Mrs O and I went out to the Crown Inn at Marnhull for lunch today. Marnhull's about 8 miles away, just a large village, but it was the fictional "Marlott" in Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbavilles" and the Crown Inn - 16th century - was the basis of the "Last Drop Inn" in that story. Mind you, everything round here seems to have been a fictional something or other in a Thomas Hardy novel, so much so that Ossie now thinks he might be a modern-day Mr. D'Arcy, but Mrs O says he's got the wrong author, and anyway, most of the time he's just Arcy.
Very pleasant setting by the village church, it's a large building along the roadside, and they do offer accommodation in one wing. Big roaring log fire at one end of the bar, with the temperature markedly higher than outside!! A tribute at the bar to a long-time regular who had passed away in 2014 - when he had turned 90, the brewery, Hall and Woodhouse, had granted him a free pint every day for the rest of his life! Looked like a bit of a haunt for "ladies wot lunch", and a reasonably-priced and varied menu on display from light bites to steaks. We went for the specials - Mrs O had a fish pie with a potato topping, plenty of chunky cod and salmon, with a hunk of bread and butter and a lightly dressed salad bowl. The Ostrich opted for the shepherd's pie with a cheesy potato topping, with seasonal vegetables and sweet shredded beetroot. Both pies came in enamel dishes - so Mrs O reckoned they hadn't been microwaved, they must have been oven-baked - and were generous in size.
For dessert, we both opted for the lemon meringue, served with a bowl of cream and a raspberry drizzle on top, again both sizeable portions, but perhaps a bit more "farmers' pub" - workmanlike rather than fluffy. With drinks - a tonic water and a ginger beer - the cost was £41, which we felt quite reasonable.
An excellent pre-Christmas feast, and a pub we'd certainly return to, especially if "entertaining".
So who else has been indulging pre the Festive Season?
