The Red Lion, Drayton, Abingdon

A traditional roadside boozer which is currently not doing food, neither was there any real ale when we visited. As described below it’s formed from knocking through a couple of cottages, and has three separate bar areas as well as a garden terrace. There is a games area with pool table and dart board. It is clearly a strong local – the regulars weren’t that friendly, although the barmaid did try to be helpful. Given the lack of ale I am unlikely to visit again in the near future.

Further up the road from The Wheatsheaf is the elongated Red Lion which looks as if it were a number of cottages knocked through back in the day. On my visit, a late Sunday evening, this GK pub was busy with locals enjoying a pint or three around the central bar: fortunately there's large rectangular areas either side to escape unlike The Wheatsheaf. The ale line-up consisted of Morland Original, Woodforde's Nelson and GK XX Mild. Unfortunately for me, despite my excitement at seeing and wanting to try the latter (£3.50 a pint) it turned out to have not been pulled through enough, so I left with a sour taste in my mouth and a point docked from this pub's total.

Official site of The Red Lion - www.theredliondrayton.co.uk

Official site of The Red Lion - www.theredliondrayton.co.uk