William Cobbett, Farnham

Farnham is not a town I've ever set foot in, at least until Bank Holiday Monday. With time for just visit, we chose the William Cobbett, which is near the town's railway station. This pub feels fairly traditional with a few different sections. Off to the right, there is a dartboard and a TV screen. The TV was off, with music playing instead. Toilets are also at this end of the pub. I'm not sure about the ladies, but the gents had an impossibly low door handle to negotiate. A real fire was lit and there was plenty of things to admire on the walls and beams including lots of old pumpclips, guitars, a skeleton, a 45" record collection, a propellor, a cabinet full of old bottles, old football match and concern ticket stubs and car registration plates. It's the kind of pub where successive visits will reveal something different every time. However, as much as I love visiting fascinating pubs like this, I also value a good and varied beer range when reviewing pubs. The cask ale range here was limited to just TEA & Tribute. London Pride & Proper Job pumpclips were turned round, with a fifth handpull unclipped. Neck Oil was on keg, with Inch's being the cider. At least one of the cask ales was a local one. I didn't get to explore the rest of this pub, as I was quite happy sat in a corner admiring my surroundings and unlike Quinno, I was enjoying the soundtrack. Perhaps it has improved since his visit, or maybe our musical tastes differ significantly. It did sound like there were quite a few people in the garden to the rear of the pub, which may also have been worth a visit. I'd happily return to see a bit more.

Character pub, with tat everywhere - no particular theme for the most part but plenty to look at, including a load of old 45rpm discs displayed on a wall behind a Perspex screen. Strip all that out and you still have a pretty characterful place which must date from the 70s as there’s no CAMRA Heritage listing. Enter through a porch though the two rooms it originally opened into here are now one. Off right is a separate room which is the smash-through into the adjoining property, all black beams and exposed brick. There's some old coins in the flagstoned floor which I only noticed once I’d got my eye in as many have been worn down. Sizeable rear patio. Five pumps with four on, a samey selection of mid-range bitters – TT Landlord, Fuller's London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar and a local brew in Hogs Back TEA which was a bit long in the tooth (NBSS 2.5). Ropey music on the go throughout, somewhat at odds with the image the pubs interior presents. I’d say it’s well-worth a visit for the interior; a review of the cask offering would make this place a nailed-on destination. Could and should be a GBG regular. 6.5