The Highwayman, Okehampton

I also drove some miles to se the pub ,but it was closed at 2 30pm, so i thought i would return the following evening,and guess what it was closed againso i will not be returning,the out side of the pub does look unusual and well worth a look,my only thoght is if they can afford to be shut so often they must be charging a lot when they are open.

I had to look up the word eulogise in the dictionary before I started writing my review. I recently read in my local paper about a group of Black Country blokes who had just completed their 15,000th pub on their crawl that they started in 1984 and they named this as their favourite pub. Some accolade. I noticed later that Pubs Galore’s serial pub photographer, John McGraw, had really got stuck into photographing the exterior from 24 different angles. It made me wonder why he didn’t go inside – I can only think that he went during the afternoon when it is closed (it shuts at 2pm and open again later for the evening). I drove 40 miles from our holiday accommodation to take a look. It was worth the effort. (If you’re driving along the A30 near to Okehampton it’s a short, direct deviation down the A386). For quirkiness and imagination it scores very highly. The entrance porch is a leather lined carriage that you pass through to get into the pub building. Once inside, I had to tread carefully to make sure I wasn’t going to trip over something or bang my head on some of the paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling. There were mainly 2 rooms but two caves/tunnels off the one room that were very unusual. They are happy for customers to take photographs inside but ask for a small donation towards the upkeep. Sally was very friendly and chatty and seemed pleased that I was taking such an interest in the place. There were no taps or handpulls on the bar itself but the ales on offer included Dartmoor Cream Mild and Dutchie Bitter. The mild was very nice. Sally explained that they don’t get a big turnover of ale so they offer a selection of bottle conditioned ales to complement their range. We thought the basic sandwich was bit pricey at £5 but that would be nit picking as pubs like this have to earn their money somehow and as a fan of pub diversity and individuality I didn’t really mind. It deserves many superlatives and I’d happily go back and maybe even consider booking in for a night next time I’m in Devon/Cornwall.