The HalfwayHouse

The Halfway House on Pitney Hill began as a cider house and has traded as a pub for around 150 years; landlady Minnie Samford ran it from 1917 to 1962. Courage altered the layout in 1968, fitting a Formica-topped bar that was replaced by the current counter in 1992, the same year real ale enthusiast Julian Litchfield bought the pub and converted the former slaughterhouse at the rear into an additional room. It has appeared in the Good Beer Guide for more than thirty years and was named CAMRA National Pub of the Year in 1996, with further South West regional wins since, most recently in 2023. The pub is now run by the David family - Mark, Lucie, Jess and George - who keep ten or more real ales on tap alongside local ciders, and cook using seasonal, local ingredients. Slate floors and open fireplaces remain from its earlier years.