Hellall,
on Wednesday last I undertook my first post stroke wander round Derbyshire and its pubs. I had done a very similar crawl five years before, as is shown in my post here . One thing I notice about this post from the past is there is certainly no coveting of blindingly hoppy keg ales.... actually that forms part of the theme for this visit, with at least two pints straight from the cask. Did I mention I still love Bass from the jug?
I caught the train to Derby, and then walked very quickly round to the bus station, arriving a few minutes before the 6.4. This takes you quickly to Belper, then waits before taking a tour of local housing estates before arriving at Openwoodgate at just gone midday. Noticing the Hop Inn wasn't open, and since I had come here specifically for the Black Bulls Head I headed in about 12.05 to find an unfortunate but luckily not lingering aroma of bleach. That it didn't linger, and that the pub is incredibly clean and tidy are both positives. As was my first pint, Oakham Citra, which I supped in about 8 minutes.
After having a wander round and listening to some interesting tunes, I had time to appreciate a pint of Oakham Green Devil, also on cask. Two excellent, well kept pints of cask beer served in excellent nick and at the prefect temperature. Having got directions for Bargate, I headed off two pints heavier after 35 minutes. An excellent start!
Up Sandbed Lane you reach Bargate, and the White Hart. Alas being mid week this pub doesn't open til 17.00 so I wandered on past in the fleeting rain. Soon I was in Holbrook and in the Dead Poets Inn. Still a wonderful boozer, and the Moonshine had recently run out to be replaced by Blue Monkey BG Sips. Nothing against the shine, but BG is my favourite Blue Monkey beer.
I supped that sat in the lending library near the bar. Alas the cellar steps had just been painted so there was no ale from the jug, so I had another half of the BG Sips before heading off down to the Spotted Cow on Town Street.
I have been coming to Holbrook for approaching 20 years and had never been to the Spotted Cow. Its a lovely old pub set back from the road which had been closed for a number of years. Its now community owned and serves a range of about six real ales, with one or two available on pump as well as straight fom the cask. I went for a pint of Pedigree, straight from the cask, accompanied by a plate of black pudding and greens, and sat near the bar and the roaring fire drying off. A very pleasant stop.
Heading back up the hill I visited the Wheel Inn. I have visited about four times now and for whatever reason, I have never really liked it. Why is this? I don't know, since there have always been a selection of well kept real ales on, and a real fire. This time, whilst the beer was very nice, my gripe was the incessant chirping of a small bird in a large white cage in the room on the right. Shrill, and never ending, its charm quickly wore off, and in the end I was happy to be heading off for the excellent Holly Bush in nearby Makeney.
Its a bit of a walk by road from Holbrook - due to my unsteadiness, and having had about 5 pints, I opted not to follow the path through the fields which comes out opposite the pub, but instead risked my life walking down the narrow road to the junction just down from the pub.
The Holly Bush is rightfully on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, has three rooms including the impressive snug behind the bar, serves excellent ale and food, has real fires. and recently has expanded its considerable range into keg beers. I had a half of the Blue Monkey anniversary beer on cask and a half of Easy answers IPA from Burning Sky on keg. This was to help wash down a giant black pudding pork pie. Absolute manna from heaven!
Whilst still chomping my way through it, and after taking many photographs of the stunning interior I went for a pint of Pedigree from the jug. I also finished, on a third of the Black Iris Lacerated Sky, a 9% Imperial Red on keg. It was very easy to drink, worryingly, although by now I was sufficiently lined by the huge pork pie.
I walked down the hill and alongside the fat rage of the River Derwent until I reached the King William Real Ale Free House at Milford. Here, finally, I was able to get a pint of Bass from the jug. A glorious, easy drinking, flat, reddish ale which I supped slowly sat near the fire. Excellent.
A quick walk over the river and round the corner, found me catching the bus next to the now closed and fenced off Strutt Arms. About six or seven years ago this pub was selling Bass from the jug and a few guests, but now looks set to become important, critically needed, expensive apartments. Sad news.
My penultimate stop was in the Town Street Tap micropub in Duffield. Never having been in before I was surprised on entering to be unable to find the bar, until a customer pointed out that there isn't one. You simply sit down and a bloke comes over and takes your order. Although more modern and perhaps continental in style, this is the same arrangement as my friend Dimpled Mug's Grocers micropoub in Cadishead. My only complaint was I was sat where I couldn't see the beers written on the beam directly above me. I ordered from a list of about six beers, a lovely pale pint of....beer. Alas, the amalgam of bose has made me forget what it was I had....
Back in Derby I walked slowly from the bus station to the train station and popped in the Alexandra. This has changed hands since my last visit, or at least managers, but the furore and reported horror on Faceache when the new management had just opened, complaining about a lack of pies and waiting ages to be served, seems over-exaggerated. The beer was excellent, one keg and once cask, with "names" and the cheap crisps and black pudding pork scratchings filled me up perfectly, whilst continuing a vaguely porcine theme.
This trip was a perfect reintroduction to a walking crawling and supping expedition, and featured some fabulous pubs, including two new to me, and some frankly sparklingly perfect ales en route.
I look forward to venturing out further over the coming months!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label Holly Bush Makeney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holly Bush Makeney. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 April 2018
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Derbyshire Drinking Dawdle
Hello,
myself and Davefromtshop recently spent the day out travelling around Derbyshire, well a specific part at least, sampling the beers and hospitality on offer in numerous real ale pubs.
We started the day at Sheffield station and were quickly on a train to Derby. Arriving about 11.30 we decided to pop in the Brunswick for a quick half. The Brunswick, which I understand is now owned by Everards (or if its still Brampton they are unrepresented on the bar...) as usual offered a wide choice of real ales. Dave tried a half of the Bitter Lemon, the least lemony drink of that name, from Stockport Brewing and I had a half of the Hambrook Pale from Great Western Brewing Co. We sat in the main bar and decided some of the details of our route. We wouldn't stick to these - they were mainly suggestions....
Round onto Corporation street we spotted the bus stop and jumped on a Y1 to Smalley. The Bell is potentially still in the beer guide (I haven't looked at the GBG for a year) and has a choice of real ales mainly from local breweries. In the room on the left it took a while to get served and we had two pints, one of Black Hole Supa Nova Pale and one of Church End Fallen Angel. This was on fine form, but the gurgling sound the Black Hole made indicated it was rather poor and watery - so was swapped for the Church End. The Bell is a traditional boozer selling food as well, and set back from the main road in Smalley. An excellent stop.
We caught a bus into Ripley next - alas, being a Monday, the Amber Tap doesn't open til half five so we were four hours early! Thinking the George on the hill may also be shut we instead quickly nipped in the Red Lion spoons to have two surprisingly dark halves of Elland Nettlethrasher. This is a malty dark amber ale with pleasing bitterness in the finish.
From here we caught a nines bus to Little Eaton - except, we got off in Coxbench. This is an error we have made before..... We walked down the pleasant lane and stopped off for a half each in the Bell and Harp. The pub was open but we were the only customers and we had halves of Banks Sunbeam - which I thought was Everards, but maybe not. The beer was very lively but settled OK to reveal an amber ale with a little hoppiness. We sat in the window area overlooking the fields and the brook. I get the feeling the pub sells food, its very much set out in a dining style, but it was comfy and an enjoyable stop.
Next followed a protracted amble round Little Eaton trying to find the Queens Head. Having taken the east specific instructions (correct, as long as straight on means turn left) we happened across a man in his garden who told us where the pub was, and said he would be in there later. On the main Alfreton Road the pub is large and long inside with modern but subtle decor and has recently been taken over by Derby Brewing Company. Its probably the only pub I know in Derbyshire with a blacksmiths next door....
We started on pints of the Hop til you Drop from Derby and spent a while determining where the hops were. To be fair, hops come in all manor of forms and strengths of acidity and citrus notes and although the pint was more of a traditional pale bitter, there were some hops in there. Whilst here I noticed my phone battery was almost dead having fought for signal since we left Derby, so after phoning Tash outside I turned it off. No more access to bus timetables for us!
We ordered food - two omelettes and chips and salad came to £10.50 so we ordered that and had more pints of the hop til you drop and then moved onto halves of Red Tom and Dashingly Dark. I have to say the Dark is usually a favourite Derby beer of mine, and I really should have had it from the start. Never mind, this was another enjoyable stop and the food was much needed.
Round the corner we found a bus stop and started asking locals what time the bus came. Some said ten past, some said 10 to - in the end we asked a lady who had access to the building next to us and she leaned out of the window 10 minutes later to announce its imminent arrival. Having tried to catch the school bus the 7.1 pulled up behind and we caught that, alighting in Openwoodgate.
The Black Bulls Head is a cracking pub that I have been to twice before - admittedly on the same day. From a good range of regulars and guests, to our delight the Oakham Green Devil was on, at 6.0% and £3.70 a pint - or maybe £3.60. We both had a pint each and went through to the other room, where I frustratingly missed a step and spilled at least 50ml of the precious liquid on the floor. Sorry!
We sat on comfy chairs in the back room and tried to find out when the next bus was to Holbrook. Alas, it was in 20 minutes - and we had hardly started our pints. Despite this we soldiered on and although this was so far the best pub of the day we only stopped for half an hour, in order to to get the bus.
Back on a 7.1 we alighted at Holbrook Moor and walked down to the Dead Poets. Another classic Derbyshire pub, we both had pints of Pedigree from the jug in here. We sat in the small room at the back and supped and chatted and warmed up nicely. Its rare I get to the Poets but this is a fantastic back street boozer. Alas we could not stay longer, as we had a walk to undertake.
It was windy and cold on Holbrook Moor as we headed down the lane to Makeney. We were soon heading towards, and into the excellent Holly Bush. Its probably Bass from the jug in here, to be honest am not certain, and we sat in the private bar snug (well, its not actually private) and supped these , warmed by the fire and the fantastic curved seating. Had we been less pushed for time this too would have been a longer stop, but we had to get down to Milford for a last one.
Which we did, about half an hour later, and we were at the King William 4th. Here we had pints from the jug once again - to balance things out and going to claim they were Pedigree, however, if am to be honest, we were a trifle refreshed by this stage. We sat near the fire in the front and restarted my phone to check what time it really was. This long possibly part subterranean pub serves cracking beer and as me and Tash found out, excellent B and B. Well worth a visit.
Soon we headed for and caught the bus into Derby and fragments of my memory suggest we went in he Alexandra for a half. If that is the case, I will have to ring Davefromtshop to ask him what we had!
We arrived back in Sheffield sated and happy and were even early enough to get buses home. Once again we used a Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket to travel around Derbyshire and visited some excellent traditional boozers, and apart from the one we took back and swapped we didn't have a bad beer all day - the best probably being the Oakham Green Devil and the Bass from the jug.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
myself and Davefromtshop recently spent the day out travelling around Derbyshire, well a specific part at least, sampling the beers and hospitality on offer in numerous real ale pubs.
We started the day at Sheffield station and were quickly on a train to Derby. Arriving about 11.30 we decided to pop in the Brunswick for a quick half. The Brunswick, which I understand is now owned by Everards (or if its still Brampton they are unrepresented on the bar...) as usual offered a wide choice of real ales. Dave tried a half of the Bitter Lemon, the least lemony drink of that name, from Stockport Brewing and I had a half of the Hambrook Pale from Great Western Brewing Co. We sat in the main bar and decided some of the details of our route. We wouldn't stick to these - they were mainly suggestions....
Round onto Corporation street we spotted the bus stop and jumped on a Y1 to Smalley. The Bell is potentially still in the beer guide (I haven't looked at the GBG for a year) and has a choice of real ales mainly from local breweries. In the room on the left it took a while to get served and we had two pints, one of Black Hole Supa Nova Pale and one of Church End Fallen Angel. This was on fine form, but the gurgling sound the Black Hole made indicated it was rather poor and watery - so was swapped for the Church End. The Bell is a traditional boozer selling food as well, and set back from the main road in Smalley. An excellent stop.
We caught a bus into Ripley next - alas, being a Monday, the Amber Tap doesn't open til half five so we were four hours early! Thinking the George on the hill may also be shut we instead quickly nipped in the Red Lion spoons to have two surprisingly dark halves of Elland Nettlethrasher. This is a malty dark amber ale with pleasing bitterness in the finish.
From here we caught a nines bus to Little Eaton - except, we got off in Coxbench. This is an error we have made before..... We walked down the pleasant lane and stopped off for a half each in the Bell and Harp. The pub was open but we were the only customers and we had halves of Banks Sunbeam - which I thought was Everards, but maybe not. The beer was very lively but settled OK to reveal an amber ale with a little hoppiness. We sat in the window area overlooking the fields and the brook. I get the feeling the pub sells food, its very much set out in a dining style, but it was comfy and an enjoyable stop.
Next followed a protracted amble round Little Eaton trying to find the Queens Head. Having taken the east specific instructions (correct, as long as straight on means turn left) we happened across a man in his garden who told us where the pub was, and said he would be in there later. On the main Alfreton Road the pub is large and long inside with modern but subtle decor and has recently been taken over by Derby Brewing Company. Its probably the only pub I know in Derbyshire with a blacksmiths next door....
We started on pints of the Hop til you Drop from Derby and spent a while determining where the hops were. To be fair, hops come in all manor of forms and strengths of acidity and citrus notes and although the pint was more of a traditional pale bitter, there were some hops in there. Whilst here I noticed my phone battery was almost dead having fought for signal since we left Derby, so after phoning Tash outside I turned it off. No more access to bus timetables for us!
We ordered food - two omelettes and chips and salad came to £10.50 so we ordered that and had more pints of the hop til you drop and then moved onto halves of Red Tom and Dashingly Dark. I have to say the Dark is usually a favourite Derby beer of mine, and I really should have had it from the start. Never mind, this was another enjoyable stop and the food was much needed.
Round the corner we found a bus stop and started asking locals what time the bus came. Some said ten past, some said 10 to - in the end we asked a lady who had access to the building next to us and she leaned out of the window 10 minutes later to announce its imminent arrival. Having tried to catch the school bus the 7.1 pulled up behind and we caught that, alighting in Openwoodgate.
The Black Bulls Head is a cracking pub that I have been to twice before - admittedly on the same day. From a good range of regulars and guests, to our delight the Oakham Green Devil was on, at 6.0% and £3.70 a pint - or maybe £3.60. We both had a pint each and went through to the other room, where I frustratingly missed a step and spilled at least 50ml of the precious liquid on the floor. Sorry!
We sat on comfy chairs in the back room and tried to find out when the next bus was to Holbrook. Alas, it was in 20 minutes - and we had hardly started our pints. Despite this we soldiered on and although this was so far the best pub of the day we only stopped for half an hour, in order to to get the bus.
Back on a 7.1 we alighted at Holbrook Moor and walked down to the Dead Poets. Another classic Derbyshire pub, we both had pints of Pedigree from the jug in here. We sat in the small room at the back and supped and chatted and warmed up nicely. Its rare I get to the Poets but this is a fantastic back street boozer. Alas we could not stay longer, as we had a walk to undertake.
It was windy and cold on Holbrook Moor as we headed down the lane to Makeney. We were soon heading towards, and into the excellent Holly Bush. Its probably Bass from the jug in here, to be honest am not certain, and we sat in the private bar snug (well, its not actually private) and supped these , warmed by the fire and the fantastic curved seating. Had we been less pushed for time this too would have been a longer stop, but we had to get down to Milford for a last one.
Which we did, about half an hour later, and we were at the King William 4th. Here we had pints from the jug once again - to balance things out and going to claim they were Pedigree, however, if am to be honest, we were a trifle refreshed by this stage. We sat near the fire in the front and restarted my phone to check what time it really was. This long possibly part subterranean pub serves cracking beer and as me and Tash found out, excellent B and B. Well worth a visit.
Soon we headed for and caught the bus into Derby and fragments of my memory suggest we went in he Alexandra for a half. If that is the case, I will have to ring Davefromtshop to ask him what we had!
We arrived back in Sheffield sated and happy and were even early enough to get buses home. Once again we used a Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket to travel around Derbyshire and visited some excellent traditional boozers, and apart from the one we took back and swapped we didn't have a bad beer all day - the best probably being the Oakham Green Devil and the Bass from the jug.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 7 October 2013
Ecclesbourne Amber - five unspoilt Derbyshire pubs.
Hello,
I returned late last night from a trip to the Derbyshire. The idea was to head for Buxton, and then out to Elton and finally into Derby. Only one of those destinations was achieved. Luckily, a Derbyshire Wayfarer meant that it was still possible to visit some very good pubs.
Wayfarer to hand myself and Miss N caught the train to Derby and then the Swift to Ashbourne. Ashbourne is now missing the Green Man and Black's Head, since its being turned into a clothes shop. How vital. Mind you, it appears there are plans to install a bar in another part of the premises. Quite what was wrong with retaining the old bar on the right and turning the newer side over to retail is beyond me. Luckily up the road is the Smiths Tavern.
A good range of beers were available and having found ourselves somewhat hungover from a Friday night out at Shakespeares we discussed having halves. Obviously all thoughts of this went out the window when we realised the magnitude of our having to seem like lightweights, and two very agreeable pints of Castle Rock Harvest Pale at £3.10 were purchased. We repaired to the upstairs room to the strains of classical music and slowly started to adjust to the reintroduction of alcohol. The tone was set for the day ahead.
Catching the bus to Kirk Ireton involves comprehending the Cretan style Ashbourne bus station in joke - that is, all buses arrive and leave at exactly the same time. Most buses arrive and change destination, thus leading to "an hilarious" back and forth sprint from one end of the line of five vehicles to the other, many of which don't have numbers or destinations on. Eventually we found the 103 to Kirk Ireton and hopped on board. This bus serves two places, and basically covers most of the same part of the route a bus that leaves at the same time does. Except now there are two buses doing one route with an extra leg. That's called public transport planning that is. Well done.
The Barley Mow was quite full when we arrived, and there were six beers to choose from. We started on pints of Storm Bosley Cloud, and it was OK, £2.80 a pint, but a little tired. Next we had pints of Whim Hartington IPA, until time was called - at 13.50. Gripped by fear I rushed into grab two more pints of IPA. Excellent beer, which considering we had two pints in 25 minutes, was probably a good job.
We walked down to the main road and through Idridgehay past the closed Black Swan (note - turning a pub into a restaurant means you have to be really ace at being a restaurant - since you lose your drinkers trade). From here we went and caught the train from Idridgehay to Wirksworth, for a much needed bite to eat, and then finally back down the Ecclesbourne Valley railway to Duffield. Not a bad price for a restored railway, and a relaxing, gently rocking, scenic journey.
Duffield saw us in the Pattenmakers. They still serve Bass form the jug but their guest ale range seems to have increased slightly since I was there last year. I had a pint of the Nutbrook Black Beauty and Miss N a Magpie IPA, from a range that also included Leadmill and Springhead.
A short hop on the bus and we were crossing the Derwent and walking up to the Holly Bush at Makeney. This National Inventory of unspoilt pub interiors listed pub features a magnificent walk in snug comprising two huge settles which gives access to the bar. Anyone can sit in this small snug but to all intents and purposes its like being sat in a private bar, a little like the one at the Bridge in Topsham, Devon. Here we both had fantastic pints of Pedigree from the jug, and settled down to watch the dark, cosy bar fill up, and to get chatting to some locals. We soon realised that waiting three hours for the next bus to Buxton, having secured nowhere to stay, was probably a bad idea. Having decided that accommodation could be secured in nearby Milford or Belper, we chose to throw caution to the wind and have a couple more rounds.
Usually my every visit to the Holly Bush requires a clock watching race, but now I was afforded the opportunity to have a good few beers. So whilst Miss N studiously kept to Pedigree, I went for a pint of the 7.0% Blue Monkey Fat Ape, at a rather reasonable £3.40 a pint. Not an especially subtle beer (unsurprisingly), but it was worryingly easy to drink. Our final round saw more Pedigree and my drinking Thornbridge Raven at 6.6% - and £3.80 a pint. I hadn't realised it was on Keykeg to be honest, but given the mark up the containers seem to attract I don't think that's a bad price.
Down the hill and the King William was doing accommodation, so having secured that we headed over the river to the Mill House which, mercifully, does food til 22.00. Slightly tired after a pint or two the food was just what we needed - obviously accompanied by more beer. Two halves of Pedigree came to £3.10.
Our final beers were in the long homely bar of the King William in Milford, pints of the Whim Flower Power, a lovely hoppy beer to cleanse the palate at the end of a very long day. Details of day two to follow.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
I returned late last night from a trip to the Derbyshire. The idea was to head for Buxton, and then out to Elton and finally into Derby. Only one of those destinations was achieved. Luckily, a Derbyshire Wayfarer meant that it was still possible to visit some very good pubs.
Wayfarer to hand myself and Miss N caught the train to Derby and then the Swift to Ashbourne. Ashbourne is now missing the Green Man and Black's Head, since its being turned into a clothes shop. How vital. Mind you, it appears there are plans to install a bar in another part of the premises. Quite what was wrong with retaining the old bar on the right and turning the newer side over to retail is beyond me. Luckily up the road is the Smiths Tavern.
A good range of beers were available and having found ourselves somewhat hungover from a Friday night out at Shakespeares we discussed having halves. Obviously all thoughts of this went out the window when we realised the magnitude of our having to seem like lightweights, and two very agreeable pints of Castle Rock Harvest Pale at £3.10 were purchased. We repaired to the upstairs room to the strains of classical music and slowly started to adjust to the reintroduction of alcohol. The tone was set for the day ahead.
Catching the bus to Kirk Ireton involves comprehending the Cretan style Ashbourne bus station in joke - that is, all buses arrive and leave at exactly the same time. Most buses arrive and change destination, thus leading to "an hilarious" back and forth sprint from one end of the line of five vehicles to the other, many of which don't have numbers or destinations on. Eventually we found the 103 to Kirk Ireton and hopped on board. This bus serves two places, and basically covers most of the same part of the route a bus that leaves at the same time does. Except now there are two buses doing one route with an extra leg. That's called public transport planning that is. Well done.
The Barley Mow was quite full when we arrived, and there were six beers to choose from. We started on pints of Storm Bosley Cloud, and it was OK, £2.80 a pint, but a little tired. Next we had pints of Whim Hartington IPA, until time was called - at 13.50. Gripped by fear I rushed into grab two more pints of IPA. Excellent beer, which considering we had two pints in 25 minutes, was probably a good job.
We walked down to the main road and through Idridgehay past the closed Black Swan (note - turning a pub into a restaurant means you have to be really ace at being a restaurant - since you lose your drinkers trade). From here we went and caught the train from Idridgehay to Wirksworth, for a much needed bite to eat, and then finally back down the Ecclesbourne Valley railway to Duffield. Not a bad price for a restored railway, and a relaxing, gently rocking, scenic journey.
Duffield saw us in the Pattenmakers. They still serve Bass form the jug but their guest ale range seems to have increased slightly since I was there last year. I had a pint of the Nutbrook Black Beauty and Miss N a Magpie IPA, from a range that also included Leadmill and Springhead.
A short hop on the bus and we were crossing the Derwent and walking up to the Holly Bush at Makeney. This National Inventory of unspoilt pub interiors listed pub features a magnificent walk in snug comprising two huge settles which gives access to the bar. Anyone can sit in this small snug but to all intents and purposes its like being sat in a private bar, a little like the one at the Bridge in Topsham, Devon. Here we both had fantastic pints of Pedigree from the jug, and settled down to watch the dark, cosy bar fill up, and to get chatting to some locals. We soon realised that waiting three hours for the next bus to Buxton, having secured nowhere to stay, was probably a bad idea. Having decided that accommodation could be secured in nearby Milford or Belper, we chose to throw caution to the wind and have a couple more rounds.
Usually my every visit to the Holly Bush requires a clock watching race, but now I was afforded the opportunity to have a good few beers. So whilst Miss N studiously kept to Pedigree, I went for a pint of the 7.0% Blue Monkey Fat Ape, at a rather reasonable £3.40 a pint. Not an especially subtle beer (unsurprisingly), but it was worryingly easy to drink. Our final round saw more Pedigree and my drinking Thornbridge Raven at 6.6% - and £3.80 a pint. I hadn't realised it was on Keykeg to be honest, but given the mark up the containers seem to attract I don't think that's a bad price.
Down the hill and the King William was doing accommodation, so having secured that we headed over the river to the Mill House which, mercifully, does food til 22.00. Slightly tired after a pint or two the food was just what we needed - obviously accompanied by more beer. Two halves of Pedigree came to £3.10.
Our final beers were in the long homely bar of the King William in Milford, pints of the Whim Flower Power, a lovely hoppy beer to cleanse the palate at the end of a very long day. Details of day two to follow.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Ecclesbourne valley pub crawl
Hello,
the title references the fact that almost all of the pubs in my recent pub ramble with Christingpher were at one end or the other of the Ecclesbourne Valley, but as so often happens with such things, you have to get there and home again, so before you read on I must confess that there are a few sneakily inserted Derwent valley pubs as well....
We were due to set off at 10.00 from Sheffield Interchange last Sunday, and according to the poster in the entrance there was no disruption to the route despite the Race for life event taking place. Fairly puzzling then that Stagecoach, obviously too busy concentrating on their multinational concerns to think things through properly, decided to run the service 15 minutes later, thus handily missing the 2 connections in and following Matlock. Well done.
Luckily, I noticed the 215 was headed Matlock way, and that was leaving late (but not as much as the X17), due to it being filled with passengers presumably also missing vital connections, so we hopped on that and arrived in Matlock with 6 minutes to spare - AKA, the time the X17 had been due to arrive.
We were in Wirksworth before Noon and walked slowly round to North End to eagerly anticipate the opening of the venerable and admirable enterprise which is the Royal Oak.
This was my first daylight visit (they only open during the day on a Sunday, 12-15.00) and my companion's first, and weren't disappointed. Ales on offer were Rudgate Viking, Timothy Taylors Landlord, Bass, Whim Flower Power and Wincle Sir Phillip. Not noticing its strength (5.3%), I opted for a pint of the Whim and Christingpher the Wincle, and we sat down to enjoy our pre walk refreshments.
Sat in the cool air of the pub, with quiet chatter at the bar, with the sun blazing outside, this was a perilously good start - I think that we could easily have stayed here til 15.00 then gone to Derby, and the cobs and pork pie bought pushed us towards abandonment. Instead, we enjoyed another pint (our choices now the other way round), as well as taking a pic or two and chatting to the friendly landlord. I highly recommend a visit.
Next we were in the Market Place catching the 6.1 towards Belper, the knowledgeable driver pinpointing the exact country lane junction we needed to get off at near Blackbrook, so we could set off up onto the ridge overlooking Belper. Unfortunately, testing of my camera and the warm sunshine made this a slightly slower walk than I planned, and it was gone 14.00 before we arrived at the Bulls Head at Belper Lane Ends.
Having never been before, I can't say how its changed, but it certainly appears to have been recently refurbished and boasts comfy seating, a pristine beer garden and four real ales. On the bar were Bass, a Springhead beer, and the local Shottle Farm Brewery Shottle Gold and 8/- (yes, you read that right). the latter being served on gravity from the cellar.
Both beers were £2.80 a pint and we enjoyed them sat in the garden taking the opportunity to soak up some rare sunshine. The gold had a very traditional lightly hoped flavour and the 8/- was malty and fruity and darkish brown. Both went down really well. And next we were to walk to the brewery.
Well, I say "were", we had to be at Cowers Lane to get on the Ecclesbourne Valley railway at Shottle station by 16.30 so it would only have been a look, but it didn't look far, and we had 1 hour 40 minutes to get there. What could go wrong?
Well, I could bring far too large a scale map for a start, and after rejoining then leaving the safety of the Midshires way, almost without exception, there were no waymark arrows. The map helpfully instructed us that the path went right then followed a wall into the valley and up the other side into Shottle. We went the wrong side of the wall for starters, then back up in a loop, and even when we found the path again it was overgrown or difficult to see, leading eventually to a stream that wasn't on the map, after which the path disappeared entirely.
After 15 minutes puzzling and looking for signs of stiles/gates (half of the stiles were collapsed walls so that wasn't easy) we decided to paddle across the stream and keep straight on. The other side of the hill heralded waist high grass that was arduous to traipse through, and we finally reached Shottle at the time we were meant to be reaching Cowers Lane. Still, we made it there in time to catch the last bus (at 17.15, for crying out loud) and got off at Milford past Belper and visited the King William.
This former Leadmill brewery pub had 4 ales on including Pedigree from the jug. I plumped for that, and Christingpher the Oldershaw Newtons Drop, and we settled down at the left hand end of the long room as sunshine streamed in and across our table.
Next we walked up the hill to the Holly Bush at Makeney, a terrific unspoilt pub with an amazing Bar snug, dispensing Pedigree and Ruddles by the jug plus guests. Christingpher had the Thornbridge Colorado Red, and I a pint of the Buxton Blonde. This was accompanied by one of the Holly Bush's pork pies - I asked for one, and was told there was a choice of small and a medium. "How big's the small?" I enquired, as the barmaid showed me a pastry case the size of a haggis. " I'll have the small I think", and at £1.60 it was a decent price for a filling carbohydrate hit. The only slight downside here was the Colorado Red - not badly kept or even expensive, just not a well balanced Thornbridge beer.
The final part of our walk was to wander along Duffield Bank in glorious sunshine into Duffield, crossing the Derwent at the Bridge Inn and making our way up King Street to the Pattenmakers Arms.
Here it was a no brainer as to what to have - two pints of Bass form the jug was the only plan we were interested in and the beers didn't disappoint. Sitting in the arts and crafts homeliness of the right hand room this could have been a perfect visit had it not been for an unfortunate public toilet roll incident which would be too tiresome and pointless to explain.
Finally we were in Derby and noting there were plenty of buses to the Station we headed for a centre pub, this being the Exeter Arms. Here the beer had taken a hammering and no more was coming on it seemed so we both had a half of the deliciously creamy mild Dark Drake from the on site Dancing Duck Brewery, which then promptly ran out as well.
Our penultimate pub was the Brunswick, where we had underwhelming but inexpensive halves of their Caramild and Station porter, before a quick visit to the Alex round the corner, where I had a pint and Christingpher a half of the excellent Welbeck Abbey Portland Black.
This was a great selection of pubs even if the walk was frustrating, and bar the Bass in the Pattenmakers all offered a sensibly priced beer selection - ale in the Royal Oak, Bulls Head, King William and Exeter Arms was less than £3.00 a pint, not bad these days for Derbyshire.
There are of course also many other pubs in the Ecclesbourne Valley so that may have to be a trip for another time, but those that we visited were excellent, with The Royal Oak in Wirksworth easily standing out as the best.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
the title references the fact that almost all of the pubs in my recent pub ramble with Christingpher were at one end or the other of the Ecclesbourne Valley, but as so often happens with such things, you have to get there and home again, so before you read on I must confess that there are a few sneakily inserted Derwent valley pubs as well....
We were due to set off at 10.00 from Sheffield Interchange last Sunday, and according to the poster in the entrance there was no disruption to the route despite the Race for life event taking place. Fairly puzzling then that Stagecoach, obviously too busy concentrating on their multinational concerns to think things through properly, decided to run the service 15 minutes later, thus handily missing the 2 connections in and following Matlock. Well done.
Luckily, I noticed the 215 was headed Matlock way, and that was leaving late (but not as much as the X17), due to it being filled with passengers presumably also missing vital connections, so we hopped on that and arrived in Matlock with 6 minutes to spare - AKA, the time the X17 had been due to arrive.
We were in Wirksworth before Noon and walked slowly round to North End to eagerly anticipate the opening of the venerable and admirable enterprise which is the Royal Oak.
This was my first daylight visit (they only open during the day on a Sunday, 12-15.00) and my companion's first, and weren't disappointed. Ales on offer were Rudgate Viking, Timothy Taylors Landlord, Bass, Whim Flower Power and Wincle Sir Phillip. Not noticing its strength (5.3%), I opted for a pint of the Whim and Christingpher the Wincle, and we sat down to enjoy our pre walk refreshments.
Sat in the cool air of the pub, with quiet chatter at the bar, with the sun blazing outside, this was a perilously good start - I think that we could easily have stayed here til 15.00 then gone to Derby, and the cobs and pork pie bought pushed us towards abandonment. Instead, we enjoyed another pint (our choices now the other way round), as well as taking a pic or two and chatting to the friendly landlord. I highly recommend a visit.
Next we were in the Market Place catching the 6.1 towards Belper, the knowledgeable driver pinpointing the exact country lane junction we needed to get off at near Blackbrook, so we could set off up onto the ridge overlooking Belper. Unfortunately, testing of my camera and the warm sunshine made this a slightly slower walk than I planned, and it was gone 14.00 before we arrived at the Bulls Head at Belper Lane Ends.
Having never been before, I can't say how its changed, but it certainly appears to have been recently refurbished and boasts comfy seating, a pristine beer garden and four real ales. On the bar were Bass, a Springhead beer, and the local Shottle Farm Brewery Shottle Gold and 8/- (yes, you read that right). the latter being served on gravity from the cellar.
Both beers were £2.80 a pint and we enjoyed them sat in the garden taking the opportunity to soak up some rare sunshine. The gold had a very traditional lightly hoped flavour and the 8/- was malty and fruity and darkish brown. Both went down really well. And next we were to walk to the brewery.
Well, I say "were", we had to be at Cowers Lane to get on the Ecclesbourne Valley railway at Shottle station by 16.30 so it would only have been a look, but it didn't look far, and we had 1 hour 40 minutes to get there. What could go wrong?
Well, I could bring far too large a scale map for a start, and after rejoining then leaving the safety of the Midshires way, almost without exception, there were no waymark arrows. The map helpfully instructed us that the path went right then followed a wall into the valley and up the other side into Shottle. We went the wrong side of the wall for starters, then back up in a loop, and even when we found the path again it was overgrown or difficult to see, leading eventually to a stream that wasn't on the map, after which the path disappeared entirely.
After 15 minutes puzzling and looking for signs of stiles/gates (half of the stiles were collapsed walls so that wasn't easy) we decided to paddle across the stream and keep straight on. The other side of the hill heralded waist high grass that was arduous to traipse through, and we finally reached Shottle at the time we were meant to be reaching Cowers Lane. Still, we made it there in time to catch the last bus (at 17.15, for crying out loud) and got off at Milford past Belper and visited the King William.
This former Leadmill brewery pub had 4 ales on including Pedigree from the jug. I plumped for that, and Christingpher the Oldershaw Newtons Drop, and we settled down at the left hand end of the long room as sunshine streamed in and across our table.
Next we walked up the hill to the Holly Bush at Makeney, a terrific unspoilt pub with an amazing Bar snug, dispensing Pedigree and Ruddles by the jug plus guests. Christingpher had the Thornbridge Colorado Red, and I a pint of the Buxton Blonde. This was accompanied by one of the Holly Bush's pork pies - I asked for one, and was told there was a choice of small and a medium. "How big's the small?" I enquired, as the barmaid showed me a pastry case the size of a haggis. " I'll have the small I think", and at £1.60 it was a decent price for a filling carbohydrate hit. The only slight downside here was the Colorado Red - not badly kept or even expensive, just not a well balanced Thornbridge beer.
The final part of our walk was to wander along Duffield Bank in glorious sunshine into Duffield, crossing the Derwent at the Bridge Inn and making our way up King Street to the Pattenmakers Arms.
Here it was a no brainer as to what to have - two pints of Bass form the jug was the only plan we were interested in and the beers didn't disappoint. Sitting in the arts and crafts homeliness of the right hand room this could have been a perfect visit had it not been for an unfortunate public toilet roll incident which would be too tiresome and pointless to explain.
Finally we were in Derby and noting there were plenty of buses to the Station we headed for a centre pub, this being the Exeter Arms. Here the beer had taken a hammering and no more was coming on it seemed so we both had a half of the deliciously creamy mild Dark Drake from the on site Dancing Duck Brewery, which then promptly ran out as well.
Our penultimate pub was the Brunswick, where we had underwhelming but inexpensive halves of their Caramild and Station porter, before a quick visit to the Alex round the corner, where I had a pint and Christingpher a half of the excellent Welbeck Abbey Portland Black.
This was a great selection of pubs even if the walk was frustrating, and bar the Bass in the Pattenmakers all offered a sensibly priced beer selection - ale in the Royal Oak, Bulls Head, King William and Exeter Arms was less than £3.00 a pint, not bad these days for Derbyshire.
There are of course also many other pubs in the Ecclesbourne Valley so that may have to be a trip for another time, but those that we visited were excellent, with The Royal Oak in Wirksworth easily standing out as the best.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
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