The Harrow Inn, Petersfield

A classic country pub hidden away down some narrow lanes. It has two rooms, accessable by two different doors, I went into what I took to be the tiny public bar, there was a welcome open fire on a dreary wet day, a couple of tables and chairs and a couple of improvised logs as seating, all very rustic. The bar is just a serving hatch, repeated in the other room, the beers are from stillage and the choice was either Flack Manor Double Drop or Bowmans Swift one, not pulse racing stuff but the Swift One was extreemly well kept. The landlady came across as very welcoming and friendly and going by the photos on the wall it was she that upset Tris and Quinno years ago, no such problems for me and enjoyed my thirty minutes or so here. As I said at the start a classic.

An acclaimed Camra National Inventory pub in the sticks near the East Hampshire market town of Petersfield. Both rooms (Public Bar is the left-hand entrance and Smoking Room is the right-hand entrance) have small bar counters which are counters in name - beer is dispensed directly from barrels behind the servery. The Public Bar is the smaller of the two rooms and any more than five people make it look crowded. The Smoking Room is slightly bigger with more tables and chairs to sit on. The money shot is visiting on a clement day meaning you can commandeer a bench out front or in the beer garden to the pub's right (as you look at it). The two beers were Flack Manor Flack's Double Drop and Hop Back GFB, both of which were excellent and there's basic pub grub offered (sandwiches, salads, ploughman's, etc.) should you so wish. There's bumpf about the pub on the tables inside and out including local pub singer Davey Goodchild who I had the fortune to meet on a pre-Christmas 2018 visit here. There aren;t many pubs of this ilk left in the UK and this isn't for everyone, but in my opinion it's well worth a visit.

Official site of The Harrow Inn - www.theharrowinnsteep.co.uk

Official site of The Harrow Inn - www.theharrowinnsteep.co.uk

Splendidly traditional, long-established family run 16th Century rural pub in the Hampshire hills a mile or so from Petersfield. This pub is probably as far removed from your chav-infested identikit high street pub as you can get nowadays. It's listed in CAMRA's National Inventory of Unspoilt Interiors and there is much to admire in the two separate rooms, each with their own distinctive character. Needless to say, there's none of the usual pub accompaniments, such as slot machines, TV's etc. For the nostalgia buffs, there's also outside toilets on the other side of the lane. Beer is served in jugs direct from the barrel - on my recent visit, there were Ringwood Best and a local micro. I was pleased to be able to add to my growing collection of pub postcards by paying £ 1 to charity for a card showing the splendid public bar interior. The pub is cut off from Petersfield by the A3 and it takes a bit of finding. Print out a map from the web site to make it easier. To conclude, do make the effort to find this pub - you will be well rewarded