The White Swan — Restaurant in England

Despite a very lax attitude towards current Covid measures for pubs, last night I had what was, until several minutes before leaving, quite a pleasant evening at this pub attending my brother-in-law's 50th birthday party.

The last time I visited the pub was in the summer of 2020, when I ended up leaving earlier than planned because I felt uncomfortable with their lack of compliance towards the government's rules regarding social distancing. This evening there was still cleary very little compliance with the current rules. Numerous staff members and customers were in the pub with no facemasks on and the garden marquee area was rammed with far more than 30 people (possibly at least triple that), many of whom were stood nearly shoulder to shoulder, meaning that to access toilets, the garden or just to get to your seat, you had to navigate through and literally squeeze past tens of people often with no option other than actually coming into physical contact with them. The young waitresses did a great job though moving amongst the crowds with trays of drinks and were very polite when asking to get by. I chose to ignore the issues for the sake of the party and because I wanted to have a good time with family whom I hadn't seen in months.

I brought my dog along with me for the evening; he's a very calm, affectionate and well-behaved cockapoo who barely leaves my side. He spent most of the evening on his lead but in the large garden at the back I let him off for about 20 minutes as a little girl at a table nearby was desperate to play with him. Another dog was wondering around off lead, and after greeting each other politely and having a little play, both dogs showed eachother little interest for the rest of the night.

Eventually we managed to find a table in the marquee near the live music (which I will add, is always fantastic). My dog spent a bit more time off lead and apart from a little supervised exploring and sniffing in and around part of the pub building, he remained near or under our table. The other dog was wondering around freely between the crowds too. Both dogs were beautifully behaved and enjoyed getting a fuss from staff and punters.

Whilst preparing to leave and saying goodbye to my sister, who hosted the party, I was approached suddenly by a man who quite literally 'told me off' for allowing my dog to be off lead. I explained that there had been another dog off lead too so I assumed it was okay and that I was certain anyone else there would assure him my dog's behaviour had been nothing but exemplary. He then informed me he was the landlord (he was wearing no facemask I'll add) and it was his dog, and that no other dogs should be off lead apart from his. I responded by telling him that he was speaking to me a little late because I had been there for 4 hours already, did not know the dog was his and therefore, due to no sign or staff member saying otherwise, assumed it would be okay to allow my dog a little freedom too. The landlord then told me my dog was a nuisance because he was a hazard to waitresses who were trying to carry drinks, to which I said my dog could only have been as a much of a hazard to the waitresses as his own dog was, and that the much more likely hazard was the overcrowding in his marquee. He then turned to my sister and said 'she's really gobby' before literally shooing me away with his hand and storming off.

I appreciate that the landlord is friendly with my sister and her family, and perhaps therefore thought it was acceptable to speak to me so rudely in front of her before insulting me as if I was invisible, but myself and those that witnessed the conversation were appalled by his conduct. I am a responsible dog owner and if I believed my dog was causing any issues, or if he had raised his concern politely with me earlier in the evening, I would have of course kept my dog on his lead. It serves a landlord and pub no good to be so rude and condescending to friends and family of regular punters. I will definitely not be returning to this pub, with or without my dog,...

It was a Sunday lunchtime and we were on the road driving past Whitchurch in Aylesbury and we were famished. I drove past the pub and read the "Sunday Roast" sign, and I turned the car around!

We weren't sure at first when we entered, there was no one in the dining area and for a moment I questioned my choice.

We were welcomed with a warm smile and we're reassured that we will not be disappointed. We ordered a roast eac. I had chicken and she had gammon. The plates arrived hot. The variety of vegetables, gravy aplenty and crispy soft yorkshire puds (wished they were bigger). We were offered and provided with extra gravy and yorkshire pudding when requested.

Everything was fresh, warm and delicious. The roast potatoes was crispy, mash was buttery, parsnips were so sweet! I was bowled over and very satisfied. Thank you to the kitchen and waiting...

Ventured into this pub with my partner and the dog. The afternoon was sunny and warm so we stepped into the wonderfully undulating rear garden. It was pleasantly shaded with trees but had plenty of open space to allow children to run around and have fun. There were also beer garden games to keep the clientele happy and indeed they did. It lent a amusing ambience to the proceedings. The pub itself was cozy and inviting with little nooks and corners to hide in , the bars (two) were small but well staffed. The beers were of good choice and well kept. The food we had was fantastic and in good portions. A great little pub and well worth a visit. Afterwards we popped down the public footpath beside the pub down to the local cricket ground and watched the Saturday afternoon game. A good finish to a...