After all the excitement of yesterday we had a very lazy start to the day but chores were beckoning. Keith and I had to go to Tesco to do our weekly food shop and it was not a pleasant experience! Because it's Easter and a Bank Holiday weekend the world and his wife were out shopping so it was a bit stressful and I said to the checkout girl that I'd rather poke pins in my eyes than come shopping on a Saturday. If I had my way I'd have it all delivered to my door!
Anyway, the afternoon was more relaxed and in the evening Keith and I went off to The Vane Arms at Sudborough for a drink. This pub used to be the Real Ale pub to go to in Northamptonshire but since we've been customers it's gone through several Landlords and its fortunes have fallen and risen. Luckily it's back on its feet again and we were very impressed indeed with how it had been refurbished by the current Landlord whose father used to run the Royal Oak in Walgrave. It was spotlessly clean with beautiful old quarry tiles on the floors, lots of exposed stone and wood and some very nice touches. They had managed to modernise the pub without losing its character and although we only stayed for one drink (and said hello to Trevor who used to run our local) I have a feeling we'll be back for a meal very soon.
Our next stop was The Snooty Fox at Lowick, again another pub that we have been visiting for years with some very happy memories of dinners there with friends. Well, it was a very strange experience indeed! We walked in to find a family sitting in the lounge area with a baby screaming its head off and then a couple came in with a dog who then proceeded to have a fight with another dog and a lot of barking and growling ensued, which with the screaming baby, made Keith order just a half of Guinness as the beer was, to put it mildly, crap! I felt like I'd walked in on a private house party, to be honest, as the clientele were...how to put it...very posh indeed and all seemed to know each other. The staff were all Italian and they kept trying to persuade Keith and I to sit in the lounge which had no chairs or sofas whatsoever, just a vast stoneflagged floor and two enormous fireplaces. We kept saying no as we couldn't get our drinks down fast enough and get out of there!
It was such a shame as this "pub" used to be very welcoming with a good choice of beers, a delicious menu and a varied clientele, but now I felt it had been taken over by the beautiful people of Lowick (which I suppose is only right seeing as it's their pub) and had been turned into a restaurant. It's one we won't go back to in a hurry, but with all pubs, they can change very quickly and I have a feeling that it has changed hands since we were last there a couple of years ago.
Our third and final stop was The Samuel Pepys at Slipton which was lovely, and just right! The pub was pleasantly busy with very friendly staff and a great atmosphere and a varied beer choice although Keith said he would have liked to see a stronger beer on offer. Delicious smells were wafting about and it was making us very hungry. A good job we'd ordered a Chinese takeway to be delivered when we got home!
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