Drinkers – and more likely eaters these days – are spoilt for choice.
Turn left for Curbridge's Horse and Jockey, right for Exton's Shoe Inn or travel down a gloriously autumn leafed small road for the Hawkley Inn at Hawkley.
Or we could simply gravitate towards the Baker's Arms, at Droxford, Soberton's White Lion or West Meon's Thomas Lord where the food and the welcome is known to be ace.
But this time I am going to branch out past Bishop's Waltham, and follow the brown sign for the White Horse on Beeches Hill, a narrow road.
The pub sports an 'under new management' banner along its handsome white front, the card by the bar declaring that 'Lisa, Steve and Family welcome you to the warm and friendly atmosphere' of the pub.
There's a wood fire burning in the brick fireplace, a patterned carpet covering the two rooms mainly given over to dining tables, a bar and darts board. Farm implements, scythes and other tools from yesteryear hang from the ceiling and on the walls. A handsome Hopalong Cassidy-like saddle, destined for a white horse perhaps and polished to within an inch of its life, was mounted on a stand by the door looking rather poignant: What happened to its rider?
For a small pub the menu is long and varied. The blackboard throws up more interesting dishes than the menu, with its steaks, baguettes and jackets, a separate £5 lunch-only menu offering smaller portions of fish and chips and other homely dishes. 'Sold out' signs littered the board menu. The pheasant with cider, apples and celeriac and the game pie were among the dishes already finding favour with the many diners.
But the chicken curry, salmon and tuna remained, as did rabbit stew. Start perhaps with whitebait, classic prawn cocktail or soup, prices ranging from under a fiver for the whitebait to £12.50 for the pheasant; the rabbit stew, served with a baguette, is £8.50.
I sat at one of the tables by the bar and waited for over half-an-hour for the rabbit stew (my no-contest choice) to come burrowing out of the kitchen. The new-management pair seemingly run the entire operation themselves, from the bar-keeping to the cooking, which might explain the slowness of service, however calm and quiet it is.
In true British style, however, the 'mustn't grumble' crowd weren't making a fuss, preferring rather unfathomably, predictably, to talk about the weather, not Barack Obama's sensational success at the polls the previous night, the American can-do society never seeming more at odds with our own. What does it take to start a meaty conversation?
Was it worth the food wait? If you like a homely stew stuffed to the gunnels with the sweetest tasting carrots and parsnips, yes it was.
The rabbit chunks were tender, the potatoes within the soupy stew equally well cooked.
It just lacked seasoning and the baguette, a part-baked variety, was undercooked. The portion would have suited the rider of the saddle after a hard day's journeying or a scythe handler, a whole field of grass cut before getting up the appetite to finish this hefty dish.
A well-chosen Shiraz from a rather pleasing wine list went well with the rabbit.
The kitchen had slowed down to a tortoise pace, mustn't grumblers now beginning to tap their fingers on the wooden tables for their desserts. Spotted dick and treacle sponge were among the offerings. The thought of another half-hour's wait for one of these or a banoffee pie had me heading for the door. The waft of chips suggested the chef was hard at work on main courses and pudding lovers had to wait.
Would I follow this brown sign again? Would I urge you to do so?
If you are looking for an unchanging pub with homely grub in the hinterland with time on your hands, this will suit admirably.
If you're looking for something rather more adventurous food and service-wise, follow one of the brown ones to the Baker's Arms or the others mentioned. The White Horse is pleasant enough and full marks for the game and rabbit offerings, chef. Just what pubs should be offering – seasonal, local food.

The White Horse, Beeches Hill, Bishops Waltham. SO32 1FD. 01489 892532.
Open: Tue-Sat midday-3pm and 6pm-9pm for food and 'superb home-cooked roasts served all day Sunday'. Closed Monday.
Food: ***
Service: ***
Atmosphere: ***
Disabled access: Yes.
How to get there: Follow the signs for Wickham on the A32, then Bishop's Waltham, Beeches Hill (and the brown sign for the White Horse) on the roundabout after the town's smaller one. The pub is on the left down Beeches Hill. Parking: on-site and limited.

DINERS' VIEW
Walter and Barbara Shelton, from Bishop's Waltham: 'We've recently moved to the area and are finding our feet and our pubs!' Walter said. 'Although we prefer the more upmarket ones, the White Horse is a really unpretentious find and good for a satisfying meal,' Barbara added.