The Dog Hangs Well, Ludlow

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Dog Hangs Well

Tucked a little way away from the town centre down the hill towards the station, as others have mentioned this is certainly not somewhere you’re going to stumble across by accident. In fact even if you were actively looking for it, you might well surmise that it has closed and been converted to residential use. The only sign that there is a pub here is the pub’s name etched in to the glass of the lamp hanging out at the front. When the pub is open, the lamp in on, although that’s not very often; opening times are just 5:00pm – 9:00pm, Thursday – Saturday. One thing I would add to Ray’s notes below, is that the lamp actually hangs between two doors, both with the number 14 on. You want the one to the left. The other leads directly in to the snug, but is kept locked.

Once through the door, you walk down an alleyway and then right in to the lobby area of the pub. One room, including the bar counter, is off to the left, and two further rooms to the right. It really looks as though it hasn’t changed in decades, so it was very surprising to learn that it’s only been here for about eight years, having been converted from residential. That said, other than the installation of the bar counter, perhaps it hasn’t changed. The rear bar is quite cosy, with the bar counter to one side, and unusually the beer engine was mounted on the wall next to the bar counter rather than atop it. As such, there were no pump clips to inspect. A blackboard behind the bar listed the three available styles, whilst adjacent beer mats indicated the exact variety. The ceiling had been painted aqua blue, which perhaps isn’t very traditional but nonetheless worked well enough, whilst the walls were rough cream plasterwork. Various old black and white photographs were dotted around, a real fire was blazing away in the hearth, and on the mantlepiece above was an extensive collection of beer mats, presumably showcasing the pub’s previous offerings. A small bookshelf was on one wall, and a notice behind the bar instructed patrons that there was to be no swearing, no mobiles phones and that only cash was accepted.

The two rooms at the front were broadly similar in terms of style, although the smaller of the two was a little cosier perhaps with dark blue painted wallpaper on the walls, a small fireplace to one side, a rug covering much of the floor and an old piano. A few coloured paintings were on the wall, and this really did feel very much as though it could have been someone’s living room.

The downside of such limited opening hours are that when a barrel has run out it’s not worth replacing as it won’t all get used. Consequently although they usually start with three beers on, there were only two left when we arrived at about 6:00pm on the Saturday, Ossett Jet stout and Frome Beer Blonde. By the time we left, the stout had also run out although there was also something from Quantock on keg. The solitary cider meanwhile was Hop Shed Medium Cider No. 1. Overall, a cracking little pub and well worth taking the effort to track it down.

On 4^th April 2025 - rating: 8
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