There are, much better pubs, in the shire

Hello,

      following my complaints about the poor customer service at the Peacock in Bakewell, I thought it only fair to point out the better side of pubs in the area. To say "the area" I must admit this is a large space, but all the pubs featured are in the shire of Derby.

Prior to Bakewell myself and Tash had traveled, in the pouring rain, to Matlock. Matlock gets very crowded in Summer and at Bank Holidays, traffic gets snarled up and my patience quickly wears thin. What a treat then, to arrive mid downpour. The streets were deserted. The park was empty. The only people we could find were enjoying the warmth of the indoors.

After a quick shop and dinner in a well known bakery chain, we wandered into the park to look at the river and make our way to our first pub. MoCa Bar is near the junction with Olde English Street and overlooks , if I recall, the river Derwent. Inside its modern, with a long bar bestowed with keg pumps and hand pumps. It sells coffees, wines, excellent sounding pork pies, and beers mainly from Abbeydale, Kelham Island, Dancing Duck, Oakham, Brampton and Blue Monkey.

On this occasions we had pints of the Blue Monkey Rhesus to be cheerful, and Oakham Bishops Farewell. I haven't tried the Oakham brew for a while but it was reassuringly bitter and very moreish. The Blue Monkey was simlarly excellent, not actually pale but more reddish in colour. Both beers were perfectly kept, and as a steady stream of customers and dogs came in, we were able to relax and chat and listen to some excellent music.

In Bakewell, we opted to try the Manners. This Robinsons pub is on the road heading towards Matlock and used to have, a couple of decades or more ago, a reputation for opening late. I hadn't been in for at least 10 years but I remembered it being a traditional boozer selling real ale - the perfect antidote to the greed and lack of customer service in our former venue the Peacock.

The Manners has been recently taken over and is a perfect local. OK, some of the decor is a bit odd, its is on places quite modern and others old, but that aside its a friendly boozer where you are treated well and not charged extra for halves. We both had Robinsons Double Hop from a range of 5 or 6 real ales. This was £3.20 a pint and in very good form. We sat in the room on the right and in the room next door a whole family had come out to eat. A friend of mine says that this is where the locals go in Bakewell - how accurate this is I don't know, but its my certainly favourite place for a pint and a relax in the town.

Recently, in less rain, we visited Chesterfield. Being creatures of leisure, and thirst, a day off does not see us up too early but we arrived about 15.30 and went to look at some charity shops. We also went to the excellent cheese factory for lemon Wensleydale and Innkeepers cheddar amogst other delights.

Our first stop was the micopub on West Bars. The Chesterfield Ale House has seating for about 16 or 18 downstairs and an upstairs room, and the bar is up some steps at the back. There are six real ales on, the strongest on the day being nearly £3.20 a pint but most being much less. Tash had a heavy but enjoyable Gyle...2...x..not sure from Lincoln Green Brewery, an Imperial Pale Ale in style if not taste, and i had excellent pints of something pale that probably came from Atom brewery. Although it might not have.

The pub became busier as we sat there and the beer range was of a very high quality, as were the snacks on offer and decent bottled beer list. However, as the light faded and the train time approached we scooted off for a quick half in the White Swan. We had halves of a saison and a Raw pale (work that out!) in our short visit, before jumping on the train to Dronfield.

Here we visited the Dronfield Arms, now run by our good friend Edd, previously manager at the Bath hotel in Sheffield. The two pubs are very different, clearly in terms of architecture, also in terms of tie as well, and in terms of customers.  Despite this, Edd seemed perfectly at home in his new pub, and there were dogs and people of all ages enjoying some excellent beer.

We also tried some olive stuffed with Sicilian chillies - to be far these were absolutely amazing and very moreish, as was the pork and apricot pie, and the beer we had three or more pints of - alas, somehow, in the weeks since, the knowledge of the name of this beer has escaped me entirely. I assure you however that it was very tasty.

Overall, its still well worth your while heading out in to near or far Derbyshire to sample cracking ale in traditional - or non traditional, real ale pubs. Lets hope this situation does not change.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Red Arrow pub crawl

Hello again,

   
      Its perhaps not a surprise to regular readers to discover that, having failed to find a closed pub that may not have existed, I consoled myself by visiting several that did. Getting to Stretton on the Red Arrow Derby to Nottingham bus meant I had ample opportunities to sample some cracking pubs - the pain of research!

Stumbling off the train in Chesterfield having had a very refreshing session the night before, I somehow resisted the temptation to visit Coco, but equally, knowing I had 35 minutes to kill before the Red Arrow, it seemed silly not to remind myself why I like pubs enough to go hunting for them in the freezing countryside. The White Swan was a good place to do this, what with it being ace. From an unsurprisingly stellar line up I had two halves, one of Elland Summit from outer space, a 5.5% extra hoppy bitter, and the Otley Oxymoron, a 5.5% Black IPA.  
 

Both were very well executed hoppy beers but I think the Elland edged it because the Oxymoron was so bitter that I could still taste it half an hour later. Not an ideal start, especially with my body cramping and gently shaking as the toxins started to turn my insides to seaweed and picked off drowsy brain cells one by one.
 

On to the Red Arrow and it soon became apparent that I didn't know where I was getting off - having over shot my stop and disembarked at Mickley I then walked in the wrong direction (clearly not still drunk from the night before?!) and ended up in Higham!

Luckily, the Crown has recently been taken over and reopened by new owners, originally from Mansfield and now returned from Florida, having, one assumes, tired of the heat and annoying sunshine. From a range of Bombardier and Buxton Spa (both regulars) I had a pint of the guest beer. Bumpmill Brewery Heart of Gold is a very local ale indeed - being brewed about 300 yards from the pub on Bumpmill Lane (website). The H.O.G was a very palatable malty but refreshing beer with a bittersweet flavour that went down alarmingly well.

The Crown seems to have changed its identity and ownership every time I visit and the new incumbents have been in only 3 weeks. They are waiting to reopen the kitchen and have plans for a traditional pub menu. They also regularly take Bumpmill beers, having recently had their Ebony and Ivory stout on. Lets hope they make a go of this excellent old traditional pub.

 

 

I had to walk back to where I was to go pub hunting because Derbyshire County Council had ingeniously thought that access to local businesses could be improved by scrapping, or at least altering the route of, the 150 bus. So it was a good 20 minutes walk to the White Bear at the top of Ashover New Road. Sadly there were no signs of life, and it didn't look like they were just closed during the day. This remains a pub I've never visited.
 

Back on the Red Arrow (eventually) I hopped off in Ripley and went to the Talbot Taphouse. Arriving around 15.00 I found it completely deserted, much to my surprise. Mind you this gave me the chance to chat to the barman, and get a few pics. I started with a pint of the excellent Amber Ales stout, 4.0% and £2.80 a pint. This didn't last long so I moved on to a pint of one of the guest beers, Oakham Preacher, at 4.3%, which had a fantastic hop character and was really refreshing into the bargain - another excellent Oakham beer. I finished on a half of the Amber Ales 6.5% "full flavoured IPA" that did everything it said on the tin, but somehow wasn't quite what I was expecting.
 

My next stop wasn't really on the Red Arrow route (although I could have caught it for the first bit, but you never know where the blasted thing stops!) and having secured directions from the barman and his mate I set off for a rather long walk. Walking along the main street past the Pear Tree I found the bottom of Pease Hill and walked first to the Beehive. Two beers were on the bar, from Woods and Oakham, and I had a half of their excellent Citra before tiptoeing through the fairy lights in the back garden to visit the Honey Pot.
 

This surprisingly under promoted gem is a real notch in the pubs belt, selling fruit beers on keg and real ales on cask. From a choice of 3, all at £2.50 a pint, I had a pint of the Blue Monkey Monkey (I couldn't see the pump clip, and was assured that was the beers name),which was a light refreshing beer that went down well, as did the conversation and directions, shared with and provided by the barman and the only other customer. Yep. Just one. Come on Ripley! Pull yer finger out!
 

My next stop was another walk away, this time to the Thorn Tree at Waingroves. I had heard plenty of people mention this excellent pub and this was my chance to find out what the fuss was about - I wasn't disappointed. From a range of 5 or 6 real ales I had halves of the Red Willow Wreckless, and the Buxton Dark Heights, both of which were excellent (and which along with a much needed pork pie came to £4.20). It was warm, friendly busy and sold excellent beer. I get what the fuss is about!
 

A long tedious trek back to Ripley followed where I grabbed some snap and headed in the Wetherspoons Red Lion for a quick half of Lymestone Stone Cutter, which was a nice drop at a quid, before getting back on the Red Arrow into Derby. Here I intrepidly set out for venues new - I first managed to find my way, mainly based on directions given in the Honey Pot, to the Peacock on Nottingham Road. Noting that time was getting on and that more food was required I only had a half in here, but it was excellent - Hartshorne Apocalypse 6.2% was a revelation, especially since its so rare that I get to try their beers. A fab range and great atmosphere mark this pub out, as does, in my weird world, the fact that the toilets are virtually outside.
 

A short wander to the Furnace next (are their two Furnace pubs in Derby?) where the plain unassuming frontage rightly beckoned you to an interior of the same merits, but one housing a bar with a10 handpumps. I tried the two new beers from the new Shiny Brewery based at the pub - their 3.9% Launch Pad and 4.1% Golden Man. Its only early days but I really enjoyed the Launch Pad, even if the stronger beer was a bit less enjoyable. And I loved the fact that the pub smelled strongly of fresh hops. A great new addition to the Derby scene.

 

 

I managed to get a bus round to the railway stating to check the train times then waited to be let in the Station for an inevitably gorgeous pint of Bass from the jug. I couldn't linger over it alas, as I had to get my train.
 

Safely back in Sheffield I went to the Sheffield Tap and found to my delight that a Tiny Rebel beer had made its way over from Wales. I had a pint of their Dirty Stop Out smoked out stout, which was a delicious and nicely balanced beer, along with half a Tempest Emanation pale (ish) ale. Two fantastic beers topped off a day of drinking great beer perfectly, although ,my legs are very stiff today with all that yomping around Ripley and Derby.
 

Next? Bring on the 21st, when I will be back out South Wingfield/Higham way to try out a new pub and a couple of old favourites.

 

 

Cheers!
 

Wee Beefy

A Monday night tour of Chesterfield pubs

Hello,

      this week due to it ending with payday, I have decided to get my drinking done and out the way at the beginning. So that's my excuse for why I ended up sampling the obvious and less obvious delights of Chesterfield in the pissing rain last night. Here's what we found during our extended weekend night out.

I met Davefromtshop in the salubrious environs of the Rutland Arms in Sheffield. The Internet, which is a person, had told me that the first beer from the new Chantry Brewery in Rotherham would be on the bar - and so it was. As I was planning quite a significant evening of refreshment and since Dave turned up after me we both stuck to halves like good lads. Mind you, the draw of the excellent and yummy XT Brewing "9" Black Velvet was too strong so we had another half, of that.
 

The New York Pale from Chantry was excellent by the way. A lovely peachy, orangey citrus hit from the hops (including centennial) made it gloriously refreshing yet reassuringly luxurious - certainly a brew that promises good things. Heres their somewhat embryonic website, which has at least a line more info on the beer and brewery than the above paragraphs contain....

Off to Chesterfield next on the train - seemingly we caught the only one not delayed by floods - and made our way straight to Coco Bar. Davefromtshop is in the CAMRA, and we knew he was entitled to a discount, so it was his round. To be honest, neither of us expected it to be quite so generous, at 15%. This meant we had two pints of the excellent Dark Star Revelation (5.9%) at just £2.55 per pint. Dangerously good value, and impeccably kept.
 

Up the hill and off to the other Rutland next, for my first visit this century. A range of about 6 beers included larger regional stalwarts plus 3 guests from smaller outfits. Dave opted for half a Barbarian from Derventio Brewery, whilst I had a half of Black Country Ales BFG. Derventio are frustratingly inconsistent, and they were consistent in this approach by making Barbarian, which should have been really good, slightly poor. The BFG was excellent on the other hand.
 

Dave had long wanted to visit the Crooked Spire pub. We headed there next with my full approval since I had never seen or heard of it despite its central location. Alas, this enormous former Mansfield house had two handpumps but no cask ale - the barman said they have just one on at a time, but it wasn't ready. So our first visit will have to wait. We went to the Victoria next, recently reopened after plans were shelved to turn it into a strip joint. It was modern, spacious and comfy inside and was similar to Wetherspoons, except without the range of ales. Sharps Doom Bar and Wychwood Hobgoblin were available, served in not bad condition, at £2.00 a pint.
 

The Spa Lane Vaults was another pub threatening to be very inexpensive indeed. Not that its expensive at the best of times (real ales £2.09 a pint) but Dave had some vouchers for this actual Wetherspoons pub which we used when selecting a couple of pints from a range rather too top heavy with Derventio style masters of inconsistency Milestone Brewery. Their Old English Ale was tasted and found to be grim, so we opted for pints of Rich Ruby which may have been £1.49 each. Either way they were inexpensive and on decent form.

 

 It was my turn to purchase inexpensive drinks next as we ventured unexpectedly to Abacus bar across the road. Easily the oldest people there, we quickly noted that it looks more forlorn when empty based on the extent to which its clearly a place to be seen, glad ragged and wide eyed, strutting your stuff beneath flashing lights and glitter balls. Nothing says depressing more than an empty dancefloor. Still, there were two real ales on and we both had halves of the uninspiring if decently kept Morland Original, which sells at £1.79 a pint. Given that its the same price in the Anglers Rest in Richmond, I wonder whether Abacus is a Barracuda pub?

 

Our final stop saw us save the best till last. The White Swan had a full compliment of 8 or 9 real ales on plus some Keykeg offerings and as reported previously, bottled exotica. Myself and Dave both opted for halves of the excellent Bridestones brewery Dark Mild, whilst I also had a half of the Steel City Brewing Schrodinger's Cat is Alive and Dave the excellent Raw Try Ale. As this was our last stop we also treated ourselves (probably, this is one of those ghost memories!) to further halves in the form of Try Ale for me, since it was fantastic, and, erm, yer know. Beer. For Dave.
 

We finished on a half between us of the Arbor Ales Down Deeper on Keykeg. It was very very silly indeed, and unsurprisingly, quite difficult to drink what with its formidable 12% strength. What was perhaps more silly though, was that try as we might, we couldn't get the White Swan to revise their pricing policy. It was £3.95 a pint. That's right the same price as a half pint of a weaker albeit perhaps better Keykeg beer in the Rutland last week. Astounding value.

 

 And so ended a very enjoyable amble, albeit in monsoon torrent, drizzle and high winds, round the largely deserted streets of Chesterfield town centre. Its worth noting that in my 4 visits to the White Swan and 5 to Coco I have never had a bad beer or reason to grumble, making the Vegas of the East Midlands a must stop when in the area. Long may the town's real ale resurgence continue.

 

Cheers!
 

Wee Beefy
 

P.S Stupid arse Blogger is still disbarring me from uploading any images (like some of the rubbish phone pics I took last night). Apologies for the unavoidable lack of photos whilst this daft situation is resolved.

Hill Top Club beer festival October 2012

Afternoon,

     yesterday I hopped on the bus out to Dronfield, the new real ale capital of, erm, North East Derbyshire, to visit the Hill Top Sports & Social Club in the same, sample their beer festival, and head to a few local pubs into the bargain.

Having splashed out £5.50 on an explorer ticket I was duty bound to go as far as Chesterfield, but I was straying from my plan early on as the bus I caught doesn't really go near the club. Luckily, it passes the Three Tuns at Hallowes, so I popped in there.

The Three Tuns is a pub I've only been to a few times but its growing on me. Regular visitors may find this surprising since its immediately obvious as you enter that its a shrine to real ale, but its not growing on me from a cold start, I just mean I seem to be liking it more and more. Initially I was only popping in for a couple of halves, although I could have had thirds since there was such a huge range to try, but I got talking to Dave the brewer at Spire and it seemed rude not to at least stop for another.

So it was I tried halves of the Spire Dark Side Of The Moon, which had a nice berry edge to it in amongst the creamy roast malt, and was reminiscent of Black Isle Porter, as well as half of their Sovereign escort pale ale, which was a lovely fruity IPA style beer, with a nice balance of hop flavours in the mix. I finished on the ever reliable Burton Bridge Porter.

It was well past 3 when I hopped on the 43 to Gosforth Lane, but luckily the Hill Top Club wasn't that difficult to find, and they had also gone mad and put a sign up at the top of Longacre Road. Being a small festival there was no need for an outside marquee or similar, they had simply hired and fitted a bank of handpumps from Barlow brewery, and all teh ales were served from the bar, which is on the right as you enter.

On the advice of T_i_B I started on a pint of the Barlow Jolly Roger Porter at 5.2%. This was everything I expected, and whats more everything I could have asked from a porter - dark, smooth, rich, well balanced with roasted malt in abundance. A perfect moreish black beer to suit the weather, which had conveniently turned to rain on my walk up to the club.

The Hill Top Club's has to be one of the smallest and simultaneously quietest beer festivals I've ever been to! There were just two groups of festival goers sat near the bar when I arrived, and although I'd like to think that I was in no way the catalyst for the exodus which followed, within 20 minutes everyone had left! So I had a quick chat with the lass behind the bar, and a much needed sandwich, before it started to get busy around 17.00. Now it started to resemble a more familiar festival scene with tasters and discussions and good atmosphere abounding.

My next pint was the Ashover Liquorice Alesorts, one of the beers of the Three Valleys beer festival earlier in the year and still on good form here. I then had halves of Sheffield Brewing Co NZ IPA, Abbeydale wheat, which was a little too sweet for me, and the immense Full Monty IPA, a 6.5% monster of a beer from Barlow brewery. Perhaps I am becoming too accustomed to zesty citrus hop monsters with a light colour and quaffability, but I was surprised at just how big and sweet the Full Monty was. Having said that, it was a very enjoyable beer, although I would have struggled to get through a pint.

I finished off on an ironically hoppier beer but at nearly half the strength - Raw Blonde was only 3.9% but more than stood up in terms of hoppiness, to its towering fruity bedfellow.

Alas this was my last beer, as I had neglected to bring enough money, which is a bit stupid really. So I didn't get to try the Brampton Mild, the Barlow Three Valleys, the Muirhouse Lurch's Liqour Stout or the Ashover Poets Tipple, to name some of what was available.

This was my first Hill Top Club beer festival (and indeed my first visit at all) and it was a very enjoyable way of spending a few hours - a good range of beers, all well kept, and all the beer was a fantastic value price of £2.80 a pint - or, at least, that's what I think the barmaid said....

With an hour of daylight remaining I went to catch the bus into Chesterfield, but once again had to change my plans as I had just missed it, so headed to the Coach and Horses instead. Here I supped an enjoyable pint of Thornbridge Brock and a half of their excellent Halcyon, no doubt the increasingly long list of stronger beers wasn't helping my attempts to remain compus-mentus.

This was more apparent when I got outside and decided, rather than wait 10 minutes for the bus to Chesterfield (a privilege for which I had earlier paid handsomely) I would simply jump on the bus back to Sheffield. Luckily as I spotted the Sheffield bus coming round the corner, I remembered that the White Swan was waiting for me and crossed the road in time to get the oncoming Vegas tractor.

Once in Chesterfield, I headed a rather odd confused route through the churchyard to the White Swan. Busy, and with the regrettable vision of bouncers on the door, I was a little dismayed to see a distinct lack of dark ales on offer. However, in the end I opted for halves of Abbeydale Chocolate Stout (the dark beer) and the absolutely excellent Raw Mucky Duck, as recommended by the barstaff. Had I not been knowingly undersober, I might have stopped for a whole pint of this delicious beer.

Next I headed down to Coco for some more rather ill advised strong beer - this time Raw Pacific Ghost IPA (5.9%) a fantastic orangey bitter pale beer, which I enjoyed slouched sottishly on the black sofas surveying the cloudy and disconcertingly wobbly scene.

A mere 50 minutes wait followed, for the now assumedly intentionally late last 43, which I used as a great place to catch some zeds on, before I nipped in the Bankers Draft where I had two halves of.....erm....beer. One was dark. One was from a brewery I'd never heard of. Both were cold, and £1.00 a half. I also bumped into Mr Shape who was out with some mates, none of whom got to speak to him after I collarred him at the bus stop as well!

So, another good day out, and a brilliant little beer fest (which I only noticed this morning said in the programme that it ran from Friday 12th October to Sunday 14th May, 2012, the tricksters!) and a cracking selection of ales in excellent venues.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Chesterfield wander

Now then,

    as with other weekend sojourns of late I didn't plan this particularly, nor indeed did I allow myself a whole day to do it, I just wanted to go somewhere new and enjoy some great beer. What with their proximity and easy access on a single bus route, Dronfield and Chesterfield seemed a good choice, especially since I was yet to sample the delights of the White Swan in Chesterfield. Here's what happened when I did.

I set off from town on the 15.30 number 43 to Dronfield, and after some initial confusion ended up paying for a return ticket. This, after I had explained I was going to Chesterfield and then making my way back via different stops. I still don't know even now if I bought the right ticket but I didn't have a problem being allowed to catch the bus so that all worked out fine.

First stop was a new pub to me, the Victoria in Dronfield. It was lovely and warm, but there was restricted sunny space n the beer garden. That said, I didn't want to be indoors on a day like this, so bought my pint of Framers Blonde (£2.95) from a choice of that and Banks and Hobgoblin and sat in the shade.

The Victoria is an L shaped pub with an L shaped bar and a telly in the right hand corner as you come in (keeping the attention of the punters as the football was on). There's also a long room on the left with a settee at the end, and outside is a smoking shelter and some tables. The Bradfield was a decent pint, a little cloudy but not to its detriment, and a nice start to my days drinking. 

Back on the bus after waiting in the hot sunshine I arrived in Chesterfield and found - warm cloud. All my concerns about awaiting my seat in the sun were allayed when I realised it was just dull, and the warmth was receding. Good job I came in shorts then...

First stop here was Coco bar on Station Approach. Its a little easier to see the seats for drinkers in daylight (although I would have felt awkward taking up a settee for 5 by myself), and I opted to sit at the bar and have a pint of Dancing Duck Ay Up.

This was a pleasant if unremarkable slightly sweet beer with some bitterness, from a choice of that and Thornbridge Lord Marples and Colorado Red. I also tried a half of the latter, to give it another go, and it was not much different to how I remembered it - too much of something not immediately obvious left a thick chewy slightly sweet beer that despite some admirable hoppiness was too poorly balanced to excite. It was also a little cloudy, which isn't the beers fault, or at least I assume not!

Off next to my intended destination the White Swan. Large bright and airy inside with a decent White Swan mosaic in the doorway, the important feature is the bar, which sits at the end of a long room with approximately 429 handpumps on it. Its immense. From the dazzling array on offer I decided to narrow it down to a dark beer so had the choice of Raw Anubis Porter, which I rate, and Buxton Black Nights, which I haven't had before. An offered taster confirmed that this was a seriously good beer, so I had a pint. The barstaff were friendly and helpful on all my trips to the bar, and given the diverse range of customers (lets just say many probably hadn't drunk real ale before) this is a great virtue for a pub to have.

I wandered outside initially but that was packed so picked a table facing the door on the raised seating area on your right as you come in. It soon became obvious I needed something to read whilst I supped, so sought out an Innspire. None to be found alas, and in an unfortunate twist, only fascist tory rags in the papers line, so I settled for a bottled beer list. This proved to be a good choice.

The first thing I noticed was Lion Stout from Sri Lanka. I haven't had it for years and had wondered if they were still brewing, so I ordered a bottle of that. Here's the next bonus - I paid on card (no lower limit) and was also able to get cash back, thus saving me a walk to the cashpoint, and encouraging me to spend more money in the pub. Are you listening pub owners? This is a radical idea!

Recently my fave pub the Rutland appeared to have set their lower limit for card purchases at £10.00. *

If I wanted a pint and a half and some crisps I could usually clear the old £5.00 limit but that's just ridiculous. Meanwhile I got a £4.00 bottled beer on my card in the White Swan and used the cash back to order a delicious meal. Everyone wins.

The menu showed there were further albeit even more expensive beers on offer from the U.S, U.K, Germany France and elsewhere (but only 2 saison? Come on!) but I noted the strength of the Lion and decided to opt fore  half of water instead of more bottled stuff, before I got a half of Raw NYC Pale which was a really interesting hoppy flavour and went down really well. I could easily have tempted myself with one of the many other ales on offer but was being sensible. Overall, a very good first impression of an excellent pub.

Off next for the bus and I was soon at my second Dronfield stop the Three Tuns. Its seems the more times I visit the more I like this place. It was rammed when I got in with another bewildering array of delights to tempt. I had J W King Brighton Blonde and a Spire Deepdale Pale for under £3.00 and sat down with a copy of Private Eye I found to read. The Kings was a bit light and lacked any discernible flavours but the Deepdale was excellent. I only had half an hour here though as I needed to catch the next 43.

J W King - an ale rarity oop ere

My penultimate stop was to have been the Coach and Horses. Getting off the bus on Sheffield Road I asked the driver if there was another bus (otherwise I'd have got back on, obviously) and he said yes, but it was another hour - and then waited, whilst I assured him I would find something to occupy me. Perhaps his pause was recognition of my next discovery.

I walked round the corner to find the Coach and Horses shut, at 21.30 on a Saturday. I stood, stared, muttered some strong and largely Anglo Saxon words, and walked back up towards the Victoria, livid. I could have wandered in the dark to see if their was an apologetic notice on the door but I was too annoyed at the 50% failure rate of the C&H to be open when I visit. Curiously for a Thornbridge associated pub (God, don't get me started on trying to understand the link, who knows) it doesn't have a website and its Facebook page is next to useless for info. So I couldn't even find out the opening hours in advance without calling them. Except, why would you expect to call a pub to see if they were open at 21.30 on a Saturday night? Who do they think they are, the Ale House Fraser Road?(now holding a world record for never being open).

Anyhoo I used my spare time to pop in Sainsburys for supplied then settled down in the Victoria, now with the landlord behind the bar, for another pint of Farmers Blonde and the hub-ub of conversation. The beer range may not be stellar but the atmosphere is traditional and friendly, and the pub wins a great slab of points for bothering to open.

I then waited for the 43 (it was 20 minutes late, which is palpably ridiculous) but it did get me to the Rutland for 2 minutes to 23.00 so I could pop in and find myself with just enough money for a pint of the Blue Bee Light Blue. Alas this wasn't really up to its usual standard, maybe it was getting a little low, but it was still a decent pint to finish and again the pub wins points for being open - which it then loses for its new minimum card payment limit. Cest la via...

So, a good afternoon and evening out in Derbyshire with the excellent White Swan taking the plaudits, closely followed by the Three Tuns and Victoria.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy


*Doh! A misunderstanding. Its a fiver. So yer pint, half and crisps should see you safe. WB