The Swan, Walton Riverside, Walton-on-Thames

This is a Young’s pub, which had the usual range. I had a pint of the London Gold, which was OK. Like most riverside pubs, food is an important part of this pub’s business. I didn’t get to look at a menu, but I could see a number of diners noshing away – sitting outside on the beautiful sunny lunchtime that we enjoyed on Monday. This is a big, sprawling pub with several separate, but interconnected, drinking areas and nooks & crannies. One of the larger rooms is clearly a restaurant area, as all the tables were laid for diners. In the other rooms there is the usual mix of sofas, banquettes and normal tables and chairs. It also looks as if the pub has expanded into an adjoining cottage, which looks as if it is being utilised as the pub kitchen. I didn’t know this pub before it was given the makeover referred to by the previous poster, but it’s obvious that it’s been given the Young’s treatment. The interior is very modern in concept, although I didn’t find it unpleasant. There’s not much left in the way of traditional features, but the leaded light windows featuring swans (of course) as their centre piece are quite attractive. Here, as for The Anglers next door, the riverside setting is its main selling point. But unlike The Anglers, this pub has lots of outside seating at various levels leading down to the river’s towpath. This is an upmarket riverside pub, with prices to match, but is in a lovely spot to sit outside on a nice day enjoying a pint, and the interior, although modern, is clean and comfortable. This is probably another pub to which I’ll end up returning to.