Strawberry Special Inn, Cheddar

A pleasantly quirky village pub, originally the station hotel, as described by Blackthorn, below. The skittle alley is now open, but it’s mainly used as a dining room for functions. There is a decent car park at the side, and the outside seating doesn’t feel over-public. It has a good local feeling, and we were warmly greeted by the American landlady and her large white cat. Filled rolls are still available, but one presumes they have been changed since Blackthorn’s review. The gaming machines and V were turned off, which promoted conversation and conviviality. The ale choices were Doombar and Butcombe original, the latter in good condition. Keg choices were Atlantic, Pravha, Thatcher’s Gold, Carling and Guinness. A pretty decent pub, worth a visit, but check opening times first as these are limited.

An attractive country pub, slightly off the beaten track these days, although with the former railway station directly opposite it must have been a lot busier at one time. The branch line was known as the Strawberry Line as many of the trains took the local strawberries away to market and this is reflected in the pub’s name. In fact there are still plenty of strawberry fields nearby, although these days the produce obviously go by road. The pub consists of a small room to the right which is perhaps more geared up for dining. There is a small brick fire-place although this appeared unused, and cream walls with plenty of plates and such like on shelves around the top. The larger room to the left has quite a traditional appearance with red patterned carpet on the floor, a mixture of church pews and red vinyl benches as well as plenty of tables and chairs. It is divided in to two by a free-standing brick chimney and a dual aspect fire-place which had a coal effect gas fire blazing away. The walls are plastered with all manner of pictures, mostly being old black and white photos of the pub and village, pub sports teams and several old railway drawings as well as a concert listing from the nearby Webbington Hotel in the 60’s – Slade, Mud or The New Seekers, all for £2 a ticket! A couple of plasmas were mounted up in the corner, one of which was showing the horse racing at a volume that seemed a little too high considering there were only a handful of punters sat up at the bar, none of whom seemed to be taking much notice. There was also a darts board off toone side, and a number of trophies scattered around. I didn’t check the menu, although a small blackboard listed a few snacks such as Steak & Ale Pie or Cornish Pasty at a very reasonable £2.20 and there was a basket of filled rolls on the bar. Beers on tap were Butcombe, Doom Bar and London Pride, whilst the ciders were Blackthorn and Thatcher’s Gold.

Official site of the Strawberry Special - www.strawberryspecial.com

Official site of the Strawberry Special - www.strawberryspecial.com