Three Horseshoes, Dinas Powys

Three Horseshoes, 1 Station Road, Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, CF64 4DE

The Three Horseshoes is situated on a corner plot opposite the village green in the historic village of Dinas Powys. A two-story building, the Three Horseshoes is set back from the road, allowing outdoor drinking areas to the front and side of the pub. A plaque on an outside wall commemorates a nineteenth-century bard, Dewi Wyn O Esyllt, also known as the White Bard, who lived in the pub.

The pub apparently dates back to 1456 when it was built as a farmhouse, however it has been altered over the centuries but still today retains a separate bar and lounge. The lively flagstone-floored front bar has a large flat screen television as well as a dart board on a lower level and rugby memorabilia on the walls. Although the television is a feature of the bar, it is conversation that dominates in this pub with the locals discussing the latest racing results or the latest gossip in the village.
Towards the rear is the lounge, entered from the bar via a dark wooden door set in a thick stone wall, which was probably an exterior wall of the original building. The lounge features comfortable seats around the walls with some old photos of the pub on the walls and a 1930s style stone fireplace against the far wall. The Three Horseshoes does have a 1930s feel to the place with the bar counter being made out of dark wood and leaded glass windows in the lounge. The sash windows in the front bar show that the building seen today is an amalgamation of various building styles over the centuries. Another wooden door, again with a brass lock and metal handle, leads from the lounge to a heated rear patio area.
The Three Horseshoes was once owned by Hancock's Brewery and Hancock's HB is still available on the bar alongside other real ales from breweries such as Wells & Youngs and Fullers. The beer range does vary throughout the week but the pub is owned by a Pub Company so it is not a free house but tied to their products. There are four handpumps altogether, two in the bar and two in the lounge so it is worth checking what is on in the other section. On the wall in the lounge are tasting notes for the real ales served in this pub. The Three Horseshoes has Cask Marque accreditation for its real ales and regularly features in the Good Beer Guide, published by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. The Three Horseshoes does not do any meals, only home-made rolls and the pub does have a real community atmosphere to it with regular live music on Friday nights.

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Dinas Powys is easliy reached by public transport from Cardiff. Would have put the Traveline Cymru link in here but the site is not working again!