Country pub of the week: The Mayfly, Stockbridge
London rarely feels like a city on the water, though granted the residents of, say, Wapping may see things differently.
The Mayfly, something of a celebrity pub to those in Stockbridge, is the balm for those with ears ringing from traffic. It is surely among the handsomest pubs in the country, lounging as it does by a muttering weir on the River Test. The water blooms and moves and soothes. Don’t jump in.
Stay, instead, on the terrace, with a well-kept pint and, perhaps, chalk trout in brown butter, or courgette and crab linguine, and then agree with whomever is suggesting wine.
On some days, there are performances; this summer a night of opera, another of Shakespeare and a showing of Wind in the Willows. What The Mayfly specialises in is serenity.
Linger as the light goes, let your shoulders drop. The office is miles off yet.