George & Dragon Hotel, High Wycombe

Official site of George & Dragon Hotel - www.georgeanddragonhotel.com

Official site of George & Dragon Hotel - www.georgeanddragonhotel.com

SWFC’s recent visit to Adams Park saw me calling in at The George and Dragon in West Wycombe. West Wycombe ( 2-3 miles west of High Wycombe ) is a fine National Trust owned village with a number of attractive old buildings along its High Street, although it’s a bit of a shame that it’s also the A40. The George and Dragon is a fine old coaching inn looking immediately at home in these surroundings. Our attention is drawn to the unusual large lead oval-shaped pub sign protruding from the vertical wall and held in position by several sturdy thick black rods. Unusually, it’s an exposed brick frontage rather than the usual whitewashed walls that we might expect to see. It’s a hotel as well as a pub and advertises “ensuite character bedrooms” as well as an “unusual and interesting bar food menu”. As we enter through the original cobbled archway, the bar and hotel entrance are on the right. The main bar features dark oak beams, horse brasses, decorative plates on a high shelf and the usual old style settles and spindle back chairs. A flower vase on each table and subdued lighting, together with the absence of any TV’s or music etc contribute towards a fine unspoilt traditional atmosphere. By the fireplace, a framed information print tells us that the pub was built around 1720 and provides us with a brief history of the other parts of the premises, including the coach house and old stables at the back. A smaller adjoining room, serviced from a hatch to the main bar is equally traditional. Of note here is a framed list of landlords dating back to 1790. Outside, we see the aforementioned coach house and stables. Note the balcony on the right hand side which was apparently used by sightseers and well wishers to see the arrival of the gentry and their coaches and horses. At the back towards the rear is also a large garden and car park. On my Saturday visit, beers on were Rebellion IPA, Rebellion Smugglers, Courage Directors plus St Austells Tribute. The IPA wasn’t up to much, but the Smugglers was a fine robust tasty pint. A CAMRA Good Beer Guide sticker from 2009 was seen in the window, but the pub hasn’t been in the Guide since. It’s a 25-30 minute quick walk to Adams Park from this pub, and, pleasingly, only the more discerning football fans appeared to have found it. I was intending to call in at The Swan, a hundred or so yards away down the High Street, which is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Unspoilt Pub Interiors, but it wasn’t open. The George and Dragon went some considerable way towards compensating for this disappointment