The Boot, as it is known by the locals, is a beautiful 18th century, half-timbered building in the quintessential English village of Houghton. Yes, Houghton as in the Houghton Club, the oldest and most exclusive fly fishing club in the world, founded in 1822, who own 13 miles of private fishing on the River Test. It is ranked among Country Life’s list of clubs you cannot join, and there are only 25 members, so for most of us the Boot Inn’s riverside grill, bar and beer garden is as close as we will ever come to this beautiful part of the river. This little-known gastropub serves up fabulous pub food which you can wash down with a splendid selection of local ales, and watch the fish and wildlife as the River Test ambles by your picnic table. This is the perfect Stockbridge outpost.
Well, we think the intro aptly summarises the Boot’s close proximity to great fishing, the River Test practically burbles past your feet, but such is the ethereal nature of the river, it is something of a forbidden fruit. You can look but you can’t touch! You will just have to settle for some of the finest trout fly fishing anywhere in the world within a 10 minute drive of your lunch table. As there are no rooms at the Boot, you will probably be lunching here away from the river, before returning for the afternoon and evening rise.
Houghton is a quaint rural village, blissfully secluded in the Test valley. The market town and fly fishing capital of Stockbridge, which you have probably driven through to arrive in Houghton, is just a short drive upstream, where you can join in the hive of fly fishers from around the world in browsing the boutique shops, coffee houses, restaurants and two excellent fly tackle shops; Orvis & Robjents, who are jam packed with all the chalk stream essentials. On your way, don’t forget to drop into the Houghton Lodge and tea rooms for cream tea and scones! The local heritage attractions are the National Trust’s Mottisfont Abbey, where you can still walk in the footsteps of F.M Halford, Danebury Iron Age Hillfort, and the Longstock Water Gardens make a nice morning away from the river. 30 minutes east is Winchester. 30 minutes west is Salisbury, and beyond that Stonehenge with nothing in between but the vast rolling hills of Rural Hampshire.
As you step inside this time-capsule of a pub, the low oak beams take you back to an era where this building belongs. There is a spacious dining room furnished properly with solid wood tables and chairs; the sort my father would run his fingers along to inspect the grain, hit with a good hard thump, and then finish by affirming “yep! they’ve done a good job of that.” On the dining room wall is an enormous Salmon from the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, that weighed 36 ½ lbs. At the heart of The Boot Inn is the charming pub area, an intimate space that is brought to life with ambient chatter and a crackling log fire. Above the mantelpiece is another trophy fish, this time a leviathan Pike. Specials are chalked up on a blackboard, local ales are poured on tap, and behind the bar there is an eye-watering array of spirits and wines glowing at you in the dim lighting.
“It’s just the sort of place that makes you want to kick the front door in on a cold, wet, blustery day, and nestle down in front of the fire with a steak and ale pie and a pint of bitter ale.”
When the weather is nice enough to sit outside, the private beer garden has a fully equipped grill, bar and seating area where you can sit and watch the trout rising as the river flows by. Alternatively, out front, you can dine on the brassie-style terrace, overlooking the calm winding country lane that sews the hamlet of Houghton together.
There are no rooms at the Boot so you will probably be visiting as part of your wider fishing itinerary, but for the short time you stay with them the staff are truly attentive, courteous and eager to please. Service is always quick and efficient and the pub is grounded in its fly fishing roots so you will feel right at home as a travelling fly fisher.
The menu at the Boot Inn is an ambitious one, with a delightful spread of fresh seafoods and locally sourced meats and vegies. The focus tends towards rather filling dishes with that traditional heartiness that lets you know you’ve arrived in rural Hampshire. The locals speak with a Hampshire twang in these parts! Our picks for starters are the Millden Estate Grouse croquettes with celeriac remoulade, the Monkfish Taco’s with Kimchi slaw, mango salsa and lime, and Cornish King Scallops, wakame seaweed salad and sweet soy. Mains are a hopelessly difficult choice between the slow cooked shoulder of lamb, wild brill, roasted sea bass, or new forest mushroom linguine. Also featured are panfried Cornish hake, monkfish scampi, honey roast duck, and a classic burger. Add to that a side of market veg, dirty fries, or the Wilde Trout favourite, fat chips and aioli. Mouth watering yet? I’m not finished… puds are butterscotch panacotta served with English strawberries & honeycomb, lemon posset, or if mains didn’t fill you up, the good old faithful sticky toffee pudding. I told you… ambitious!
The Boot, as it is known by the locals, is a beautiful 18th century, half-timbered building in the quintessential English village of Houghton. Yes, Houghton as in the Houghton Club, the oldest and most exclusive fly fishing club in the world, founded in 1822, who own 13 miles of private fishing on the River Test. It is ranked among Country Life’s list of clubs you cannot join, and there are only 25 members, so for most of us the Boot Inn’s riverside grill, bar and beer garden is as close as we will ever come to this beautiful part of the river. This little-known gastropub serves up fabulous pub food which you can wash down with a splendid selection of local ales, and watch the fish and wildlife as the River Test ambles by your picnic table. This is the perfect Stockbridge outpost.
Well, we think the intro aptly summarises the Boot’s close proximity to great fishing, the River Test practically burbles past your feet, but such is the ethereal nature of the river, it is something of a forbidden fruit. You can look but you can’t touch! You will just have to settle for some of the finest trout fly fishing anywhere in the world within a 10 minute drive of your lunch table. As there are no rooms at the Boot, you will probably be lunching here away from the river, before returning for the afternoon and evening rise.
Houghton is a quaint rural village, blissfully secluded in the Test valley. The market town and fly fishing capital of Stockbridge, which you have probably driven through to arrive in Houghton, is just a short drive upstream, where you can join in the hive of fly fishers from around the world in browsing the boutique shops, coffee houses, restaurants and two excellent fly tackle shops; Orvis & Robjents, who are jam packed with all the chalk stream essentials. On your way, don’t forget to drop into the Houghton Lodge and tea rooms for cream tea and scones! The local heritage attractions are the National Trust’s Mottisfont Abbey, where you can still walk in the footsteps of F.M Halford, Danebury Iron Age Hillfort, and the Longstock Water Gardens make a nice morning away from the river. 30 minutes east is Winchester. 30 minutes west is Salisbury, and beyond that Stonehenge with nothing in between but the vast rolling hills of Rural Hampshire.
As you step inside this time-capsule of a pub, the low oak beams take you back to an era where this building belongs. There is a spacious dining room furnished properly with solid wood tables and chairs; the sort my father would run his fingers along to inspect the grain, hit with a good hard thump, and then finish by affirming “yep! they’ve done a good job of that.” On the dining room wall is an enormous Salmon from the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, that weighed 36 ½ lbs. At the heart of The Boot Inn is the charming pub area, an intimate space that is brought to life with ambient chatter and a crackling log fire. Above the mantelpiece is another trophy fish, this time a leviathan Pike. Specials are chalked up on a blackboard, local ales are poured on tap, and behind the bar there is an eye-watering array of spirits and wines glowing at you in the dim lighting.
“It’s just the sort of place that makes you want to kick the front door in on a cold, wet, blustery day, and nestle down in front of the fire with a steak and ale pie and a pint of bitter ale.”
When the weather is nice enough to sit outside, the private beer garden has a fully equipped grill, bar and seating area where you can sit and watch the trout rising as the river flows by. Alternatively, out front, you can dine on the brassie-style terrace, overlooking the calm winding country lane that sews the hamlet of Houghton together.
There are no rooms at the Boot so you will probably be visiting as part of your wider fishing itinerary, but for the short time you stay with them the staff are truly attentive, courteous and eager to please. Service is always quick and efficient and the pub is grounded in its fly fishing roots so you will feel right at home as a travelling fly fisher.
The menu at the Boot Inn is an ambitious one, with a delightful spread of fresh seafoods and locally sourced meats and vegies. The focus tends towards rather filling dishes with that traditional heartiness that lets you know you’ve arrived in rural Hampshire. The locals speak with a Hampshire twang in these parts! Our picks for starters are the Millden Estate Grouse croquettes with celeriac remoulade, the Monkfish Taco’s with Kimchi slaw, mango salsa and lime, and Cornish King Scallops, wakame seaweed salad and sweet soy. Mains are a hopelessly difficult choice between the slow cooked shoulder of lamb, wild brill, roasted sea bass, or new forest mushroom linguine. Also featured are panfried Cornish hake, monkfish scampi, honey roast duck, and a classic burger. Add to that a side of market veg, dirty fries, or the Wilde Trout favourite, fat chips and aioli. Mouth watering yet? I’m not finished… puds are butterscotch panacotta served with English strawberries & honeycomb, lemon posset, or if mains didn’t fill you up, the good old faithful sticky toffee pudding. I told you… ambitious!
Starters ranging from £10, Mains; £19.50, and Pudding; £8.95.
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