Lion & Lamb, Pennington, Lymington

After a few years’ closure the pub has been substantially renovated and rebranded, distancing itself from the poor reputation of the Musketeer. Two rooms have been knocked together to for a single open plan bar which had retained the original windows, making it bright and airy. Both brick fireplaces ae still in place, one with a woodburner A smaller room adjacent has also kept its fireplace, this one now containing a more modern range cooker, though this is decorative rather than functional. Outside, there is a gravel car park at the side, and there is a paved garden with tables and benches at the rear. The staff were welcoming and friendly, while most of the customers were pleasant and mature. Swearing and mobile phones are banned in an effort to sttop it reverting to its former state. One customer was really quite irritating – a loud, opinionated French woman who slagged off English beer even while we were ordering ours. Ales on were Flack’s New Forest, Old Speckled Hen and Caledonian’s Deuchars. The keg choices were Guinness, Moretti, Cruzcampo, Henry Weston, Amstel, Stoford Press, Hazy Day and Level Head. Nice to see a pub reopening, but it’s a bit of a hike from the marinas so I doubt I’ll be back very often.

During a recent Tuesday evening visit there was one other customer who was very drunkenly moaning to the friendly governor about his treatment on a previous evening. I decided to busy myself with some note taking whilst trying not to make eye contact. The single room bar houses a couple of plasma screens and Sky Sports was advertised. The football had finished so Vintage Radio was the channel of choice. I noted the presence of a piano, a dartboard and a sign advertising live music including folk jam on Thursday evenings. Ringwood Best and Forty-Niner were available from the four hand pumps. A multitude of pump clips stuck along the top of the bar suggests that a reasonable ale selection is often available alongside the standard keg products. Food was also advertised but I didn’t see any prices. I thought that this was a decent local boozer and if it wasn’t for the drunkard I would have stayed a bit longer.