Londesborough Arms, Lincoln

Bateman's pub tucked away on a side road in the village of Metheringham. This one appears to be popular with locals of all ages. I arrived not long after their 3pm opening time. I was one of the first in, but it soon filled up initially with an elderly clientele, but after with some youngsters and an after-work crowd. There are 3 small rooms. The bar has a pool table, a games machine and a couple of dartboards. A TV was showing the Cheltenham Festival and for some reason, there were Peaky Blinders pictures on the walls. The landlord/barman was busy getting a wood burner operational. Wifi was available. An adjoining room had another fireplace and another wood burner. Beams had horse brasses and there were pictures of racehorses on the walls. A further room to the rear had pictures of pheasants. XB & XXXB were the cask ales. A pumpclip for Gold was turned round, as it had yet to be pulled through again. I thought this pub was a solid village local, but I'm not a particular fan of Bateman's beers. So, it's not really one for me.

I hadn't planned on stopping here, as it was getting towards sunset on my cycle ride to photograph some of the previously photoless pubs in this part of Lincolnshire. The sight of a massive Bateman's sign at the entrance to the car park here caused me to change my plan, but I was soon wishing I hadn't. First I had to wait five minutes while a couple of locals got served - the fact that none of the drinks was a real ale should have been a hint. There were four hand pumps on the bar (I think: forgot to mention it in my notes) with Batemans XB and XXXB among the offerings. I went for the latter, but it was in poor condition, with a slightly off flavour that might have been down to not being pulled through since it's last use. Probably some time last century. Being in a hurry I didn't complain but just sank the beer and put it down to experience. I was left with, literally, a sour taste in my mouth, which I resolved to cure with another beer in the next pub. Date of visit: 26th September 2019