good pubs near brill / verney jct lines?

On Saturday, I'm planning on a drive and some walking around the disused lines beyond Aylesbury and Quainton Road that were once the Buckinghamshire outpost of the Metropolitian railway.

Being totally unfamiliar with the area, I'd like to know of a good pub for lunch in or close to the villages formerly served by the old line - Brill, Wootton(?) Wood Siding, Quainton etc.

Interesting/micro beers, and good quality food are a must.

Any and all suggestions appreciated, as indeed is any route-planning advice on how to see the best of the area and have lunch at the right time.

Thanks

BTN

Reply to
Sir Benjamin Nunn
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Can't help with the pubs question, but good luck with tracing the route of the Brill Tramway. It's very difficult to find any traces of it, apart from the Brill station site on Tramhill at SP656152 and the place where the tramway crossed the GW line at SP673154 (there's a car park on the west side, just north of the road junction). The grass verge on the east side of the yellow road at SP726176 is unusually wide and the tramline probably ran along it.

Reply to
Mortimer

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Last time we went to Quainton Road, in 2006, we had a good meal at the George and Dragon in Quainton village, on the green. Can't remember what we drank, but the pub is in the 2007 Good Beer Guide.

81F
Reply to
81F

It's a good pub - as is "The Verney Arms" at Verney Junction itself

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Reply to
Jack Taylor

If you have a look at my Disused Railways site:

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you will find sections on the Brill and Verney Junction lines with grid references that should help your exploration. On the Brill line look out for the roadside section between Quainton Road and Waddesdon Road which is quite well preserved and can be walked. The original station building survives at Westcott as does the station house. The station houses also survive at Wootton and Brill. A fair length of trackbed can be walked in both directions from Wootton station site. Wood Siding is worth a visit to see the abutments of the bridge over the Chiltern Line. You can park by the road junction there and you will find that the large oak tree that is visible in most old pictures of the station is still there. If you walk a hundred yards or so back towards Kingswood there is a footbridge over the Chiltern Line. If you cross this you will enter Rushbeds Wood nature reserve which will give you access to another good stretch of trackbed.

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There is probably less to see of the Verney Junction line but it is worth visiting the site of bridge 189 at Shipton Lee. A small amount of platform remains can be seen at both Grandborough Road and Winslow Road. Verney Junction itself it definitely worth visiting.

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In terms of pubs, the Lion in Waddesdon does good food and usually has an interesting guest beer (St Austell Tribute last time I went in) but it isn't cheap. The Peacock in Brill does reasonable food but I can't remember what the beer is like. Other pubs worth trying would be the Crooked Billet in Kingswood and the Black Boy in Oving. There is also the Verney Arms at Verney Junction which is more of a bistro than a pub - not sure if it is open at lunchtime though.

Hope this helps. Have a good day.

Roger

Reply to
RPM

I'd add The Pheasant in Brill village, one minute's walk from Brill Windmill, itself worth a few minutes of your time to see. Full lunch menu is available and the puddings are worthy of note. I can't vouch for the presence of real ales, I'm afraid.

THC

Reply to
THC

site:

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Oops. I meant The Pheasant in Brill, not The Peacock.

Roger

Reply to
RPM

site:

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I've had a good meal in the Black Boy at Oving and recently had a excellent (and totally unexpected) Thai meal in the Bell at North Marston....

G
Reply to
Gavin Hamilton

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Agreed - excellent spot but better in sunny weather allowing use of the outside tables.

Guy Gorton

Reply to
Guy Gorton

How did you get on?

phil

Reply to
phil

I would say, given the weather, that if the plan was followed he would have got soaked :)

G
Reply to
Gavin Hamilton

It was a very wet, cold and muddy day and in that respect not ideal for walking, but we found all of the station sites on the Brill tramway easily enough - remote though they are!

Quainton Road has become a far more commercialised steam centre than it was last time I visited, which is a bit of a shame. They seemed to be doing a good trade, but it was all family-oriented 'Thomas the Tank Engine' stuff. Their shop was full of toys and tat and only had one small shelf of railway books - none of which had anything to do with the lines that once ran from the station!

The station sites at Wotton, Westcott and Wood Siding and indeed Brill were all easy to locate, albeit without that much to see these days.

Wotton is rather amusing, as the only other building in the vicinity of the tramway station was actually another station - on the GCR line.

We took up the recommendation of the Pheasant in Brill, which is a lovely pub but which sadly only did food until 2 which we'd missed, so went to Spoons in Bicester for a late lunch instead, via a quick inspection of the charming little church in Ludgershall.

BTN

Reply to
Sir Benjamin Nunn

I've often wondered to myself whether said organisation had ever considered buying the land and running a line up to Verney Junction or Buckingham from Quainton road along the Met's trackbed instead of just sharing the single freight line as they do. The other preserved railway organisations seem to manage it well enough.

Reply to
Jamie Thompson

They stock what sells............... There is a second hand bookshop, located on the down side, which has wide range of railway books however this is not always open unfortunately.

G
Reply to
Gavin Hamilton

I have to say the second hand bookshop is really excellent. However I wish it was possible to get to it without having to pay to enter the centre.

RPM

Reply to
RPM

That has actually worked against them on a number of occasions when I've had a clear out and wanted to donate books and magazines. They've ended up elsewhere, instead.

Reply to
Jack Taylor

Understood, I think, but am not certain, that it's possible to arrange access by booking an appointment in advance.

Reply to
Gavin Hamilton

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