The Bull Inn — Restaurant in England

We arrived for a two-night stay and enjoyed a very good Sunday lunch before seeing our room. Alas, the good experience ended there. The first room we were offered was very tight on space with a tiny shower cubicle that had ingrained mould in the grouting and along the seals. We asked to swap and, after|resistance from the very frosty receptionist and at my insistence, we were given a slightly better room with a clean shower. ||Neither the receptionist nor the chap in attendance (manager? Who knows?), greeted us or asked us how our journey had been, despite the fact that the bar wasn’t busy. In fact they seemed indifferent to us throughout our stay. The kitchen closed at 4.30pm and, with nowhere walkable to buy any supplies for the evening, we ordered a Co-op shop via Deliveroo. | |The Smart TV only allowed us to view BBC iPlayer, even then with plenty of buffering throughout every programme. There was nothing else to do as the bar closed at 9pm. ||The place is billed as very dog-friendly, yet neither of the staff even asked our cockapoo’s name (still yet ours or where we were from!). There were notices saying we needed to bring our dog’s bed, towels, food and water bowls. No dog treats were offered. The chap was helpful when we had queries (which could have been answered if there had been a guest book in the room), but other than that we felt that our presence was resented. It felt very awkward sitting in the bar alone except for the two staff as it was totally silent and any conversation we had could be overheard.||Back in the room, the headboard was wobbly and the only place to sit was on the bed. We had to plan for the next day’s food as the kitchen doesn’t open at all on a Monday. However, having sourced a restaurant we were unable to get there and back unless we paid £45 each way for a theee-mile trip, so we ordered a takeaway, which the chap agreed we could eat at one of the tables that was set up for breakfast. It was a lovely curry, but as the bar had closed and everyone had disappeared it was a solitary affair.||The kitchen was open for a preordered, pre-paid breakfast the next morning. We were the only guests and we were presented by the chap with a full English, featuring badly overcooked sausages, massive tomato (boiled?) and frozen mini croquettes usually served to kids. We weren’t given a choice of eggs and the bacon was tough. It couldn’t have been cooked to order, apart perhaps from the fried eggs. Only whole milk was availble for hot drinks and we weren’t offered any juice or water. We ate what we could of the poor offering, paid and left. We weren’t asked if we’d enjoyed our stay or where we were heading back to. It was as if no-one...

From the minute we stepped into the garden at the Bull Inn we knew it was the wedding venue for us. After chatting to Sophie we went home and got our deposit ready! Since that moment Sophie has been absolutely amazing, she could not have put any more love or care into the organisation. We felt so at ease knowing she had it all under control. On the day, the pub looked so beautiful. Everybody commented on what a fantastic venue it was. One of our main focuses for the day was for our children to also have the best time. The field at the Bull meant that we could do exactly this - we had a bouncy castle, assault course, ice cream van and lots of garden games. We barely saw them all day, they really did have the time of their lives. Seeing all our friends and family sat around the tables enjoying the delicious BBQ will always be such a core memory. The covered teepee allowed us to have a dance floor with an amazing saxophonist creating the best vibes for dancing all night long. The staff worked so hard all day and night and even managed to tidy it all and get it ready for our breakfast the next morning. We feel so lucky and grateful that we found the Bull. It was everything we dreamed of and more. We couldn’t recommend it more highly....

It’s sad to say, as this has been one of our favourite pubs in the area for a while, but we won’t be coming back in a hurry. ||The food has really let the place down. My daughter ordered a chicken burger which for nearly £16, you’d expect a nice breaded chicken breast, however she was served a frozen Birds Eye burger which wasn’t nice at all. When asked why this was the case, the lady said people used to complain the chicken breast in a burger was too big? This is crazy to me! Who would rather have a frozen burger with mashed chicken then a nice breaded chicken breast for £16.||They have also introduced free kids meals. To be honest, I’d rather pay for a decent meal then give my son the burnt pizza (also frozen type) and chips he was served.||What’s happened to this pub? I think management needs to rethink their business plans, otherwise I think they’ll start losing business and loyal customers. ||I used to recommend this pub, saying the food was really nice, but I’m afraid I won’t be doing this...