Royal Oak Inn, Wantage

I wasn't expecting to find such a fantastic pub in Wantage. Opening times here are extremely limited and for some unknown reason, I assumed it was a foodie pub. Perhaps it was the fact that the pub was due to close at 2pm on a Sunday until re-opening later at 7pm. I'd wrongly assumed this was due to food service hours. How wrong could I be. This is a traditional wet-led pub with a well-worn and unspoiled interior and an elderly, loyal clientele. There are a couple of rooms - a public bar to the left and a lounge to the left. With no customers in the bar, we ordered in the lounge. But with no spare tables in the packed lounge, we retreated to the bar where an elderly couple soon joined us, as their regular table in the lounge was occupied. The rooms are carpeted, with the bar having many pictures of naval warships and many naval shields. There is a dartboard in one corner near the gents and a table football game near the window, perhaps attempts to get a younger crowd in. There was no music, with conversation being king here. At the bar, there were 4 definite cask ales - Butt's Barbus Barbus, Dark Star Hophead, Thornbridge Jaipur & Ramsbury Blindside. In addition, Amwell Mad Gaz was listed on blackboards, but there was no sign of a pumpclip. Either way, the landlady was fetching beers from a cold room on the bar side. I happened to spot somebody with what looked like a Weston's Old Rosie or Rosie's Pig and enquired about the availability of ciders. She produced a laminated list of 31 ciders and 7 perries from a range of producers. As I scoured the list and asked for ones I hadn't had, it very quickly became obvious that the list was hopelessly out-of-date. Some were still available, but most weren't. Although there were clearly additional ones that weren't even on the list. After sending the lady to the cold room and back around 5 times, I eventually gave up and settled for the Barbus Barbus! She did show us piles of bag-in-the-box ciders. Most were Lilley's or Tutt's Clump, but some boxes were actually empty. I'd have loved to have been able to survey them all! Miraculously, card payments are accepted. Although cash still seems to be the most popular means of payment for the regulars. I had to do a double take when I saw how much I had been charged for a half of cider and a half of ale. It is now in excess of £3, but £3.25 for a pint is almost unheard of these days in the south east of England, unless you happen to be in a Wetherspoon's. A bit of a gem this one. I do fear for its future, due to the elderly nature of its customer base. But long may places like this survive.