The Sow and Pigs, Bicester

Out in the sticks, internally this is an L-shaped room with the bar counter a chamfered L. Brakspear Bitter was the only ale on over three pumps - one of which was unclipped and another reversed: a light and bitter came in at £3.50 and I was poured almost a pint's worth of the bitter. There are some cosy touches with a large, open fireplace to the right with a small portion of original bench seating to its right, a foreign banknote collection behind the bar and a fox hunting painting and map which will likely divide opinion. A patio out back segues into a beer garden with a fish pond between the two, although two shipping containers between the car park and garden are a bit of an eyesore. This appears to have been in the same hands for some time, but is harmless enough and a couple of roast dinners served during my visit looked appetising.