a very rare thing… Anglo Saxon carving

…they are still around and not surprisingly, insanely cheap. On eBay, they start at £12 and go all the way up to the eye-watering £55…!

the River Wye

…we don’t know either…!?!?

We are staying in a little rural village (Blaisdon) in what is referred to as The Forest District of western England, right on the Welsh border.

The pub is an archetype: low white ceilings, black glossy beams, dimly lit nooks and booths, open fires and of course… dogs. It is the social fulcrum around which the mainly farming community revolves and the only place to get a feed.

Which is where we were heading at 6:30 on Sunday evening…. only to find it closed; a black abyss. Walking back to our lodgings we contemplated what provisioning we had left back in our room to feast on: half a packet of crisps.

As we came through the front door, our host’s smiling face appeared to let us know that country pubs close after lunch (their main meal) on a Sunday, and would re-open at 7:00pm.

Later, we enjoyed another great pub meal next to an animated (and potentially hastily convened) meeting of the local Dramatic Society.