Woodman thoughts

By Graham Craig

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Woodman’s reopening Photograph by Terry Richards 2014

The Woodman, originally established in the mid-1800s, is a timeless haven with a longstanding reputation for superb real ale. I attribute this in part to the natural dampness of the cellar; water from a spring runs through it, and I like to think that the pub was built here for that reason.

There’s no music, and no fruit machines or pool tables. Our atmosphere derives from our lovely people (some of whom bring their lovely dogs). Regulars cover the full panoply of trades and professions, working and retired; we’re all friends, and help each other out.

Nowadays, if you want information on matters legal, horticultural, financial, equine, or about carpentry, plumbing, education, farming, gamekeeping, international-level sport, or whatever, you’d probably consult Google. But you might do better to chat with the right person here over a pint or two.

We do like the occasional bit of noise, mind you. Especially for the rugby; we flex our opening hours for internationals, and provide cracking breakfasts if, say, overseas fixtures demand a 7am start. Other worthy sporting events are also welcomed (as long as not unique to Sky) and draw enthusiastic analysis and discussion among all viewers.

That, I suppose, is as modern as we get - The Woodman is a pub passed over by the modern fad for “disrupting” things that work well. OK, there was that time when we disrupted the village by posting uniformed Customs “officials” at the top of the hill to check passports after our unilateral declaration of independence. We made the national press that time, and US telly - but it was April 1.

I have always called the pub the centre of the universe because it is one of the few places where anything is possible, because someone will always help you out one way or another.

April 2020