The Old Crown, Faringdon, Oxfordshire

An explosion in a lab at work late Friday led me to leave a little early for the bus.  As we entered Faringdon, I figured whattheheck? A nice pint is just what I need to erase the memory of the heavily bandaged colleague being loaded into the meat wagon.  The basement of the Old Crown seemed a perfect venue.

They only charged £2.15 for a pint of Hancock’s, but it is ale happy hour from 4-7pm.  The place was quite warm and cozy with a huge fire blazing in the iron stove in the fireplace.  It seems like a locals’ place, but everyone seemed friendly enough.

Upon drinking up, the loo beckoned and I was able to explore some of the narrow passageways in this 16th century coaching inn (and former courthouse) while looking for a urinal.  Finding one, I tidied up and headed out into the open courtyard and found a half sized door in a gate leading back onto the square, with 5 minutes to spare before my bus…plenty of time to graba a bottle of wine for supper down at the Budgens.