Railway Inn, Winscombe

As others have said, very much improved since Thatcher's took it on a year or two back. It's had a bit of a spruce up, and the rear bar seems now more geared up for dining compared to the rather rough and ready local's bar that I seem to recall from my last visit. It's an attractive pub with a good selection of hanging baskets and flower troughs adorning the front of the pub, and an old railway signal attached to the pub sign to remind you that there was in fact once a real railway here. The front bar sports a plasma, quiz machine and a darts board but none of that was intrusive and it seemed a pleasant place to just sit and sup your pint. It was a nice day though, so we ventured out in to the adjacent pleasant garden. There were unfortunately a few wasps buzzing around, but I guess that's inevitable with all the cider orchards in the vicinity. If we want our cider, we must put up with such trivial annoyances! Landlady was very friendly, and there was a good choice from the “pub grub” menu, including some slightly more unusual dishes such as a sausage sandwich, which Mrs. Blackthorn found most agreeable. The only downside was really the loos which seem to have escaped the refurbishment and were quite smelly. Beers on offer were Doom Bar, Butcombe and Proper Job, plus keg Henry’s Smooth. Ciders were entirely from Thatcher’s as you might expect, with their Gold, Dry and Traditional.