The Kings Head, Aylesbury

Official site of The Kings Head - kingsheadaylesbury.co.uk

Official site of The Kings Head - kingsheadaylesbury.co.uk

Lovely old inn hidden down alley, chunky tables, classic décor and sectioned off areas. Beers from Chiltern

An attractive old pub owned by the National Trust just off of Aylesbury’s market square, it was reputedly built in 1455 and, appropriately given the pub’s name, a number of kings have apparently stayed here over the years, including Henry VIII. There is a good sized central courtyard which was presumably for the benefit of horses at one time, but is now an attractive outdoor seating area. A courtyard bar has also recently opened here meaning that drinks can be purchased without having to return to the main bar within the pub. The main bulk of the pub is off to the right as you approach from the market square and consists of several interconnected rooms. There is also a dining area off to the left which we did not investigate. Décor wise, it doesn’t have quite the olde worlde charm that you might expect, and whilst there certainly are still some notably old features, it has clearly also undergone renovation works over the years. Dark wooden boards were on the floor, whilst the low ceilings had the requisite black wooden beams, although these were fairly sparse in some areas. There were some areas of exposed brickwork although these had all been painted with dark grey paint whilst elsewhere was cream plasterwork. Several pictures of the local area were on the walls, and a number of old beer barrels had been pressed in to use as tables. Seating was a mixture of old wooden pews, a couple of old sofas and regular tables and chairs. The menu offered a decent looking selection of pub grub dishes, with options such as grilled chicken, sausage and mash, burger, scampi & fries, and so on. Our beer battered haddock with chips and mushy peas was a pretty good dish, not as generous as some perhaps, but a tasty bit of fish and most enjoyable. Beers on tap were predominantly from Chiltern Brewery, with their Pale Ale, Beachwood and Cobblestone and these were joined by Swannay Adrift. Ciders meanwhile were Stowford Press and Cornish Orchards Farmhouse. All in all, it certainly seems to be one of the better pubs in the centre of Aylesbury, not that that’s really saying much, and well worth popping in if you’re in the area.

An old inn owned by the National Trust, almost hidden up an alley off the market place. Bits of half timber, proper board floors and mix of pub and unpubby furniture. Various spaces & rooms in a variety of styles and sizes. Dreadfully middle class but it has excellently kept beers mainly from Chiltern, four out of six casks were from them, there's also six keg taps not from the national brand stable, some of these are from Chiltern as well. Mainly buff walls with a collection of prints and photos to engage the attention. Very pleasant but a little pricey for my northern pocket at £3.55 for a 3.9% beer but maybe ok for the area.

Just off the Market Square in the centre of Aylesbury, this is a marvellous example of an old coaching inn. The pub retains its courtyard and stable block, giving a clear flavour of how the inn would have operated in its prime. Today we find the place managed by the Chiltern Brewery on behalf of The National Trust, who own the property. Customers are directed to the Farmer's Bar, which is through a doorway to the right after you pass through the entrance arch, just before you emerge into the courtyard. The bar has a split level layout with the nicely curved bar counter over in the rear right corner. Comfy sofa seating is available near the entrance, in a recess to the left and close to the bar and has been supplemented by low stools made from small casks with the Chiltern Brewery's name on the side. Standard tables and chairs make up the seating options elsewhere, including in a lower section, screened from the main bar, to the front right. Lots of old looking beams criss-cross the room, with walls painted cream and red. Some old windows appear to have been retained, but there are also a lot of new windows with the brewery's fox and oak tree logo. One wall was dominated by a large photo of the Queen visiting Aylesbury and sampling beer from the Chiltern Brewery - it sounds implausible, but the photo offers compelling proof. Other interesting old pictures line the walls, especially in a cluster near the fireplace next to the entrance and it's worth a quick perusal before moving on. Doors to the rear lead out to the evocative courtyard, with the stabling block running around three sides and plenty of picnic tables have been arranged through the centre and under a sheltering canopy at one end, making this a great spot for a beer on a sunny day. Some shelves next to the servery housed a number of blankets, suggesting that customers are content to sit outside whatever the weather and books and board games were also stacked here for customer's enjoyment. An encouraging selection of CAMRA certificates have been put on display opposite the bar and there were four ales available across the six handpulls. Three Chiltern beers - Beechwood Bitter, Gold and Pale Ale - were supplemented by Box Steam Summer Buzz and a cider in the shape of Tutts Clump Royal Berkshire. My pint of the Chiltern Pale seemed a little tired, but the locals were knocking the ales back quite happily. A good snacks cabinet on the bar counter had some tasty looking snacks on show, but we opted to eat from the wider menu, choosing a Kings Farm Sausage sandwich and chips, which set me back a disproportionately high £8. The staff were friendly enough and there was notably no background music, just the inane chatter of two very loud locals at the bar. A small Chiltern Brewery shop opposite the Farmer's Bar entrance stocks various beer related treats, should you want to take something home with you. By virtue of being the oldest courtyard pub in the country, this place merits a visit purely from a historic perspective, but there is enough going on here to make it an attractive prospect in its own right. It perhaps suffers a little from being one of the town's top tourist attractions and my beer could have been in better condition, but this really should be on your to do list should you find yourself in Aylesbury.