The Bell, Pensax, March 1998

A very warm, welcoming pub just north of Abberley on the B4202 situated in the 'top left hand corner of Worcestershire.'

Following a rather damp day wandering around the ruins of Witley Court a few miles to the south-east we retired for a beer and a meal at the Bell. The landlord greeted us as we wandered into the main bar to the right as you enter. The main bar is nicely decorated with bare board floors and a warm fire. There's also a dining room next door as well as picnic tables behind the pub offering great views across rural Worcestershire.

Good quality home cooked food is served with a smile both at lunchtimes and during the evening with daily specials. Prices were very reasonable and portions generous. Apart from the food they've an excellent choice of beers on offer with a big emphasis on beers from the smaller brewer with all very well kept and served (good measures!). They've a chalk board that proudly displays the current range of 4 or 5 beers with forthcoming beers listed below should you be planning to return soon after. They also list the number of different beers that they've served to date and this had reached 571 when we returned in mid-June 1998.

A fairly quiet pub with some piped music, and the landlord flashed the TV on to catch the motor racing results. They've some reference books on a shelf should you need to look up anything pubwise, oh yes, and an Observers Book of Dogs! I guess it's because the landlord owns a friendly alsatian that enjoys a bit of exercise after closing time. Perhaps late leavers? Peoplewise the pub had a very mixed clientele with young and old as well as couples and families.

All in all a decent pub with a very friendly feel.

One final thing to mention is that the landlord Graham Titcombe has co-authored a book, the 'Real Ale Pub Guide 2000' which has been published by Foulsham. It's a book that includes information on some 2000 micro-brewery pubs and free houses of this fine land. It's certainly my kind of book with a clear bias to pubs that serve great beer even if maybe the flowers in their hanging baskets don't match the colour of the paint on the front door of the pub! I've certainly a long way to go to produce a guide as excellent as Graham and Nicholas's.