Day 214 - Farnham Park and the Alfred Free House

Farnham Park map in the days of Henry VIII

One of our favourite activities when we lived here in Farnham was to venture into Farnham Park. We were quite fortunate because we lived at the northern boundary of the park, so it took all of two minutes to find ourselves wandering through the woods, along running streams, and into open meadows. Today we were going to relive those experiences with Lady Jane Tanqueray of Alton Towers who, fresh off of the Royal Wedding experience (she had received an invitation to watch the event on BBC One), was joining us for the uphill walk through the park to the 'hood where we all once resided and Sunday afternoon roast at the local. The local in this case being The Alfred Free House pub -- more on that later.

Lady Jane and Dame Angela, Queen of the
Cotswolds

Farnham Park was once the deer hunting grounds for Henry VIII, who took the lands from the Bishops of Winchester when Henry declared himself the head of the English church and abolished/destroyed most of the Abbeys in the country. The park is still pretty much what it was like back then, with over 320 acres of nature lying within the boundary of the town and its various neighbourhoods. There are a number of paths within it, some main routes now paved, but many of them remaining as natural trails throughout. It sits mostly on the side of a large hill and looks southward upon the town and the valley in which the north branch of the Wey River runs. The park has its own Ranger and a ranger station, ponds and even a Par 3 golf course!

The Alfred, just up the hill from where we once lived.

While the three of us enjoyed the walk to lunch, we were inspired by the thought of food once we crossed the park. The Alfred Free House was built in response to the arrival of the British Army who set up their national headquarters in nearby Aldershot in the mid-1800s. It was named after Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred, who visited Farnham in 1857. The designation of "Free House" means that it is independent from the large breweries and therefore is free to offer whatever beer it likes. We know from our time here that the pub had gone through some miserable times as did most local pubs, but in 2009 the current owners arrived to freshen it up and turn it back into the traditional community pub. We were very impressed by the family management and the quality of our meal. Of course, it didn't hurt that we were in the company of a good friend and great weather!

Ale of the Day:  Wollops Wood, Bowman Ales, Droxford, Hampshire