I have to be completely honest and say that during Covid we had a bad experience here, but we decided to give this lovely-looking pub another chance and boy am I glad that we did.

In fact, I have now been here twice for brunch in the same month, that is how much I enjoyed it. At first sight it looks very impressive, a large pub, with a large, modern conservatory, with ample parking and next to a play park and fields. Inside it is respectfully decorated using the original features of the very old building.

We came here for Mothers’ Day brunch, and though it was busy, they were not overrun, making mistakes and running out of stock like most places do on special days. I was very pleased by the wide variety of gluten-free options; which included a GF full-english breakfast (including toast). Not only that, but it tasted good, even the toasted bap tasted good and I think we all know (those of us with an intolerance or Coeliac disease) how rubbish most gluten-free food tastes. The bread was delicious and did not fall to pieces.

My whole family had a lovely “normal” muggles brunch too (i.e. not gluten free). My kids both had the Biscoff pancakes (I was not jealous!), they provide a kids portion (2 pancakes) which my 6 year old had, and an adults portion (4 pancakes), which my 11 year old enjoyed. In fact, my son said that they were the best pancakes that he has ever had! I was surprised that he thought they were better than The Pancake Parlour, as they would have been my choice for best pancakes in the area, however, I am not able to try these as I am currently on a gluten-free diet, so I will defer to his 11-year old-biscoff-loving-pancake-eating expertise on this one.

My husband had salmon and scrambled eggs, he said that our brunch felt like an experience and as though we were being taken care of. When I returned a few weeks later with a dear friend we had eggs and bacon on toast and a full-English breakfast. Everyone said that they thoroughly enjoyed their meals. My friend said that she was surprised to see Woburn bacon on the menu, as it is quite special; which it indeed was. In fact, the bacon was particularly memorable, absolutely delicious and so perfectly cooked. We also commented on the price, it was a good price for such a delicious breakfast at such a beautiful pub; it was also generous, and I did not feel hungry. The Anchor (for example), an equally beautiful village pub is quite stingy with its portion sizes.

The kids enjoyed playing in the park afterwards (a great way to burn off one of the pancakes), surprisingly the minuscule zip-line was way more fun than either of my kids imagined when they looked upon it. Never judge a book by its cover.

My only small gripe is that during Covid they instituted a booking policy which means that you have to enter your card details before you are able to make a booking, not only that but if you fail to show-up they will charge you £30 per person. I am not the kind of person who would simply not show up (though what if you needed to cancel for an emergency at the last minute?) I always call to cancel if I need to, however, £30 per person is excessive, especially as 2 of the party were children and we did not even spend £30 on them when we went out for dinner, let alone brunch. In fact when I went with my friend our entire bill was £30 total, so the fact that I would be charged £60 for not cancelling is extreme and disproportionate, especially for brunch. This rule came at a time when everyone was excited to go out for meals again once we emerged from the lockdowns during Covid. It is now 2023, it has been a few years, I honestly think they need to remove that card booking from their system now. They should definitely not charge a cancellation fee for brunch/breakfast or reduce the charge per person.

That little moan aside, I loved it and will definitely be returning again. I think the outside will be very nice in the summer, as they have a lovely conservatory and garden (including a giant chess set).

Additional Information

Address: Cranfield Road, Moulsoe, Newport Pagnell, MK16 0HB

Booking: Online (you will need to enter your card details)

Parking: Plenty on site