The Rifleman, Twickenham

A tidy little locals pub, quiet on my early afternoon visit but I would imagine it can become quite crowded when showing the advertised rugby and football games on TV. The beer line up was exactly the same as in the previous two reviews and much like Aqualung I found it all rather boring and although my Redhead was in perfect condition its not a beer that excites me.A nice pub, shame about the mainstream and apparently unchanging beer regime.

This is a small old Courage boozer unashamed to display it's previous credentials on the external signage. Inside it's a small single bar with wooden floors and some nice black and white tiling around the bar. It is 2014 GBG listed. The problem with this place for me was the dull mainstream beer selection consisting of four regular beers, Young's Bitter, Butcombe Bitter, Landlord and Ringwood Best with the only saving grace being a varying beer from the local Twickenham Brewery which on my visit was their Redhead at £3.65. To put this price in perspective it is £1.10 dearer than the Twickenham beer in the (relatively) expensive Twickenham Spoons. This is very much a local's pub and it may well be that there are proper locals in here that enjoy what for me was a boring beer selection. As an unspoilt back street boozer I liked it a lot and the Twickenham beer means it is worth a visit. I preferred it here in some ways to the "beer and cider festival" Sussex down the road but wouldn't like to be here when the footbore is showing on one of the screens.

Despite having lived in and around the Twickenham area (for a somewhat generous definition of 'area'), I'd never visited the Rifleman. This has now been rectified. To have two excellent pubs (this and the Sussex Arms) within a (say) two mile radius is indeed a treat. The Rifleman is a small pub with eclectic seating, a couple of benches in the front and a lovely rear garden (complete with a wildflower bed). There were four (I think) real ales on when I visited, including Twickenham Vanguard, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Buttcombe and one other (a session ale) whose name I can't remember. These ranged in price from £3.30ish - £3.55 (Landlord) - good prices for SW London. They focus on wet sales - unless you want crisps or a toastie, this is not the place to come for food. The barman was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, both about the ales and about the pub itself. There are a couple of televisions which were on but on silent (one showing cricket the other Grand Prix) - this, ideally I could do without though I know many people welcome such things. The loos were clean (and completely intact). In fact, the pub itself was clean and comfortable - a pub I would certainly be pleased to visit again.

This is a pleasant backstreet pub with a local feel, most punters were gathered around the bar standing or perched on stools, exchanging banter during the England v Ukraine game being shown on the pub TVs. The single room has a horseshoe bar, beamed ceiling, standard style seating, a wooden floor with tiled chequered bar area plus attractive leaded obscure windows with the original winding opening gear still operational. Decor includes several framed collections of banknotes, green shield stamps, pictures of riflemen/servicemen over a fireplace and a large canoe paddle suspended over the bar. A brass plate plus the pub sign with cockerel signify the pub's previous life as a Courage house. Five handpumps, one unclipped but a reasonable range of Ringwood Best, Youngs Bitter, Butcombe Bitter and Twickenham Naked Ladies on offer. A decent and vibrant back street pub in an area outside central Twickenham but well worth a mini crawl with the POW, Sussex and Blucher all nearby.