The Fulflood Arms, Fulflood, Winchester

The Fulflood Arms facebook page - www.facebook.com

The Fulflood Arms facebook page - www.facebook.com

Friendly staff, good range of ales and pleasant surroundings. I would agree with some of the comments below about the pub having a somewhat more modern feel after its (relatively) recent transformation, but it's an enjoyable place to relax, read a paper and enjoy a nice pint.

Weeke is the first parish on leaving the city to the north west beyond where the original Roman wall was located. The parish is approximately bounded by the Roman road to Cirencester (the modern Andover Road) and the Roman Road to Salisbury (the modern Sarum Road). The Fulflood Arms is at the end of a terrace of houses. It is on the corner of Cheriton Road and Western Road. It does not appear in the 1871 census but was completed probably late in that year. The fascia of the pub consists of glazed dark green tiles with the words "Winchester Brewery Co. Ltd" and "The Fulflood Arms" embossed on it, but today it is Greene King pub. This boozer has been part of the Winchester community for over 130 years and is one of the best kept secrets of Winchester. A real locals pub it has a very warm and welcoming atmosphere upon entry. Inside the victorian ambience is continued with many prints of that period and the decor is tastefully re-furbished complimenting the architecture. I take it that at one time it was two bars, but now one room surrounds the central bar. This was the first stop of a mini pub crawl my brother and I did and we were a little bit spoilt by this excellent boozer. It's not easy to find but the effort is worth it. 5 real ales on hand pump and a recent posting has St Austell Brewery - Tribute 4.2%, Itchen Valley Brewery - Godfathers 3.8% (Local), Upham Brewery - Stakes Ale 4.6% (Local), Springhead Brewery - Leveller 4.8%, Westons - Old Rosie (cider) 7.3%. I had a pint of Pots ale and it was in excellent form. There is a bar billiards table (the only one left in Winchester) and also a dart board where three teams play their home matches. A rather nice Wurlitzer juke box (not working on our visit) was hidden behind two of the many comfy Chesterfield sofas you can lounge in. The toilets are clean and wooden paneled (of course) and there's a small beer garden. If I could afford to live in Winchester I'd never leave this pub and I only give this a 9 because one day I may find a better pub.

Reaching this pub involves a bit of a walk from the town centre through a residential area, but I thought that it was well worth the effort. Effectively a single, U-shaped room, the interior successfully mixes traditional and contemporary to create a pub which feels smart and clean and has a fair bit of charm to it. The corners of the room have some small sofas but otherwise the pub is fitted with standard tables and chairs. There are large rugs over the bare floorboards and tiles and the walls are half panelled with floral wallpaper on top. One corner of the room has an upright piano, although I don't remember seeing the bar billiards table mentioned in previous reviews. Limited seating is also available outside the front of the pub under large umbrellas. There was an interesting ale selection, comprising of Duke's Cambridge Ale, Black Sheep Bitter, Itchen Valley Godfather and Flowerpots Perridge Pale. The Itchen Valley was decent, although not as good as some of their other beers, I liked it in here and would have happily spent more time had we not had other pubs still to visit. I didn't have any particularly high expectations for this place, so it was a pleasant surprise to have those expectations well surpassed.