Ferryman, Walhampton, Lymington

Previously The Waggon and Horses, this fine building is on the edge of the National Forest and has a pleasant location near the water but isn’t the ‘riverside pub’ they claim it to be. There is a reasonable car park, though it would appear to be unfit for 3 or 4 Range Rovers which didn’t quite make it across the footpath onto the gravel. It’s rather a pretentious establishment, a faux-gastro pub with four handpumps, none of which dispense ale. The décor is cheap and nasty, like someone bought a chain pub from Temu and asked a three-year-old to assemble it – off-colour battleship grey paint on pine lap timbers, furniture that won’t survive beyond the first pub brawl and clutter that I wouldn’t put in a boot sale serving as superfluous bric-a-brac. There is a main bar, a restaurant area at the side and a fairly pleasant paved garden, the latter providing relief from the sweltering air inside. The customers were mainly parodies of East Enders characters, their fake accents giving them away as they spew out venom about their fellow drinkers’ love-lives. The female staff were unengaging and indifferent to their customers. One good point was the availability of dog biscuits on the bar. The human food was over-priced and over fussy, certainly not good value for money. Keg choices were Neck Oil, Guinness, Cruzcampo,Amstel, Asahi and Stowford Press. Not worth the walk over from the town.