OUR STORY
The owners, Paul, Debra, Ashley & Aino English, welcome you to the Kings Head in Docklow, Herefordshire. We purchased the closed down Pub in March of 2021 and had just 18 days to get it ready to open outside as covid restrictions were relaxed in stages. A very good friend and chippy, pulled out all the stops to build our now popular pods, so you can sit outside in inclement weather.
Paul and Debra had previous experience in running a pub as Paul's dad was a publican as well and the couple use to run pubs in London in their early 20s. They are now teaching the trade to their son Ashley and his wife Aino.
On the day that we opened, nearly every local resident came to wish us well and to welcome their pub back into the community. We firmly believe a pub should be at the heart of the community as well as being the meeting place for new people. We are keeping the Kings Head as a traditional pub in the middle of the countryside.
Since our opening back in 2021, we have done a lot of work to the building and its surrounding including changing the pub roof, painting and decorating, moving the toilets, refurbishing the restaurant and completely redoing the kitchen and cellar.
We have also joined the local pool and dart leagues and have two team in both sports. The bar has a free pool table and dart board for everyone to use during the week but teams will gather around those on the set days and months to play.
We have no intentions of trying to be a gastro pub. Just a traditional pub with well kept great beer and also offering traditional good pub food from our local handmade pies to the great hand-battered fish and chips. In May 2026, we launched our new garden kitchen concept - Smash & Smoke. To read more about that, see the Food.
Thanks to the generosity of locals and some quiz nights that we had, we are also not only the heart of the village but if necessary, the heart starter of the village.
The defibrillator is located on the front wall of the pub facing the A44.
We are proud to support the Midlands Air Ambulance!
It is such a vital lifeline in rural areas like ours.
They’ve helped people in our own community when it mattered most and that’s why this cause means so much to us. We have a collection box at the pub if you would like to donate to this worthy cause during your visit!
With the help of our amazing locals and regulars, we’ve raised over £3,000 so far
and we’ll keep going.
ABOUT US
-LOCAL REAL ALES-
We are very proud to have three local real ales on at all times as our 'core' selection.
Them popular three includes Wye Valley Brewery's HPA and Butty Bach as well as one of our best sellers, Ludlow Gold from Ludlow Brewery.
We clean our real ale lines between each barrel and when it comes to all the other beer lines, those get cleaner weekly.
We also have a guest ale on every now and then. We love to support local breweries by having their products on.
-PUB CRUB-
We serve traditional pub grub as stated above. If you would like to see the menu, click here.
Our kitchen is open every day of the week from 11AM till 10.30PM. You can enjoy your meal in the bar area, restaurant, outside in the pods or on the lawn. We do welcome walk-ins with open arms but if you would like to book a table, find our contacts here.
We can accommodate bigger groups too when booked.
-OUR WEEKLY SPECIALS-
-STEAK & PIE TUESDAY-
We offer a steak or a pie meal starting from £16 including a drink of you choice every Tuesday. We offer a rump steak and a locally made steak and ale pie.
-BURGER THURSDAY-
We offer you a smash burger meal for £16 including a drink of your choice every Thursday. We will have a different burger on every week. Keep and eye out on out socials to find out this week's special.
-SUNDAY ROAST-
We have Sunday roast on every Sunday of the week starting from £14.99. We tend to have two different meats on every weekend. We also offer kids portions. Our roast dinners are first come first served. We recommend booking to make sure you don't miss out!
-OUR FAMILY FRIENDLY PUB-
We welcome families to our countryside pub. We have drinks suitable for kids as well as a separate kids menu. We have high chairs for the little ones that need them. We have recently added baby changing tables in the toilets to accommodate families with smaller children better.
We have a children's play area in the beer garden. The play area is fenced so it's easier to keep an eye on the kids whilst they play and you enjoy the beer garden. The whole beer garden is also fenced so the kids won't be able to get out to the car parks even when running around the garden. Children need to be supervised by a responsible adult in the play area.
-THE DRIP TRAY DIARIES-
Pull up a chair and listen in as Ashley, Elliot & Gracie talk all things hospitality.
From behind-the-bar stories to visits at breweries and distilleries, we sit down with a wide range of guests from across the industry to pull back the curtain on what really goes on. It’s the real side of pub life — the wins, the challenges, and everything in between… well, most of the time.
