The Red Lion, Sudbury

Exactly a week after the pub lockdown had ended, I saw fit to resume pub crawling around the country. Whilst planning a crawl was somewhat difficult, with many pubs having not re-opened, those that have re-opened having restricted opening times and with others requiring reservations, I thought I'd give it a go. The trip didn't go without issue. But things finally felt a bit more normal after almost 4 months of drought. The Red Lion was my first stop in Essex. It is a country pub located down a dead-end lane. We arrived shortly after opening and were the only customers throughout our visit, which made social distancing simple. Ordering was as normal at the bar. The interior was a nice, simple and cosy single room. 2 ales were on - Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde & Woodforde's Wherry. To my surprise, there was also a real cider - Sheppy's Farmhouse. Despite quite liking the Oscar Wilde, I couldn't turn down the option of a real cider, especially as I was in Essex and I was bound to find some more Oscar Wilde later (I never did). Nice rural pub that turned out to be my favourite on this Essex trip.