THERE is nothing a hungry walker needs more than a pie and a pint.

So after a seven-mile trek around the wilds of Cerne Abbas, the Royal Oak appeared wonderfully welcoming.

Unfortunately for our stomachs, appearances were deceptive.

“We don’t serve until 6pm,” said the barman.

Cerne Abbas, home of the famous giant, used to have 15 pubs lining its quaint streets, but despite the town’s reinvention as a tourist hotspot, this has been reduced to a mere handful.

We decided to stay and, after some persuasion, the barman left his chair and poured us some drinks, leaving us to peruse the menus for the fifteen minutes until the kitchen reopened.

What the menu lacked in choice, it made up for in substance, with hungry walkers’ fare including pies, faggots and a couple of decent fish options.

Two of our party opted for the pie, which is a daily special with a different filling, and comes with a choice of chips or mashed potato. Today’s was steak and ale, which arrived at our table piping hot with a lid of puff pastry.

The vegetables came in a side dish and included broccoli, mashed swede and red cabbage, all of which happily (since there is nothing more off-putting than soggy vegetables) were crunchy and flavoursome.

Our third party member ordered wild boar and apple faggots, which had “a delicious, rich flavour”.

All portion sizes were generous, but our active afternoon ensured we had enough room left to sample some desserts. While our clean plates were promptly cleared away, we were left to find the dessert menu, written on a large blackboard, by ourselves.

The choice was impressive, although a lack of prices meant we had no idea how much we would be paying, and we settled on chocolate brownie and the more enticing ginger parkin. Both were served with strawberries, blueberries, ice cream and plenty of sauce and didn’t disappoint. The spiced parkin was a particular favourite, with a light, spongy texture and warm toffee sauce.

Cerne Abbas has a traditional atmosphere to it, and while it was nice to have the place to ourselves on a Sunday evening, the cosy interior would have felt more homely if there were a few more guests.

That said, the horse brasses and metal snares decorating the walls gave the place a genuine country feel.

Our final bill was surprisingly reasonable, and we trooped back to our car full and happy.

• The Royal Oak pub, Long Street, Cerne Abbas, 01300 341797. Food served 12-2pm and 6-9.30pm.

This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.

The Bill

My Royal Oak bill:

2 x Steak and ale pie: £19.90

Faggots: £9.25

2 x pint of Fosters: £7.50

Half of Badger ale: £1.80

Ginger parkin: £5.50

Chocolate brownie: £5.50

TOTAL: £49.45

The ratings board (out of five)

Location: 5

Atmosphere: 4

Value for money: 3

Quality of food: 4

Service: 2

Comfort: 4

Family friendly: 3

Menu choice: 4

Overall rating: 4