Duke of Oxford, Weston Central, Weston Super Mare

Renamed yet again since my previous visit and although the basic layout remains largely unchanged, it has had a decent refurbishment and now seems generally much more inviting, with a friendly barmaid and quite a relaxed feel to it. Décor wise it now has something of a rustic feel, with some old wooden beams around and small sections of exposed brickwork. Lighting was provided by exposed filament bulbs, which is of course de rigour in any pub renovation these days. Flooring was mostly dark laminate along with some stripy carpet, and the remaining timberwork was painted a dark green, with white plasterwork elsewhere. Some small sections of stained glass were in the top of the windows. A couple of recessed seating areas with lower ceiling sections looked quite cosy, and the striped bench seating here matched the carpet. A small penny farthing was in one window, whilst elsewhere were a baby grand piano and a guitar, although whether these are used or merely decorative I’m not sure. Beers on tap were Rebel Kurt and their own Duke of Oxford, whilst a third pump appeared unused. Ciders were well represented with Thatcher’s Gold, Thatcher’s Haze, Lilley’s Elderflower and Lilley’s Somerset Scrumpy. All in all, I thought they had done a decent job here and I hope they’re more successful than most of the previous owners seem to have been.