It took us almost thirty years to get inside the door of the Sportsmans but it’s been worth the wait. One wet Sunday in the early 1980’s we set out for a walk on the moor with the Sportmans as our watering hole objective. It was a miserable morning and, as we negotiated bogs, barbed wire fences, and the odd dead sheep, the only thing that kept us going was the thought of a pint at a pub new to us, the Sportsmans Inn at Sandyway. The nearer we came, the thicker the fog came down. In my soggy misery I cherished a vision of a cosy bar, a roaring fire with a few ruddy-faced farmers warming their bums, the winking of polished horsebrasses, mine host ready with a pint of the foaming... The last misty half-mile was along a straightish road which we now know so well and at last there it was, the Sportsmans!
It was derelict. The empty windows gaped like the eyes of a skull and the roof sagged. It was as if the army of the Visigoths had passed through and stopped to eat their sandwiches. There’s nothing more depressing than a closed pub, and it’s a rare miracle if they ever open again. Happily, that’s not the case at the Sportsmans, which is now in the capable hands of father and son, Graham and Martin Macro. Graham mans the bar while Martin cooks. The Sportsmans enjoys a loyal local trade, and there’s plenty of room at the bar and on the settles next to the woodburner for drinkers to lean and sit and gas. The remainder of the main room is given over to restaurant tables, while a function room runs parallel to it. The Macros, when they bought this remote pub high up on the moor between North Molton and Withypool, had reconciled themselves in winters to shutting up the pub except for a snug for locals. In fact, they have developed an all-year-round trade based on their function room with a popular Sunday lunchtime carvery, quiz nights in support of local good causes, skittle matches, and pool tournaments.
Draught beers are Exmoor Fox and St Austell. The food is excellent value. Starters like broccoli and stilton soup or whitebait are £3. Mains like the excellent steak and kidney suet pudding are £8. A steak is £10. Unlike some pub blackboards, the Sportsman’s is always changing and full of surprises, often with an oriental flavour. We once had smashing spring rolls as a starter. Puds are £4. If you eat that dreadful meal, Sunday lunch - to me a cooked midday meal is one of the most miserable rituals of European civilisation - the carvery will cost you £7. The selection of vegetables is always more than generous. You won’t leave the Sportsmans hungry or poor, and you won’t go home, as I did once after eating at one of the locality’s most celebrated restaurants, and eat a banana to fill the gaps.
It was derelict. The empty windows gaped like the eyes of a skull and the roof sagged. It was as if the army of the Visigoths had passed through and stopped to eat their sandwiches. There’s nothing more depressing than a closed pub, and it’s a rare miracle if they ever open again. Happily, that’s not the case at the Sportsmans, which is now in the capable hands of father and son, Graham and Martin Macro. Graham mans the bar while Martin cooks. The Sportsmans enjoys a loyal local trade, and there’s plenty of room at the bar and on the settles next to the woodburner for drinkers to lean and sit and gas. The remainder of the main room is given over to restaurant tables, while a function room runs parallel to it. The Macros, when they bought this remote pub high up on the moor between North Molton and Withypool, had reconciled themselves in winters to shutting up the pub except for a snug for locals. In fact, they have developed an all-year-round trade based on their function room with a popular Sunday lunchtime carvery, quiz nights in support of local good causes, skittle matches, and pool tournaments.
Draught beers are Exmoor Fox and St Austell. The food is excellent value. Starters like broccoli and stilton soup or whitebait are £3. Mains like the excellent steak and kidney suet pudding are £8. A steak is £10. Unlike some pub blackboards, the Sportsman’s is always changing and full of surprises, often with an oriental flavour. We once had smashing spring rolls as a starter. Puds are £4. If you eat that dreadful meal, Sunday lunch - to me a cooked midday meal is one of the most miserable rituals of European civilisation - the carvery will cost you £7. The selection of vegetables is always more than generous. You won’t leave the Sportsmans hungry or poor, and you won’t go home, as I did once after eating at one of the locality’s most celebrated restaurants, and eat a banana to fill the gaps.
No comments:
Post a Comment