Halfway House, Bemerton, Salisbury

Basic, no-frills local boozer. Whitewashed and slightly battered interior with big screens for the sport. Busy, 100% sausage outside the friendly barmaid who was doing a good job servicing the tables. One ale, inevitably a Doom Bar (NBSS 2.5) as a half in a pint glass - it’s that kind of place. Friendly, rumbustious clientele which made for a fun 5 minutes watching BoJo on the biggest screen telling us all we couldn’t just drink in pubs anymore. That went down well.

The Halfway House is an old pub associated with the coaching trade, hence the significance of being half way between London and Exeter. Now very much a locals' pub, it is a comfortable, friendly place which has thriving darts and pool cliques and serves food at low prices. Two ales on - I had a pint each of Tom Brown and Tournament. Both were well kept, although the former has a strong tobacco taste which wasn't to my liking. Worth dropping in if passing, and makes a nice stop as part of a crawl.