The Running Horse, Leatherhead

After an 11 miler in the gorgeous Surrey countryside, I was ready for my 2nd pint of the day. This is a nice old pub, with a decent beer garden. Took a Surrey Hills Brewery Ranmore. A little too pale for my liking but kept perfectly. The rest of the beers were Shepherds Neame.

An authentic old pub, lots of dark stained oak beams and horse brasses.A shepherd Neame pub, four of their beers were in evidence along with two decent guests,Surrey Hills Gilt Complex and Bootleg Brewing Metro Pirate IPA.A nice pub,I wouldn't be adverse to a revisit.

This is a genuinely historic pub, at least 16th century perhaps older, which retains two separate bars, the two of which couldn't be of more of a contrast to each other. The front lounge bar, situated in the oldest looking part of the building has real rustic charm, there is a low ceiling with gnarled old beams and posts, a large open fireplace, wonky walls and door frames, pew style benches and framed maps and prints on the walls. The rear public bar is a bright space with a pool table and dartboard, large TV and music playing, the walls are covered in framed football and rugby shirts, scarves, programmes and ticket stubs, signed photos of musicians, fishing photographs over the bar, a totally different ambience and clientele. A plaque on the front elevation celebrates a former landlady, Elynor Rummyn, who is said to have lived here in 1520, and another plaque elsewhere informs that she took in Queen Elizabeth I when she was stranded due to the nearby River Mole being in flood. There is another old looking building adjacent to the pub that looks like some old stables, there is outdoor seating to the side area plus a fairly scruffy, to be honest, bit of garden at the back which has a small children's play area. Shepherd Neame ales here, Masterbrew, Spitfire, Kent's Best and Canterbury Jack plus another called Double Stout which isn't listed on the brewery website so perhaps this is brewed by someone else. The Kent's Best wasn't clipped in the public bar, just the lounge. Certainly a nice pub is this one, in a pleasant location close to the River Mole walk.