For a change the heavens had opened and we set off for Hungerford, fully expecting a call to say the match was off. The call never came. The game went ahead and the result dented Hungerford's play off ambitions, some what.
Forget the football, what about the pub. The John O'Gaunt Inn is in a beautiful setting in Hungerford. Seated next to a babbling stream, not a live stream, this ancient boozer staffed with Aussie's and Kiwi's is a place that you could easily lose yourself in.
A snug bar includes six hand pumps for beer. A changing selection of at least six real ales is regularly available, which includes a beer brewed at its sister pub in Wickham. The ales are supplemented by four real ciders. Additionally, some eighty bottled beers from around the world are offered, fifty of which are Belgian. Loddon Hullabaloo and Two Cocks 1643 Cavalier are their stables.
With such an amazing choice and kick off looming we only managed to sample Dirty Stop Out by Tiny Rebel, the 1643 Cavalier, the ever reliable Whitstable Bay Blonde Premium Lager by Shepherd Neame and a Schneider Weisse Original, an amber Bavarian wheat beer.
With such an outstanding pub, we were hoping that Hungerford's play off hopes would be dashed, so we could return next season, this time with a coach to aid the amount that could be quaffed. To be fair Dunstable Town tried their best to help us out, with an amazing 3-2 victory, with Steve Wales' 30 yard winner in the mud and rain being the pick of the bunch. Fingers crossed Hungerford will fail in their promotion bid or at least hope for a swift return, if they do make it, as a return to the John O'Gaunt is very much in order.
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