• You are planning a business trip to Hook without a clue where and what Hook is, so you did a Web search and it brought you here;
• You are one of my friends or frequent visitors and you are checking what I'm up to;
• You are hopelessly, hopelessly lost.

Two years later, after a number of visits, I considered myself an old Hook hand. My kidneys were about to receive a honorary British citizenship, so to celebrate this event I posted a this brief Web page on Hook, just to make the life of other travelers less miserable. Like it or not, here it is: the town of Hook for the first time on the Web — just don't blame me for anything...

Note of 2002: From 1996 until Summer, 2000, I've been visiting Hook at least three times a year. Where applicable, this article has been updated as needed. Now, however, I'm not planning new trips to this charming town, therefore my information is becoming more and more out-of-date. Do not depend on it as a current source of travel information.

Note of 2007: Five years later, the warning above becomes even stronger. Kind strangers to the rescue: one of the Readers just sent me an email with some updates in a capsule; this is quoted verbatim in a new section, added at the end of the article.

If you are arriving to the Heathrow (or, preferably) Gatwick airport, the taxi to Hook can cost you an arm and leg. It is much cheaper to call the U.K. Chauffeur Service (01256-761-800) ahead of time, and have the friendly, dependable and very British Mr. Besh or one of his drivers meet you at the airport. Otherwise just take the train.

For lunch both pubs will do (with a slight nod to the Raven, Beef Stroganoff is good there), although the potato shells filled with cottage cheese, chives and pineapple at the White Hart are very good (my wife's favorite!) and the lamb liver there is also worth trying. Still, this is the British pub food, take it or leave it.

If you have a car at your disposal (see under "driving" below), you may like the relaxed and pretty Leather Bottle pub/restaurant (0118-932-6371) in the nearby Mattingley — walking back 2 km to Hook is OK, especially after a couple of pints of the local ales, and you can stop for some more refreshments at the Crooked Billet (01256-762-118) just before you reach the town.

Possibly the best English food in the area can be found at the (somewhat upscale) Stilton Dish restaurant (01252-842-107) in Hartley-Wintney, about 5 km away. Try the outstanding Younger's Red served on tap there; this may be worth the trip!).

• Sleep;
• Go to London (53 minutes by train every half hour);
• Bring your laptop and do all the stuff you never had time to do;
• Go to a pub.

Other tips

Driving: Just don't.

Money: The conveniently located Lloyd's bank with a cash machine at the London Road has been closed in 2000; there are ATMs in the Tesco supermarket behind the railway station (closed a few years ago, but restored since).

Language: People in Hook (as in most of England) speak a language similar to English, very much like the funny talk you can hear in BBC comedies shown on the PBS. You thought my English sounds funny?

Laundry: There is a cleaners' shop at the Station Road half-way between both inns; shirts take four working days. You can always buy extra socks and underwear at C&A in Basingstoke.

Shopping: The Budgerns convenience store (formerly 7-Eleven) is the favorite hangout of teenagers on Friday nights, there is another grocery (also housing a post office), a drugstore, a newsstand and a bakery. The nearby Basingstoke has a large shopping center near the rail station, with a number of department stores — but remember: everything there closes at 5:30!

London: I've checked all guidebooks of this city I could find, and tried out a number in the field. If you actually want to see things, use London Step by Step by Christopher Turner, published by St. Martin's Press in N.Y. — listen to me now and thank me later...

Recent developments: The main street has been nicely repaved in the last years; as of this writing the Millennium pond nears completion and the town is raising cash for a Millennium sculpture.

Web resources

Surprisingly, if you do a Google search for "Hook Hampshire" or "Hook Hampshire England", this humble little page comes on the top. This means that not much on Hook is still available on the Web, but here are three links I've checked recently (July, 2003), courtesy of a member of the Hook Village Parish.

• The Hook Parish Council has a Web site with general information;
• The best Hook survival guide I was able to find was the hookinhampshire.co.uksite, but the domain is no longer active.

Update of 2007

Time flies fast, and things do change. In June I received an email from a current Hook resident, adding some information, which I decided to quote in extenso, in case you will find it useful or interesting.

The Raven has been refurbished to look like an Intercontinental hotel lobby — awful. It still has a restaurant, but it now only does pizzas.

The White Hart Hotel has been bought by an American private equity company, and is currently being run into the ground by an incompetent manager. I wouldn't let my dog eat there now.

The Old White Hart now has a competent staff, who tolerate no nonsense. All the under-age drinkers and druggies have been barred, and they now use The Raven.

The Leather Bottle is now a Blubeckers Eating House. Walking back from there to Hook is not to be recommended - traffic volume has increased almost exponentially, and there is no footpath.

The Crooked Billet [...] has been refurbed, and is probably the 'poshest' pub in the area. Food and beer are excellent, but not cheap. It is a 15-20 minute uphill walk back to the centre of the village.

The Stilton Dish is now a pizzeria.

UK licensing laws have been relaxed, and landlords can set their own hours. In practice this means that at The Old White Hart closing time on Friday and Saturday is now midnight, and on Sunday it is 11.00pm.

All of the pubs and most of the shops now have ATMs.

"The guy with two dogs", known affectionately as 'Two Dogs John', died suddenly last month.

Please keep in mind that these are just one Reader's remarks, not necessarily endorsed by the author of the original article (myself), and representing his personal opinions.

On a personal note, I am saddened by Two Dog John's demise. All other things aside, the place will not be the same without him.