The Spyglass Inn
Easily, one of my favorite pubs on the island is The Spyglass Inn in Ventnor. Nestled at the end of this seaside village, The Spyglass is an incredible spot to take up a chair, grab a pint and watch the English Channel. Our stop at the Spyglass was the mid-way point of our daily hike.
After working our way up about three miles along the south coast, I was ready for lunch.
Although we arrived a little bit before the lunch serving hour of noon, we grabbed a table on the veranda and soaked up some rare English sun. I also took advantage of the bar being open and grabbed a pint of Ringwood's Fortyniner.
Ringwood's beers are excellent and thankfully, on cask.
Once noon rolled around we put our orders in at the bar. As with most pubs, the food order is placed at the bar and then delivered to the table based upon either your table number, or placard.
The wait staff moved through the pub like a well oiled machine. We must have been checked on and "tidied up" after several times. Lunch arrived fast and Zoë's prawn salad arrived first.
It gave her pause, too. The prawns on top were fresh. Very fresh. They still had their heads, eyes and underneath, their eggs.
It freaked her out. Those little types of things can. I actually remember seeing a notice somewhere that the prawns may have eggs, as it was "that time of year". Oh well, what bothered her amused me. I ate them.
As other table orders came and went, we started to realize my lunch may have been missed. Sure enough, although I had paid for it, it was never passed back to the kitchen. They staff was super apologetic and offered to make it up to me by how else, a free beer.
When lunch did arrive, it was huge.
Although I'm sure the burger was good, the free beer made it taste better. I chowed down, we finished up and continued on our hike. Which, brings me to a new rule: no pub lunches and beer before our hikes are done.
If it is to be a casual stroll, no problem. If we are to climb 800 vertical feet, I would like a warning.
Situated behind Ventnor is St. Boniface Down. It's basically straight up and one of the highest points on the island.
Once we got to the top, the view was amazing. However, the ascent on a full stomach and a couple beers wasn't.
Nonetheless, after a few minutes of rest we continued on our way. It was all worth every second.
