No.28 - The Railway Inn, Framlingham, Suffolk

Saturday 10th July, 2010

On leaving Brandeston at about 1.15pm, I made the 10 minute car trip across Suffolk to Framlingham to visit The Railway Inn. This time there was no getting lost!

The pub is situated along the main road into Framlingham so parking is a little tricky. There was no sign of any pub car park, but just 2 minutes round the corner I found a Free car park which had one space left - just for me. I walked back along the Main Street and entered the pub to find again it was very quiet, in fact only 2 other gents were present who I assume were locals as there was a fair bit of banter taking place with the Landlord.

Unfortunately the pub didn't give off great first impressions. A distinct smell of wet dog was in the air which was a little off putting, and probably not good, if you were dining! It was also very dark in the main area which could have been down to the size of the bar itself. I would imagine that if more than 8 people were in there drinking, it would have been rammed ! I grabbed my Bitter - again only Bitter and Broadside available - and headed outside to the 'garden'.

Now when i say garden, I don't really mean garden in the real sense of the word. It was basically an area where you could sit outside and enjoy your pint. There were about 6 very tatty tables and chairs, only 3 of them with parasols. It was all built on a decking area which I would imagine could be very dangerous if you were not wearing shoes. It looked like splinter city! There was fencing surrounding the garden area to give a private feel away from the main road, but it didn't really work to be honest. Weeds were a plenty and coloured light bulbs - the sort that were popular during the 80's - intertwined with the weeds to give it a disco feel at night time. All in all it was very tatty. The garden was certainly in need of an overhaul from Alan Titchmarsh.

I feel like I've moaned a lot about this pub but too be honest it does have a couple of very good things going for it. The Landlord was a very pleasant chap and made me feel very welcome, and also the beer. It was a very nice pint, which too be honest is what you pay for, isn't it ?