please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Jeezo, must stop reading this website at work. That last post made me laugh out loud. Pissinthecupboard, you are a ledge.
I knew a bloke who lived in Walton-on-the-Hill and this was his favourite pub.
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Yh its a nice lookin pub, went there with a girl. Bla, blah in me ear all night, wants me to open the boneyard on her.
I go to check out toilet and pretend to have a leek, fella next me farts and reckons he done it out of his cock. How is that possible? Ive only gone mad at him and told him get out.
Boned missus in woods nearby instead, boshed out a chug good n proper!
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Great old fashioned pub.
Moved in locally 18 months ago and use it all the time for a quiet drink and a read of the paper with dog, along with long sessions over the weekend
Even my 19 year old son with his mates appreciates the old fashioned values and décor, along with "the Gumpy Landlord"
So come on guys and girls use it or we'll lose it, and end up with another plastic foodie pub!
Just a though has anyone noticed the newly refurbished Blue Ball has a very similar internal decoration policy I.E random photos and pictures plastered all over the walls, Methinks they are trying to copy "The Rat"
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Walked in to be told "Dogs that side" by the grumpy barman. Said we were welcome last time and was given the curt response "not any more". Walked out again.
Beer garden consists of a few decrepit benches in a woodland clearing.
Won't bother again.
PhilC - 10 Oct 2014 16:01 |
Has a satisfyingly traditional layout and serves some well-kept ales from the Marstons stable. Staff were friendly and interested, and the Brakspear bitter was very good but not truly excellent. Music was perhaps a touch loud, but then it was a Saturday evening. Definitely worth popping in for a pint of a weekend. Might be a bit quiet during the week.
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Great setting but beer quality very poor
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We visted this pub at lunch time, and had a cheerful greeting from the landlord. However it went down from here, I'm often served beer thats off but this was putrid, having complained we were offered beer from a different pump this was also cloudy and had gone off.
Once again we were offered a different beer this again was off, we left with no beer (none left to try) having bought two packets of peanuts, and shall never return.
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Entered this pub with one of my children. Immediately told no children, please leave. Grumpy barman, should get a job in Royston Vasey. Will not return to this pokey pub!
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Really lovely pub, I was there for the weekend and I loved it! I only enjoy drinks with friends and some snacks, so I cant say about food, but I will certantly be coming back to try it! Well done guys!
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What another boring 'review' tom! This is not a bar billiards site; modern preferences have made that game almost historical, like the high bikes.....
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My notes from a visit in April 2008:
What a difficult place to find ! For the uninitiated, when travelling north on the A217 Reigate Hill-Sutton road, take a left at the big Tadworth roundabout, road marked B2032 to Walton-on-the-Hill.
About a mile down the road, soon after a crossroads, you hit the village and see a big pond on your right and a big white building over to the left. That's the Blue Ball Pub. At this point stop because you have reached Withybed corner: To your right, before the pond, there is a solitary pub sign with a Bell on it, and the start of what seems like a choice of two bridle paths. Choose the one forking right and drive very slowy as it's an un-madeup road, very humpy and bumpy and full of potholes. After about a half a mile of this, suddenly you come to the pub in the last place you would expect a pub to be.
It's a charming little place though, very welcoming with a log fire. Sure enough there is the bar billiards table in the right-hand bar. It's in a nice little area and the table ain't bad either. Set up to be downhill, but playable nonetheless.
We had a couple of games on it and then asked the landlady if they had a team. Her answer was that it's only played for fun, but very popular with youngsters. We hinted at the discontinuance of rental arrangement situation, and I got the impression that the landlord loved having the table and was more likely to want to buy it than to let it go.
Our parting shot was that our Redhill League could always do with a new team of keen youngsters, and should they ever wish to apply to join the League their application would almost certainly be viewed favourably.
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About as near a "middle of nowhere pub" that you will get just south of London. The EPA was superb.
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Closed 3 - 5:30 weekdays.
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Cloased 3 - 5:30 weekdays.
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Stopped by while walking across Walton and Banstead Heaths. A little isolated, helping to give that country feel, The Bell retains the traditional two room layout with a central bar. A welcome from the cheery landlord, proper fires, though not burning on a mild day, horsey pictures and theme, toilets are Colts and Fillies....a bit naff....brasses, duelling pistols, books, mainly reference on a shelf. Darts in the vault/saloon. Dog friendly too, and a sign states walkers welcome so no snootiness here either, this is no "gastro" joint, in fact no sign of food at all.
The beer mats around the bar suggest a good guest policy but I reckon I was rather unlucky today, Pride, Youngs Bitter and GK IPA. The blackboard said the guest was Robinson's Wags to Witches, but not on this afternoon sadly. The Pride was a bit cold. I liked the pub and its ambience but only a 6 for now, a less mainstream choice would have gained a higher mark.
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Having read other reviews, I paid a visit. It is a truly genuine English Pub. None of the trappings to make it appear to be something different.
An update. The Bell (known locally as The Rat) does not serve meals; but they have excellent sandwiches from Tuesday through to Saturday. They do not have Sky television.
I understand that they are soon to have a smoking shelter erected, which will be in attractive position surrounded by trees.
It is a pub where the staff are genuinely there to serve people, and contribute to an atmosphere that is traditional of an English Pub. Highly reccomended for real ale drinkers.
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Popped in here on a walk from Epsom to Mogador. Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay, Adnams Regatta, Pride and Ordinary. Central bar with two drinking areas either side. A cluttered appearance, bar billiard table which was nice to see. Pleasant outside too with a few tables.
A bit difficult to find but worth the effort.
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A very special pub that should really be listed. Not very many left like this. Well kept ales and very friendly landlord. Ideally you need to arrive wet and cold with a dog after a walk on the heath then sit by the fire for a few hours. Few people under 45 would understand.
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No, no, no..... its not a "downmarket dump", it's a proper pub! If you want to try a downmarket dump I suggest you try a Wetherspoons, the Dolphin in Sutton or The Angel at Woodhatch. I agree it is for the over 50's, if you would rather have something a bit more modern... go to the Fox and Hounds, Walton on the Hill.. or perhaps an All Bar One
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A real downmarket dump! nothing else to say.
anonymous - 17 Jun 2007 15:28 |
if you enjoy smokey small pubs where the old men leer at your girlfriend and you feel very much out of place, unless you are over say 50 years of age then pls go there. food? i didnt feel brave enough to eat there so finished my drink and left. very much a locals pub
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I visited the pub after a trawl through this site. When I heard about a pub, on it's own down a country land accessable from a Travelcard Zone 6 railway station, I knew I had to have a go. I was surprised at how small the pub is, and also how old the fittings are. I particularly like the 'Charringtons Ales' cabinet above the bar, which I believe now would be a real novelty. Nice atmosphere and an encouragement to enjoy the real ales, there are three hand pumps. Some real features, including a Metropolitan Police 'Business Watch' window sticker which looks about 25 years old!! Friendly landlord and nice beer here. Great stuff.
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Great little pub, friendly and welcoming. Surprisingly quiet for a Saturday lunchtime, this is definitely not a complaint. Food is simple and very good.
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What a delight this tiny pub in the middle of nowhere is. My wife who is Belarussian and has acquired a taste for English pubs in her three years here really rates this one. Only complaint is the amount we were served for lunch and the effect on our waist lines. Even I had to leave some and that doesn't often happen.
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This is quite unlike any pub I have ever been to. It appears that only effect the years since 1970 have had on this pub is the addition of a TV set and a credit card machine. Other than that, you're still there. Beware of falling asleep: when you wake up the last 35 years will have been just a dream.
Withybed Corner is one of the rare examples of a road in Surrey that actually warrants the use of a 4x4; unless you're in a company car, park near the pond and walk the rest of the way. You can't see The Bell from the main road, but the track is marked by the pub's sign atop a tall post - it has a yellow bell on a green background.
I brought my new work colleagues here for lunch and got quite a shock when their food was served on polystyrene plates! Definitely an experience worth seeking out. Good job Gordon and Linda!
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Excellent spot down unsurfaced road. Nice beer, which is what you are here for, no sit down meals, just the basics to give the beer something to chew on. Darts, bar billiards etc. Little has changed here in decades.
Nick - 26 Oct 2004 13:11 |
Can't believe my local isn't on your site, it's a classic! Tiny, open fires, no mobile phone reception (always a good thing), locals on one side, "strangers" on the other, can get very rowdy on a Sunday when the musics on. Gordon & Linda are probably the hardest drinking and working landlords in the UK. Locally known as The Rat. Please add immediately. Thanks.
Lee - 22 Jan 2004 13:30 |
