Lamb and Fox, Pwlldu, Blaenavon

Posted on 29. Jun, 2011 by Robert Gale in Pubs

Lamb and Fox, Pwll-Du, Blaenavon

The Lamb and Fox is a small pub located on the top of a mountain in south Wales.

Brief History

Situated on the top of the Blorenge mountain, in Pwll-Du (pwll = pit or pool, ddu = black), near Blaenavon, is the Lamb and Fox pub.

The pub was once located in a thriving village that had over 300 residents, two pubs, two chapels, several bake houses, a school and a shop. It was filled with miners, colliers, iron workers, quarrymen and tram road workers.

The village began to decline after the 1930’s and by 1960 it was declared a slum with most of its residents being relocated down the valley into newly constructed council houses in Govilon. Once the houses were emptied, they were demolished; now all that remains of the village is the pub and the Welfare Hall.

Interior/Exterior

The interior consists of a low ceilinged beamed room with an old stone fireplace at one end and the small bar at the other. To the right of the bar is another room which in the past has been used as a dining area. I’m not sure if meals are still served there. At the rear is a patio and beer garden which has excellent views north towards Abergavenny.

The Beer

Unfortunately the pub no longer sells any real ale on tap. They do sell a selection of bottles although I’m not sure if the ones they stocked when I visited are always available.

I visited the pub in April 2011 and they had a mixture of bottles from the Rhymney Brewery along with Brakspear Oxford Gold, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Banks’ Bitter and Wychwood Hobgoblin.

Visiting the Pub

Due to the pub being well off the beaten track and being quite a distance from civilisation, the pub is not always open and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was struggling. I’ve only visited the pub twice, once in 2011 and the other around 3 or 4 years ago.

The first time I visited they had at least one ale on tap and was popular with diners in the evening. When I revisited this year, no ales were available and it did appear to be struggling. It’s a pity as another remote pub, the Goose and Cuckoo, which is not a great distance from the Lamb and Fox, is very popular.

More Photos of the Lamb and Fox

Venue Location

Lamb and Fox

Pwlldu

Blaenavon

NP4 9SS

Tel: 01495 790196 / 07790 682382

View on Google Street View

Robert Gale (Twitter: @awv)

Beer Taster, Pub Attendee, Photo Taker

Robert Gale likes beer, pubs and beer festivals. He also likes to take photos of beer, pubs and beer festivals. Most weekends of the year you can find him travelling around the UK (and sometimes beyond) photographing and reviewing good quality pubs and beer festivals. He also has a day job in the form of a web developer for Ozum.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003017868032 Tracy Lewis

the lamb and fox is a friendly pub, and has been in our family for a few generations, it has been handed down to my cousin. my father was born in the lamb and fox and went to the school which has sadly been knocked down, he has fond memories. i also have fond memories of of when i was a child of windberry picking opposite the pub where my grancha had some land,the food is to die for especially the sunday dinners….