The Old Mill Hotel, Harnham, was the first paper mill in England... a fact I was unaware of when booking a night's stay before visiting Stonehenge.
I mistakenly thought the building was an old flour mill and the discovery almost seems like fate for this journo and I honestly feel right at home here.
The restaurant is 500 years old and our comfortable room, which looks newly renovated, is part of the 300-year-old accommodation area. The address is given as simply "Town Path, Salisbury". A couple of low door entries and narrow hallways are the only giveaways to the hotel's colourful past.
Alex is barman-waiter-receptionist and the nicest young man you'd ever hope to meet. For just under £10, he served up the night's special: a chicken and mushroom or beef and ale pie with a free pint or wine with mash, ratatouille-style zucchini and cabbage and bacon in a white sauce you couldn't jump over.
And just when you thought you'd seen everything in a pub, something new ... dogs of any shape and size are welcome.
Today's lesson: When drinking with a proud Englishman in a 500-year-old English pub, don't mention your Scottish heritage. As Basil Fawlty once said, "I mentioned It once but I think I got away with it..."
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