Watermans Arms, Windsor

A venerable old pub, dog friendly, with a beer garden and a multitude of books on shelves and all this without the tourist hordes just over the bridge. Furthermore, the sign outside promised "many real ales", so in I went. "Many" turned out to be Greene King IPA and Doom Bar. There's the same number of hand-pulled ciders and no sign of anything remotely crafty. The IPA was reasonable and fairly priced (£2.60 for the half) considering the location. However, I'd hoped for better and swiftly moved on in search of it.

Located just off Eton’s attractive High Street, and perhaps therefore missing out on some of the tourists strolling over the footbridge from Windsor, it’s worth walking the extra few yards to track it down as it certainly appears to be one of the more appealing options in the vicinity. It’s largely open plan internally forming a rough U shape around the bar counter, although there is also a small snug just opposite the bar. It’s quite cosy and traditional inside, with flagstone style tiling on the floor, black wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and cream plasterwork above. The snug area was painted entirely black, and some wine box end wall paper made a bit of a feature at one end. The snug had a red tartan carpet covering much of the floor, and a good selection of beer mats tacked to the ceiling, but the main things of note were several shelves of books lining much of the room. These were available to buy at £1 each in aid of a local charity, but unusually many of them appeared to be new although there were some second-hand ones in there as well. Elsewhere were a couple of brick fireplaces with wood burning stoves and all manner of nautical artefacts as befits it’s location. A map of the Thames had been drawn on to the ceiling although much of this was obscured by a very long sculling boat and it’s oars. Elsewhere were more oars, ship’s wheels, and of course, the obligatory display of knots in a glass case, as well as shields, flags, lots of tankards hung from the beams and a pile of board games. The menu offered a decent looking selection of pub grub dishes, and our ciabatta’s with Brie & Bacon and Prawn Salad certainly hit the spot. Beers on tap were Purity Ubu and Mad Goose, Shepherd Neame’s Storm IPA, Adnams Ghost Ship, St Austell Proper Job and Wadworth’s 6X. Ciders were well represented with Snail’s Bank Fruit Bat, Harry’s Flash Harry, Lilley’s Red Rabbit, Aspall’s Suffolk and Inch’s Medium Apple. All in all, a cracking pub and well worth checking out.

I've walked past this Eton hostelry many times, but don't ever recall setting foot inside. The pub features plenty of rowing memorabilia throughout, including a boat hanging from the ceiling in the main room. A couple of small side rooms make this a cosy place for a drink. The girl behind the bar was welcoming. Although the ale range appeared to be much reduced from normal with just Windsor & Eton Knight of the Garter & Black Sheep Blitzen on. Another handpull was clipped with Weston's Old Rosie cider. CAMRA 50p off vouchers are apparently still accepted here. I quite enjoyed my half of Blitzen and would have had a pint in hindsight. But you never quite know when it comes to festive beers. We listened in interest as one guy was about to pay his balance for a Christmas Day meal. £75 seemed a little steep, but maybe that is the going rate. The barmaid revealed they had received quite a few cancellations despite deposits having been paid. I was left wondering if the meals will actually be served or whether Boris will intervene to cancel Christmas again?!

If you are navigating down the Thames,most likely you will moor up along the bank of the Brocas,a large park and The Watermans Arms is your nearest watering hole,just head towards the Eton bridge.It is a charming corner pub,quite small inside but with a large function room to one side which looks best avoided. The U shaped bar dominates the rest of the interior with a collections of small tables for seating,and a substantial real fireplace.Rowing boats make up some of the interior features,a single skull suspended from the ceiling while there are interesting artifacts dotted about ;it really is very charming. You will need to walk around the bar to clock whats on the 7 handpumps,on my trip that meant Adnams Ghost Ship (very decent),Harveys Sussex Ale (vinegar but replaced without debate),Binghams Twyford Tipple,Brakspears Bitter ,Watermans house beer,Hobgoblin (reversed) and something nationally available I failed to note.For a GBG listed pub,the ale selection seemed a bit unexciting but given the area is a tourist hot spot,this has the feel of a proper pub and it wasnt rammed unlike the River nearby on a very hot day. A safe choice for a decent pint,we tried the light bite food options which were good.Worth including on any crawl of the area.

Set down a backstreet on the Eton side of the river, close to the footbridge over to Windsor, this is a lovely little cosy boozer that seems to escape the attention of the tourist masses. You enter into the main bar with the servery directly opposite. The bar serves a U shaped room and thus follows a similar shape itself. Plenty of standard and bench seating can be found around the periphery of the room, whilst a small recess to the front has several comfy armchairs under a series of well stocked book shelves, which can give the impression of sitting in a library if you find yourself sat with your back to the rest of the pub. The rest of the bar area is decorated with plenty of nautical themed items and bits of breweriana, which are worth having a bit of a nose through and include a painting of the Thames on one of the ceiling beams. To the rear left is a sizeable function room which has none of the bar area’s charm and was being set up for a private party when we arrived. A door to the left takes you out to a patio with plenty of seating in a well kept space. The pub has appeared in recent editions of the Good Beer Guide and there was a good range of ales available on this visit. The hand pumps are scattered around the bar, so it took me a while to establish that the full line-up was Windsor and Eton Knight of the Garter, Skinners Cornish Knocker, Brakspear Bitter, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Thwaites Lancaster Bomber, Adnams Ghost Ship, West Berkshire Blindside Flanker and a house beer apparently brewed by Caledonian. We sampled several pints of the Knight of the Garter and thought it was in great shape. The barmaid was very friendly and patient, taking time to talk companions through the various boxes of cider stacked on the bar back. I thought this was an excellent back street pub that has bags of character, a comfortable, cosy feel and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The beer was spot on and with such easy access from the other side of the river I would suggest this is an essential port of call for any visitor to Windsor or Eton.

Interior basically as described below. 8 real ales taps ( 6 on during my visit) and westons cider served.