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| Charming and enthusiastic staff, but the visible damp on the walls and weeds growing out the chimney tell their own story |
Only about 100 yards from The Ship Inn, just the other side of the flyover, but this Marstons pub seems a world away in terms of character. The place is clean and tidy in the main bars, though the corridor leading to the toilets tells a story of a pub struggling to stay afloat. There is a strong smell of damp, and there are holes in the wall. The bar staff are wonderful. Full of life, warmth, charm and character, who make this a pub to want to return to, but when sitting in the plain bar with the smell of the damp drifting into the room, and thinking back to the wooden beams and open fireplace of the Ship, I wonder how they can attract customers.
What they are doing is competing in terms of price. Beer and food are very cheap. Weekdays a pint of cask ale costs £2.25. This goes up to £3 on a Saturday. They do a Full English breakfast for £1.99 (veggie option for £2.99, with two Quorn sausages) , and Sunday roast is £3.95. They are proud of their food which is sourced locally and cooked fresh.
They do, however, only offer one cask - Ringwood Razorback.
Put the enthusiastic and charming staff anywhere else and that pub would be a success - here it seems a little unfair as they are struggling against a very charming historic pub just round the corner, while also dealing with the lacklustre charm and damp of their own building.
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| The Anchor on the left, as it was when the old stone bridge was still open |
At one time The Anchor was placed strategically at the end of the old stone bridge leading into Southampton from the New Forest, and did good business both with local sailors and with drovers from the New Forest. But when that bridge was closed and replaced by the modern bridge the pub became isolated, and by 2011 the then landlord closed the doors, though continuing to pay rent to Marston's as it was running at such a loss that it wasn't worth keeping it open. In 2013 it was given a face lift and reopened under new landlords. Apparently there is a ghost of a Titanic steward who used to live in the pub.
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| Boysie Russell the Titanic steward who now allegedly haunts the pub |
Date: Oct 2016 Score: 4
The place doesn't appear to have changed much since my previous visit. I enjoyed my last visit, mainly thanks to a charming and sexy barmaid who enjoyed wearing my hat. She's not here today (and, to be fair, neither is my hat - I have my flat cap today). Barman is friendly enough, and there are three elderly locals chatting away while music plays softly in the background - it could be ok, but the place just feels dead. There is a lack of charm. The whole place needs refurbishing. It doesn't matter help that there is a massive column in the centre of the room. Nor that the one cask, Razor Back, is a tad warm. An old fashioned, run down, old man's pub selling one warm cask beer. Baquettes are offered - no evidence of cooked food, and I didn't bother asking as I wouldn't want to eat here.
Date: May 2019 Score: 3
Place is still open, still looks scruffy, and no longer does food. We didn't go in.
Date: May 2022
61 Test Lane
Redbridge
Southampton
SO16 9BH
Open 11am to 11pm
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