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Illustration
No.8
“The Cott Inn” |
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After
leaving Land’s End, we made for Totnes, the town
where Jeff went to art school thirty years ago. He was
itching to stay at the nearby Cott Inn (est.1320), which
he remembered as being a bit out of his price range as
a student. During our time at the Cott and some other
bars we visited in Totnes, Jeff commented on the death
of the public bar. Traditionally, the public bar had a
stone floor, darts, and no food. Women and wealthier patrons
frequented the lounge bar with its carpeted floor and
dinner options. Try as he might, Jeff couldn’t find
a proper public bar in all our many visits to pubs and
inns during the trip. Cott Inn proprietor Dave Sorton
(a voracious stamp collector with an acute fear of snakes)
said that the public bars were phased out over the past
twenty years. We also tried in vain to find a few pints
of locally produced scrumpy, the smooth country cousin
of hard cider. Where have the best parts of England gone?
It’s all kind of sad, really.
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