Blue Anchor, East Aberthaw

The Blue Anchor is an historic pub on the coastal road from Barry to Llantwit Major with a useful bus stop outside. The pub is an unmistakable stone-built building and features a thatched roof. A fire destroyed the roof back in 2004 but the pub has been carefully and sympathetically restored by the family who own this Grade II* Listed Building.

The entrance doorway is on the side, with a sturdy blue-painted wooden door opening into a small wood-panelled lobby, made from wood salvaged from a ship that ran-aground on the nearby coast. The lobby is taken down in the summer months, to create more room in this pub. The lobby leads into the central bar with its gleaming brass beer engines offering real ales such as Wye Valley HPA, Theakston's Old Peculier, Brains Bitter and Wadworth 6X. An additional handpump is used for a guest beer, Tomos Watkin Cwrw Idris was a recent beer to feature on the bar. A range of bottled ciders and perries from Gwynt Y Ddraig are also available.

Above the bar hang glass and pewter tankards belonging to the regular customers of the Blue Anchor. Around the bar area black timber beams contrast with the grey Jurassic limestone stonework and there is a large fireplace, lit in winter, with a roaring coal fire. Tree trunks support the wooden beams above the bar and against one wall rests a high wooden settle, where the black varnish is wearing off on the handles due to the continued use of customers using it over the years. The flagstone floor is also wearing a bit thin in places, a testament to the age of the Blue Anchor, 1380 is the date traditionally associated with this inn. The name of the pub comes from the connection to the once busy port of East Aberthaw, once a thriving commercial centre, now overshadowed by the cement works.

A blocked-up lancet arch is in one wall of the bar, whilst a low-beamed doorway and separate spiral staircase lead off the other end. The low doorway leads through to another drinking/dining area and an upstairs restaurant. The Blue Anchor has been extended over the years and blocked-up doorways and windows which now look into other rooms of the pub all add to the charm of this ancient building. Towards the front of the building there is another couple of rooms, with the old walls acting as a divider.

Food is served from 12-2 and 6-8 Monday to Saturday and features an excellent range including locally shot pheasant and River Exe Mussels. There are also vegetarian and options for children on the menu as well as an upatairs restaurant open 7-9.30 Monday-Saturday.

The Blue Anchor is an award-winning freehouse and is recommended by CAMRA, the Which Pub Guide and Michelin Guide to name a few.

Blue Anchor, East Aberthaw, CF62 3DD, 01446 750329

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Beer festival at the Vale of Glamorgan pub

Photo courtesy of Dom at Welsh Icons

With the Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival in full swing this weekend, where better to go to than the CAMRA award-winning pub, the Vale of Glamorgan, to celebrate their annual beer festival.
The following article was written for the South Wales Echo and published on the 10th October 2009:

The historic town of Cowbridge dates from Roman times but the town layout today is based upon the medieval layout of burgage plots with a narrow street facing side and a long rear area. The rear area was for the workshops, or as in the case of the Vale of Glamorgan pub, a brewery and maltings. The first mention of a pub on this site is in 1780 when it was called the Greyhound but by 1868 the pub had acquired its present name. The brewery continued in existence until 1914 when it was bought by Hancock's of Cardiff. Today there is still an old Hancock's Brewery Toastmaster sign on the wall outside the pub but the Vale of Glamorgan pub is now a freehouse. As well as the old pub sign, a newer one hangs outside, featuring a rural scene with a farmer and his horse. The sash window has stickers on it celebrating some of the years the pub has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. There are two entrances to the pub; on the right an old archway through which the old brewery horse-drawn drays used to use or the left hand side door with the with the lettering above saying “Entrance to Lounge and Smoke Rooms”.

The welcoming interior features high backed settles on a slate floor at the front, with the wooden-floored bar running lengthwise towards the rear, carpeted seating area which features a stone-built wall. The bar features gleaming brass handpumps, serving the regular real ales, Hancock's HB, Wye Valley HPA and Hop Back Summer Lightning together with 2 guest beers from breweries from across the UK, as well as Mole's Black Rat Cider from Somerset. Above the bar is a large collection of pumpclips of beers this pub has sold over the years. The walls of the bar are decorated with old photographs of Cowbridge and the occasional article on the pub as well as the fireplace with cast-iron range and gleaming brass utensils.

A reminder of the days when this pub was home to a brewery is the door window on the way out to the backyard with “Order Office” etched on to it. The backyard of the Vale of Glamorgan pub features more seating and is covered over once a year during the Cowbridge Food Festival for the annual beer festival held at the Vale, this year the Festival is over the weekend of the 24th-25^th October. The pub is a previous winner of the local CAMRA branch pub of the year.
The Vale of Glamorgan is open all day and home-cooked food is available lunchtimes apart from Sunday. Curries, fish and duck recipes all feature on the regularly changing menu.


Beer List for the Beer Festival, 24th-25th October, all subject to availability

Vale of Glamorgan Brewery VOG 4.3% ABV

Grog Y Vog 4.3 %

+ 1 other

Hop Back Crop Circle 4.2%

GFB 3.5%

Entire Stout 4.5%

Wye Valley Brewery Butty Bach 4.5%

Harvest Hop 4.5%

Wholesome Stout 4.6%

Robinsons Wags to Witches 4% ABV

Holdens Dragons Blood 4.7%

Hydes Rocketeer 4.5%

White Horse Wayland Smithy 4.4%

Moorhouses Pendle Witches Brew 5.1%

Hall & Woodhouse Tanglefoot 4.9%

Brains Rev James 4.5%

Rhymney Bitter 4.5%

Theakstons Old Peculiar 5.6%

Black Sheep Golden Sheep 3.9%

Breconshire Brewery Brecon County 3.7%

Ramblers Ruin 5%

Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous 4%

CCH 4.5%

Bullmastiff Brewery SOB 6%

Brindle 5.1%

Welsh Black 4.8%

Conwy Brewery Rampart 4.5%

Dare Brewery Falcon Flyer 5.2%

Green Dragon 4.4%

Evan Evans Warrior 4.6%

Cwrw 4.2%

Facers Landslide 3.7%

Flintshire BB 4.9%

Great Orme Welsh Black 4%

Merlyn 5%

Monty's Mojo 3.8%

Moonrise 4%

Celt Experience Bronze 4.0%

Native Storm 4.5%

Otley Dark O 4.1%

OG 5.4%

O8 8%

Plassey Offas Dyke Ale 4.3%

Dragons Breath 6.0%

Nant Mwnci Nell 5.3%

Chawden Aur 4.3%

Purple Moose Madogs Ale 3.7%

Snowdonia 3.6%

The Duke of Wellington pub opposite the Vale of glamorgan pub will be holding a cider festival at the same time with 25 different ciders on, all served in their rear mock-Baronial hall.