Harrow Inn

The Harrow is a local country pub next door to where I went to school. It has always had a legendary status as a traditional and unspoilt local pub. What is rather remarkable is that nothing has changed, literally nothing: the loos, the menu, the owners, the garden, the parking....a time warp of unspoilt unkempt charm.

I just returned there the other day for a cricket match and was touched by its humble simplicity and stubborness to move with the times. Sadly a dual-carrageway has cut through the landscape within a stone's throw but despite this it remains a bastion of a British way of life and pretty much an-affected. Perhaps most remarkable is how the menu has been identical for decades: split-pea, lentil and ham soup, ham ploughmans, cheese ploughmans, cottage pie and, well, that is about it. Gastro-pub this is not. However, all the ales are served directly from the barrels and the tiny pub rooms are uncompromisingly....small and pokey: perfect.

The pubs notably stoic approach to maintaining its unspoilt charms do not go un-noticed as this year it won most unspoilt pub of the year award:
http://www.goodguides.co.uk/NationalWinners2008.htm

So, if you are in the Petersfield area and fancy a pint then pop-in to the Harrow. You should not be disappointed with your traditional pub experience to remember the good old days. You probably would not drive there to eat but after a pint or two the food seems excellent.