Red Lion, Southampton

Ancient pub in the Old Town which has definitely gone OTT on the historic front - suits of armour and all - but in a sufficiently lighthearted way so it doesn't offend. On this visit at least it was populated by locals rather than tourists. The building itself is fine with lots of woodwork, a sort of minstrels' gallery up on a mezzanine and a quite superb soaring high space up to the roof. You can only speculate on how many rooms were once squeezed in up there. There is also a further room behind that we didn't get into, which apparently acts as a dining area on Sundays or when busy. Cask ales were Flacks Double Drop, Hopback Crop Circle and Doom Bar, with a couple of ciders also.

Now one of Southampton’s better pubs, this high street boozer is well described by Pub Sign Man, below. I should add that there is an unfortunate caged parrot, which seems anachronistic and unnecessary nowadays. The staff were helpful though not particularly friendly, the beer was very good and the visit relaxing. The drinks choice was Yardbird, Doombar and three real ciders, and it was an enjoyable evening. I'd happily include in a town crawl.

A narrow heritage pub,a rather raucous one on my visit with Celtic v Rangers being shown on TV and a good number of fans from both side of the divide. Just a couple of beers on, Doom Bar and Itchen Valley Hampshire Rose along with a Rosie's Pig Cider. A nice to look at interior but nothing special other than that.

This fine looking High Street building dates back to the late 15th Century and has a fine Grade II* listed interior centred around a medieval drinking hall. There is a nice Brewer's Tudor exterior on approach including some shapely small windows which caught my eye. You enter into a porch, with a door to the right leading you into the main bar. This area is carpeted and sees a dark wood servery run along the right hand wall with a nice bar back decorated with brass salvers, kettles and the like and an unusual heated foot-rail still in situ. Opposite there is a drinking ledge and juke box on the wood panelled walls next to a specials board in the shape of a shield and a remarkable reproduction document advertising slaves. Some limited seating is available under the front windows, but beyond the bar, the room opens out into the main part of the hall, with a very high ceiling crossed by large beams and a lower level, bare boarded seating area. Walls are decorated with lots of heraldic emblems and some large pieces of art higher up the walls alongside various period artefacts. Sturdy benches and standard chairs down the right hand wall lead the eye to an amazing fireplace to the rear with a suit of armour stood atop, alongside some large salvers and with a rather incongruous pull down screen suspended above, which I would hope gets limited usage. Stairs to the left lead up to a gallery with some additional standard seating under a series of wonky looking beams and at the bottom of the stairs there is a cage with a parrot inside. A door to the rear leads into a dining room with three rows of tables and chairs, plenty of dark wood beams and another wonderful old stone fireplace. A corridor runs the entire length of the pub down the left hand side, with the toilets at the far end. There were three ales on handpull on my Saturday evening visit - Sharps Doom Bar and Sea Fury and Wadworth Swordfish - with a final pump dispensing a real cider. My pint of the Sea Fury was in pretty good shape - certainly an improvement on the previous reviewer's experience - and the bar staff were very friendly and helpful. This is a very attractive pub which is well worth a visit for anyone interested in historic pubs or indeed history in general, given the building's links to Henry IV. I found the ale selection a little uninspiring and there was a sense that the place could get a bit rowdy as the evening progressed, but it was certainly worth a visit and is an easy addition to any crawl around the better pubs at this end of town.