The next pub on the Jen, Roy and Julian expedition was to the Kings Arms in Watton. This is a wet-led pub which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one to tick off for me.
This has been a licensed premises since the late eighteenth century, initially owned by the Thetford Brewery before becoming part of the Youngs, Crawshay and Youngs pub estate and then Bullards, Watney Mann and Brent Walker, although it’s now a freehouse.
There was some excitement in 1866 when Charles Clements pinched a basket of eighty oranges owned by the dealer Thomas Newman and in court, he said that “it was just a joke”, with the newspaper noting that the court accepted that. I’m not entirely sure that the owner of the fruit thought that, but the miscreant had to reimburse him.
It was traditionally known as the Kings Arms Inn and so would have had accommodation and in 1989 they were advertising their four bedrooms and good food. The venue doesn’t seem to offer this accommodation now, but they do have a large function room for events.
It was a little challenging to see what real ales were available as it’s one of those venues which has customers sitting at the bar right in front of them. But there are three real ales, Greene King IPA, Eastern Gold from Barsham and the Golden Bicycle from Fixed Wheel Brewery.
I went for the Golden Bicycle from Fixed Wheel Brewery which was a well-kept and gentle beer with a fruity edge to it, paired beautifully with the Wotsits.
It’s a relatively large venue and there’s a pool table in the back room. The service at the bar was friendly, with the venue having a welcoming and inviting feel to it. I like that carpet and wooden flooring combination, it looks modern and warm, whilst also being functional.
There’s no food, but there is a shots menu.
Bottomless beer and chicken wings, what could possibly go wrong?
The nicely decorated ceiling and the male toilets had a similar design set-up.
This feels very much a community driven venue with darts and pool teams, as well as regular board games evenings. The venue is proud of their real ale selection and I liked their choice which had a couple of local beers alongside one which was from further away. All really rather lovely.