Tuesday 9 October 2007

Goginan - Druid Inn

The Druid Inn
 
Address: High Street (the A44), Goginan, SY23 3NT. Tel: 01970 880650 [gmap]
http://www.goginan.com/druid
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

Last APG visit: 04/03/2011

Out in the sticks, this place features in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2010 and was voted Ceredigion CAMRA Pub of the Year for 2008. This place certainly ticks some boxes straight off - a couple of ales on, including the perennially yummy Butty Bach - an APG favourite - which was served very well by a friendly, eccentric barman.

There's a room off to the right hand side which leads to an outside smoking area. Cosy inside, with some pictorial history up on the walls and a roaring wood-burning stove fire, I could imagine this being a great place to sink a few ales on a cold winters night (of which there are many in Goginan I imagine). There are also some tables set up for dining - Sunday lunch is apparently a speciality. Apparently has a rather spectacular cellar hewn from the bare rock, I forgot to ask to have a look. It's quiet during the day, but really fills up in the late afternoon/early evening.

A really nice community pub, and it's well-worth a trip out this way for a few beers - start by doing the Tynllidiart at Capel Bangor, then move onto Goginan up the A44 and you'll have a nice evening out. There's a car park just over the other side of the road to the pub.

Oh and check out the view you get (below) from outside the Druid - not bad eh?



Opening hours:
11.00am till 11.00pm - Sundays 12.00pm -10.30pm all year around

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Still doing the excellent Butty Bach, and the Sunday lunch is excellent value for such a huge feast.
Worth going for lunch, then a quick look at the abandoned church then a walk at Nant Y Arian.
Tony Dec 10

CMStudent said...

Ate here recently with family - great atmosphere with a mix of local drinkers (early session on a Friday night) and diners. Butty Bach and Wye Valley IPA on tap, apparently both are regulars and sometimes they'll have a guest on as well. And the food was seriously good, better than anything else I've had in the Aber area by a distance, and at decent prices. Makes you wonder why any student ever lets a visiting parent take them for dinner at a place in town, when a short drive can get you to here and you don't have to dodge drunken sports clubs in Harry's to get your steak pie and chips.

Aqualung said...

Someone once told me in a pub in Aber that Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame drank here.

The place he owned (owns?) called Bron-Y-Aur is just NW of the Dyfi Bridge in Mach. It is clearly marked on the OS Map.

Anonymous said...

Been meaning to visit this place for a while now but haven't had the chance, definitely will make the effort after reading this review.

By the way, does anyone know if there is a bus service to Goginan? As not currently not being a driver it would be difficult to get out to it from Aberystwyth.

Aqualung said...

If you haven't worked it out yet there is an infrequent bus service from Aber that ended at Ponterwyd when I used to visit but now goes further.

Google Ponterwyd Bus and it will lead you to the Ceredigion CC web site and a downloadable timetable for the 525 and X47 bus.

My one attempt to visit this place in the 1990s resulted in failure as it was closed with no sogn of life at all, so we had to wait for the bus to return from Ponterwyd to get us back to Capel Bangor.

The 2013 GBG states that it is open from midday to 12 or 1am daily, but would that be the case in the winter months? I don't know!

Anonymous said...

A bit late on my part, but the pub is open noon to 11pm every day of the year (except Christmas when it closes in the early evening). In the quieter months it may open until later if it is busy, almost always on Friday and Saturday and frequently until midnight in the week.

The comment about the 90s is two landlords out of date.

The food is highly recommended especially the Sunday lunch.