No.45 - Crown Inn, Snape, Suffolk

Friday 29th June, 2012

 With a further 5(ish) miles under our belts, and the Snape Maltings in our rear view mirrors, The Crown appeared in front of us like an oasis in the middle of the windy, dry desert. We graciously dismounted and headed into the main public bar, which compared to the Oyster, was heaving! We eased passed the 8 or so people at the bar and ordered drinks. 3 Ghostships and a Bitter. Broadside was also available, but with a few miles still to bike back to Blaxhall, probably not the best idea.
We booked our table for food and headed outside for an hour to catch the last of the sun. Andy managed to find a Pop Quiz book amongst all the reading matter available, which never left our side for the remainder of the night. By the time we left, there were some truly memorable 'intro's' being performed.
Although not a huge pub, the 15th century smugglers Inn certainly had kept a lot of it's original old oak beams and brick flooring in tip top condition. The double Suffolk settle surrounding the fireplace is regarded as one of the finest in Suffolk, although unfortunately I don't think any of the 4 of us noticed this as we were too busy tucking into our 'Meat Splatter' starter and excellent fish and chips for mains. Best pub fish and chips I've had for a long time!
We got chatting to a fine old boy who resided over in Stowmarket, who swears by the food at The Crown. His wife, who Damo pointed out had a Michael jackson nose, also raved about it too. The old chap put us in our place a little by talking to us about his 90 mile bike rides that he would regularly do, putting our 10 miler into a little perspective. Although, the regular 90 miles had clearly done nothing for his style of walk!

Hmm..Really?

Before we knew it, 10pm was upon us and the realisation that we'd only got a front and a back light between us hit home. So with me at the front leading the way, and Mr. Barton bringing up the rear in his high vis jacket, we managed to convoy home safely the final couple of miles. We settled in back at the Youth Hostel with a cup of tea, after casually asking for some milk from the pub next door (!?), in front of the 12 inch tv, before retiring to our bunk beds at about 11pm. Rock 'n' Roll.