Prince of Wales, Farnborough

A lunchtime visit found the same regular beers as mentioned by John Bonser in the previous post,the Darkstar Hophead one of my reasons for going was in fine form.The pub itself was rather quiet ,only to be expected given its location and being a Monday afternoon.However a pleasant drink, only time for a couple of pints so stuck to the Hophead but tried a taster of one of the guest ales ,Tring Woodland Bell which wasn't to my taste,also as about to leave was offered a taste of East London Brewery's Pale Ale which was very much to my taste and would quite happily have stayed for more if time had permitted.To echo mr Bonsers sentiments,a pub well worth seeking out.

Situated in a residential side street in North Farnborough is The Prince of Wales, a smallish traditional pub with something of a villagey community feel. Outside the pub, we learn, as if we didn’t already know, that the pub offers an “extensive range of real ales” – up to 10 in total, as it turns out. Etched windows tell us that this was obviously a multi – room pub, but it’s now a single bar pub, albeit with a number of adjoining different areas. It’s a comfortably furnished and pleasant, if rather unremarkable, interior with some black beams and unusual exposed brickwork featuring. Wall decorations include a large Fullers mirror. On my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, place mats were laid out in anticipation of lunchtime food trade – but this is clearly first and foremost a drinkers pub. A potted history of the pub on the back of the menu – “The Victorian Prince of Wales” – tells us that its first earliest mention as a pub was in 1867. There’s no intrusive televisions, but a small marquee at the back had evidently been set up to enable customers to watch the previous Fridays Six Nations match between Wales and England. On the real ale front, the 5 pumps in the front bar area showcase the regular beers – London Pride, Youngs Bitter, Dark Star Hophead, Summer Lightning and Ringwood Fortyniner. A blackboard tells us the beers that are served from the small snug bar area at the side. These included Dark Star Over The Moon and a couple of previously unencountered micros – Bingham Brewery Coffeee Stout and Flack Manor Black Jack. One beer is offered as a cheap session beer – this was Triple FFF Altons Pride ( £ 2.70p ) . Both the Hophead ( 2.95p ) and the Black Jack were in fine form. The pub has been a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular in recent years and a number of CAMRA award certificates are displayed above the bar. The pub is currently CAMRA Wessex Region Pub of the Year – one of the top 16 pubs in the UK. This pub is well worth seeking out

Official site of the Prince of Wales, contains real ale details - www.princeofwalesfarnborough.co.uk