The Bull Inn, Oxford

Facebook page of The Bull Inn - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Bull Inn - www.facebook.com

A cosy, two-roomed low-ceilinged free house in the same village as Raymond Blanc's lauded Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, overlooking a green 'triangle' in the midst of said village. Upon entry from the front of the building, you are presented with a choice of lounge bar (left) and public bar (right). I chose the latter and entered a rustic, yet clean and slightly modernised oblong room, with a small bar to the left serving both rooms (the cosier Lounge Bar remained unexplored). The ale options were our old friend Sharp's Doom Bar and Black Sheep Bitter, the latter of which was in superb nick and at a reasonable price (for this area) of £3.30 a pint. They also offered a 'guest lager' - the indomitable 6.6% Leffe (not on a school night). The bar area was laminate-wooded with the remainder of the room newly carpeted. A clutch of old local photographs adorned the walls, and a trophy cabinet was resplendent on the far wall with clean-looking trophies of all ilks (darts and crib to name but two). To the left was a black and white photograph of the Great Milton FC team from their 1967-68 season, the lack of colour and their light shirts with white collars and white shorts making them look very much like a Sunday League version of Manchester City's side from the same era. There were a handful of genial post-work locals in good form, joshing with the landlady and landlord which added to the favourable ambience, and the only real bugbear I had was the slightly too loud background muzak which was, in the scheme of things, slightly unnecessary.

Official site of The Bull Inn - www.greatmiltonpub.co.uk

Official site of The Bull Inn - www.greatmiltonpub.co.uk