A pub on Oxford’s literary trail, you can’t not go to the place where the lord of the rings himself sat and drank.

The Venue
This long, narrow Mitchell and Butler pub is famous for being the watering hole of Tolkien and CS Lewis and after The Lord of the Rings films came out trade shot up. Inside there are two tiny snugs with glass and wood partitions on either side of the door as you come in. In fact hobbits would feel quite at home here. There’s lots of wood here and dark green walls line the corridor down to the small bar which is on your right.

Past that is a statuette of a cherub-like child playing a pipe — no eagle though. The lighting is subdued and yellowy and at the far end is a lighter extension area with a skylight in the roof. There’s a stone floor, tables and chairs that are more for sitting down and eating. Little lampshades are fixed to the wall and there are board games available including draughts, chess and backgammon.

The People
During term time The Eagle and Child is a popular place with students and the good selection of beers attracts real ale drinkers and their families too. It obviously attracts lots of Narnia nuts and Tolkein fans including hobbit lovers, old hippies, Japanese tourists and all manner of fantasy freaks especially in the summer months.

The Food and Drink
There’s a decent range of beers on tap including Brakspear, Roaring Meg, Strongbow, Guinness, Stella, Amstel, Heineken, London Pride, Black Cat, Staropramen and Old Rosie. In bottles there’s Corona, Beck’s, Budweiser and Aspall’s and Bulmer’s cider. And in a bit of a throwback they’ve also got Dandelion and Burdock and ginger beer.

You can get a bottle of wine for as little as £6.95, which is some sort of record here in Oxford. On the food front you’ve got pure pub grub with steak and Timothy Taylor landlord ale pie (£6.95), ploughman’s lunch (£6.45), lasagne (£5.75) and sausage and egg sandwich for £3.50. Or you can go mad and get a lamb shank for £7.50.

The Last Word
A bit of an Oxford institution, The Eagle and Child is a literary and real ale mecca.

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