The Red Lion, Avebury (From This Is Wiltshire)

The Red Lion, Avebury

9:34am Thursday 4th February 2010 in

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I DRIVE past the Red Lion at Avebury every day on my way to work, so it was nice to stop for a change and enjoy a couple of hours in the cosy, traditional pub.

The ancient, supposedly haunted, inn has a constant flow of visitors thanks to its location in the middle of one of Europe’s largest prehistoric stone circles.

You won’t find grand dining here, but you will be welcomed by friendly and genuine staff who are very attentive and happy to accommodate your needs.

When we arrived at noon, the snug and bar were already filling up with couples and bikers (it’s a popular stop-off for riders and their passengers), all enjoying the open fire.

At the back of the pub, in the restaurant area, there was also a hub of activity.

Sensibly, hot drinks and food are ordered in the restaurant and cold drinks and snacks are ordered at the bar, avoiding any congestion or backlog.

We ordered three Sunday roasts - two pork (£7.95) and one child’s chicken (£3.95). For drinks we had two cappuccinos - one regular (£1.95), one large (£2.35) and one regular hot chocolate (£2.05).

Within 20 minutes of ordering our food arrived piping hot and pleasantly arranged on the plate - tender slices of pork, crunchy-on-the-outside-and-soft-in-the-middle roast potatoes, sweet roast parsnips, chunky carrots and a generous helping of peas...oh, and a homemade Yorkshire pudding...were all eaten up with just the odd ‘mmm’, and ‘yum’ making up the limited conversation.

The portions were not over-generous, but just enough so we could fit in a pudding.

There is a good selection of homemade desserts on offer and we ordered the sticky dark chocolate and walnut brownie (£4.25), homemade rhubarb crumble with custard (£3.95) and a child’s mini chocolate pudding with custard (£1.95).

The puddings were delicious, evident by the squeaky clean plates left behind.

The brownie was sticky on the top with a scrumptious soft sponge in the middle, topped with a nutty crunch and minty ice cream.

My daughter’s chocolate pudding was rich but just the right size so it wasn’t too sickly.

My rhubarb crumble was very nice and the topping was made with oats, which was different.

To top off our successful meal the bill came to a very appealing £36.35, so we’ll be stopping off rather than driving by another time soon.