Rose & Crown, High Wycombe

Situated in the centre of High Wycombe near to the town's main shopping centre and office developments, it's a miracle that this pub is still standing. It's a typical drinkers' local which was busy on our early Sunday evening visit, as quite a few people had gathered to watch the England football game on the pub's TVs. There was one near the entrance, another to the left side of the bar and a further one on an outdoor decking area to the rear. Being the only remaining High Wycombe pub in the Good Beer Guide, I was expecting a decent real ale selection and was not disappointed. 4 cask ales are constantly changing. For our visit, they were Greene King False Nine, Windsor & Eton Eton Boatman, Blue Monkey Marmoset & Rebellion Smuggler. In addition, I finally found a pub with some boxed ciders. Most (if not all) probably don't make CAMRA's new definition of real cider, but the selection was Lilley's Merry Monkey, Apple & Blackberry Cider, Cheeky Pig, Somerset Scrumpy Dry, Rhubarb Cider, Elderflower Cider, Woo Woo Cider & Raspberry Mojito Cider, Weston's Old Rosie & Rosie's Pig & Thatcher's Stan's Cheddar Valley. The room is L-shaped and fairly basic. The pub dog was happily mingling with the customers and its toys were liberally scattered around. The bar staff were friendly, whilst the customers were a strange mix of youngsters, elderly and drunks. Whilst there's nothing particularly special about this place, the changing beer and cider selection has to be commended and it's probably just about the best place to drink in for the denizens of High Wycombe these days.

Under new management, and refurbishments sre under way currently; being re-roofed and much of the furniture has been replaced. Regular rotation of ales, competitive prices and a good mixture of customers make this a great little boozer.

Still as described by Steve, below, I was pleasantly surprised to find this isolated patch of England in the pit of multicultural dystopia that is the High Wycombe backsteets. The staff were friendly, the locals chatty, and we felt every welcome here. Two ales on, Doombar and Pride, neither perfect but both drinkable. It is, as implied, a good local boozer, and if I were ever stranded here it’s somewhere I would go for a quick pint though its location would put me off including it in a crawl.