The Red Lion, Norwich

The only surviving pub in the village, the Red Lion is a thatched cottage with extensions to right and left. Just one hand pump on the bar - only ever one beer on these days, the landlady confirmed - and at the time of my visit it was Old Speckled Hen. I have often swerved this beer in other pubs, as I can remember when the dominant flavours were sweet malt and suggestions that the beer had been on sale for nearer seven days than three, but here it was fresh and pleasant, with an unexpected bitter finish. In CAMRA's beer scoring system 3.75 out of 5 is not allowed, and I hesitated between 3.5 and 4, settling on the latter in recognition of the skill involved to keep a beer this well at a quiet time of the week. There were only two customers in at the time of my visit, a Tuesday evening, but both were friendly and interested in my pub photos and reviews, as was the landlady, who has been trying to find evidence of one of the village's closed pubs, the Steeplechase Arms, without any luck.

Facebook page of The Red Lion - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Red Lion - www.facebook.com