The Nelson Arms, Farnham

Fairly cosy black varnished timbered interior with a bit of character. Due to some large, jovial and well-oiled local gathering taking place I wasn’t able to get a quiet seat inside, so spent most of my time out the front but the review below captures the interior as I recall it from ordering a pint. Three cask options in Hogs Back TEA, TT Landlord and a perfunctory Taylor’s Golden Best (NBSS 2.5). Caught the place at a sub-optimal time and I wouldn’t mind trying it again in order to sit inside and see if it’s enough to push it up a notch.

This is a cosy, historic pub with a decent location close to the castle. Entering through the corner door, you find yourself in a fairly small front bar, which has been opened up a fair bit into the larger left-hand side of the building, but still retains the sense of being a separate area best suited to drinkers. There’s still some degree of partitioning thanks to a whitewashed wall with a lit fireplace to the left – a spot proving popular on a cold Winter evening. The room is bare boarded and sees the servery run along the back wall with a series of padded banquettes serving a few tables along the front wall. The bar has a tongue and groove panelled counter front, broken by a couple of brick pillars, whilst the bar back includes a few open-ended barrels nailed to the wall and used as shelving units. Moving through into the larger left-hand side of the pub, you find yourself in what amounts to a good-sized dining room which is also bare boarded and has all manner of dark wood beams, posts and pillars throughout, contrasting the cream painted walls and rough bare brick left-hand end wall with its disused fireplace. Three rows of tables and chairs through the centre are supplemented by a row of pews around most of the perimeter. The reverse side of the main bar’s fireplace is a large inglenook affair sharing the same lit fire beneath a curved mantel beam. A few old seafaring paintings dot the walls and there is a large model ship in one of the front windows, all presumably tying into the pub’s name, which is further enhanced by some very nice stained-glass panes bearing Nelson’s coat of arms. A corridor to the rear left leads to the toilets and also out to what looked like a pleasant rear courtyard, although it was too dark to fully appreciate. Three cask ales were available on this visit – Taylor Landlord, Andwell Gold Muddler and Hogs Back Tea. In order to enjoy a pint of the Gold Muddler, I first had to order some food, opting for a full Sunday roast which came with all the trimmings and was delicious. The Gold Muddler by comparison, was a bit disappointing, although the beer was in good nick and the lone barman/waiter was doing a sterling job seating and serving everyone until back-up arrived later on. This is a very pleasant traditional pub that felt like it had too much of a food-led approach, although I suspect that this was mainly due to the Tier 2 rules that forced everyone to order a meal with their drinks. Assuming the pub has more of a drinker’s vibe in ‘normal’ times, this is well worth checking out for the well-kept beer, diligent service and attractive historic interior.

Well described by Malden man below, food is a big thing here but the pub maintains a very nice pubby feel . Four beers on ,on my Monday morning visit, three of them being from local breweries in the form of Englands Glory and TEA from Hogs Back , Gold Muddler from Andwell and from farther afield Timothy Taylors Landlord which was in tip top condition. Nice pub and one to add to several other good pubs in Farnham.

Official site of The Nelson Arms - www.nelson-arms.co.uk

Official site of The Nelson Arms - www.nelson-arms.co.uk