 jackpot and promptly demanded he invest some of it in another round of pints and shots. Although this is a Greene King house it is one of those where some beers can be bought free of tie. They had GK IPA, Abbot, GK Marmalade on Toast, Cottage Pacific plus also Duchess, Yeovil Ruby, Flack Manor Hedge Hop, Plain Ales Innspiration and a box of cider containing JJ's Special Reserve. Food looked like regular traditional pub fare, no fancy stuff with most mains at a decent £6.95. A very good start to an afternoon in the Southampton area close to St Denys station.

A Greene King pub with Marstons(?!) frosted windows which re-opened in 2012 after a fire caused significant damage. An interesting exterior feature are the unusual circular windows atop the Marstons frosties which can be hinged open. A number of ales on the bar from GK plus some good local guests from the likes of Irving. My GK XX Mild was fair but lacking a bit of sparkle - I was going to try a second but a wake turned up so I thought I’d best scarper. Clean and tidy inside, the post-fire refurb has been done in a fairly sympathetic manner and the nice feature fireplace contains what looks like a working stove. It can get a bit tight at the narrow semi-circular bar however. A fair-sized beer garden (if a little under-cultivated) backs onto the rail line pretty close-up, which makes for an interesting experience as the trains whizz past en route to to London and Portsmouth. Staff and patrons were friendly and chatty. Noted other features included free Wi-Fi and a bar billiards table (covered over, presumably due to the impending wake). Not a bad little place that perhaps seemed slightly underwhelming compared to the two outstanding pubs (South Western and Guide Dog) that it was sandwiched between on my crawl. I’d be happy to give it another go.