Ploughman’s lunch at Ye Old Ferrie Inn, reviewed
Guest review by Mavis.
Location –
Ye Old Ferrie Inn,
Ferrie Ln,
Symonds Yat West,
Ross-on-Wye
HR9 6BL
Tel: 01600 890232
hello@yeoldferrieinn.com
Website – www.yeoldferrieinn.com/
Date of Visit – 24/04/2026
Notes on the visit:
A beautiful sunny spring day, nothing much to do – so why not bimble along to this 15th century riverside hostelry for a spot of lunch? Access is down a narrow lane, with a tricksy steep bend at the bottom – so not suitable for big vans, and definitely not anything like a caravan! Good-sized car park.
The Food
10– Pickled Onion. Absolutely banging! Slightly oddly (to my mind) I was served 1 and a half of them. But what a lovely 3 halves they were – big, crunchy and tangy. .
9– Pickle. Decent amount of delicately spiced chutney. Listed on the menu as being made mainly of fig. Easily spreadable, being without large chunks.
7 – Cheese & Ham:
No ham, nor any other meaty product, but three hefty chunks of cheese.
The menu listed these as:
- Worcester Gold – a very creamy but sturdy cheddar, unfortunately without the farmhouse edge I prefer.
- Wittington Red – a smooth and firm cheese, with a surprisingly tangy aftertaste
- Apple & Blackberry cheddar. Now, I’m not a fan of cheese with sweet things in as a rule, but this was okay(ish) with the bite of the cheese cutting through the sweetness of the fruit (and having now looked it up I can see that it has cranberries in as well).
Despite being somewhat non-plussed by fruity cheeses I’m definitely not one to leave anything that I’ve paid for on the plate…
10 – Bread: Warm, big holes, good crust – utterly outstanding! The menu lists this as being made by https://www.petercooksbread.co.uk/ and having had several of their other bakery offerings over the past few months I can heartily recommend anything that this company makes.
4.5 – Spread Butter, A small packet of Netherend, perfectly spreadable and about the right amount for me, although others may want a second pat to slather on that delicious bread.
4 – Presentation: Well-arranged, proper plate.
3.5 – Salad, etc. A good amount of varied leaves, a few slivers of pepper and cucumber. Would have benefited from a better toss with better and more plentiful dressing.
5 – Originality.
No great surprises, but that’s kind of what you want in a ploughmans’ isn’t it? Good standard sunny afternoon fare. Having said that, there were several slices of gherkin – which were sadly lacking in crunch or flavour and quite watery.
Food Total: 52
Beverages
10 – Drinks: Proper pub. Quite an array of ales and lagers on tap, as well as a good range of ciders. Coffee and tea as well as usual pub soft drinks on offer.
Drinks Total: 10
The Venue
10 – Service: Friendly and prompt, food arrived swiftly and no-one hurried me to finish. One chap was giving walking route recommendations to the folks at the table behind me and another was helping canoeists and SUP’ers with their kit, being happy to accommodate their luggage. A pile of dog bowls was next to an outside tap for any thirsty pooch, and signs proclaimed that dogs were very welcome.
9 – Atmosphere: It was a clear blue sky, lots of people sat on the terrace kind of lunch
10– Location: Just look at the photos! I could very easily while away many hours here, watching the river and wildlife. They do canoe and paddleboard hire, as well as guided walks and ebikes. There is a hand-pull ferry across the river.
3 – Toilets: Very good.
Venue total: 32
Total Score: 94
Footnotes:
Mavis: Okay, so I awarded double maximum points for location, which may have helped bring this review up to an astonishing total, given that I had issues with one of the cheeses, the salad, the toilets etc, and yes, it’s not the cheapest ploughmans’ but this really is a gem of a spot!
Editor: Thanks to Mavis for this lovely review. I have performed minimal editing on this, and left the “Score” as submitted. This is a lovely part of the world, and would highly recommend Herefordshire for a visit.
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