The Beer Stalker – Rookesbury Park Caravan Club Site, Wickham, Fareham, Hants (Part 2)

CoolUnc
CoolUnc Forum Participant Posts: 29
edited June 2013 in Your stories #1

 

So impressed was I with the large, comfortable and spacious site at Rookesbury Park that I decided that I would don my Deer Stalker hat again and recommend another excellent pub to visit.

Rookesbury is a clean, well presented site that allows campers to be feel part of a friendly group or to experience a more open, free sort of camping and everything inbetween. It really does seem to pull off the impossible!

When I first discovered Rookesbury Park I wasn't sure about it but it quickly grew on me. I met some fine people there and was taken with the friendliness of the staff and the campers.

It is situated in a fine area for touring and for visiting some of the best attractions the county of Hampshire has to offer.

Less than 10 minutes drive from the site is the thriving and very attractive village of Wickham. It has plenty of characterful shops selling imaginative and useful products as well as pleasant eateries, tea shops and a very nice pub! Wickham really is a nice place to stroll around on a sunny afternoon. A place to pick up a nice artisan baked loaf or some locally produced pork sausages from a local butcher.

It has ample parking and it is easy to find a free space without trying very hard which is something of a novelty these days!

Nestled conveniently in the village square is the imposing whitewashed old coaching inn the King's Head. It is now badged as a Fuller's House although, not so long ago it was owned by the Horndean brewer Gale's who sadly gave up brewing a few years ago. Fortunately, the Chiswick brewer Fuller's is a fine brewer of some very noted ales. It still brews Gale's HSB (Horndean Special Bitter OG 1050 ) as a tribute to the defunct brewer.

The King's Head is a large pub but manages to seem intimate and cosy due to imaginative interior design and the clever use of furnishings, lighting and good quality furniture. It is a comfortable pub and is a nice place to be.

It won't surprise you that this level of comfort and quality doesn't come cheap and it would be fair to call the King's Head a “gastro pub”. It is a place for a decent lunch or a nice evening out with dinner and a well served pint of cask conditioned ale. That said, we are still talking about affordable prices which, in my book, makes the King's Head something of bargain.

Amongst the beers on offer when I was there was the already mentioned HSB (OG 1052) a rich, flavoursome beer with dark treacle, marmalade and dried vine fruits in the flavour, the popular Gale's Seafarers Ale (OG 1036) a light malty beer with plenty of fruity hop to the foreground and the ever popular London Pride (OG 1040) with its rich moreish malty and luscious toffee flavours. Seasonal beers brewed to suit the time of the year are also offered from time to time.

The menu is a touch flowery with descriptions such as “thrice cooked chips” but don't let that put you off because all the food looked delicious. Emphasis is put on local, seasonal and imaginative. The problem here is choosing what you will have another time as you really will want to try it all!

This is a pub that you can simply enjoy a pleasant drink in nice surroundings and in good company. It is also a pub where you can enjoy a treat and taste imaginative, well prepared food of exceptional quality. It is well worth a visit. Just make sure that you allow plenty of time to look around the village too! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  • elliepatton
    elliepatton Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited June 2013 #2

    Only stayed there overnight before a ferry to Spain but, like you, was impressed by a pleasantly rural-feeling site but convenient to explore Hampshire.  Staff were grand!  The Kings Head sounds wonderful but, being tired after a nine-hour drive to the Deep
    South, we had fish and chips from the van.  Also Grand!