Glasgow:
A bit stripped-out craft bar, but pretty pleasant. No ale but good choice of crafty bollocks, pleasant atmosphere.
Tag Archives: free house
The Cross Keys Hotel
Canonbie, Dumfries & Galloway:
Our southbound overnight stop, just about in Scotland. We arrived at just before 3pm, to find it locked, but happily by 3pm, our check-in time, one of the owners turned up, checked us in, and served us a drink shortly later, so comfortably by 4 we were sat outside in the early autumn sunshine with cold beer and wine.
It’s a big old coaching inn, with 10 bedrooms, a bar/lounge, and a seperate restaurant. We ate in the bar. Friendly locals, lovely staff, decent food. No ale, but decent lager. Comfortable room too, and loads of decent parking over the road.
Currently up for sale if anyone fancies it.
The Douglas Arms
Banchory:
Pleasant hotel with a nice lounge at the back, and a sun terrace beyond that. Great beer (Cairngorm IPA in good condition) and really friendly owner, nice lunchtime food, but sadly no evening meals at present due to staff difficulties.
Sadly the heritage interior public bar is now a coffee shop, with the bar being at the back in the lounge. The lounge itself is pleasant- modern but not soulless.
The Graham Arms Inn
Longtown, Cumbria:
Our hotel for an overnight stop on our journey north, but clearly a local pub too, the other being The Tavern.
This is the plusher pub, and it’s clearly had a bit of money spent. Great staff, decent enough food, cask ale. TVs were showing MournHub, but not at high volume. Slight downer from local gammons with a show of ignorant racism *and* sexism, but at least they were non-violent.
The Bottle and Barrel
Aberystwyth:
Nice micropub in a backstreet. Huge range of bottled beer, and a mix of keg and cask on tap. Pleasant staff, nice, small courtyard/beer garden at back, which was nice to escape the students on an unseasonably warm October evening (this was the only place in town we went dominated by students in what is a university town). No food, but you can take your own or order in.
Kane’s Bar
Didn’t take to this, despite the absolutely charming owner’s daughter welcoming us in and some very nice craft beer (canned, though). It’s split over 3 levels, and had a huge selection of craft ale and cider, and the owner seemed really nice, though.
The Alb
Shrewsbury, Shropshire:
We only sat outside here, but it’s a smart, modern re-doing of an old hotel/pub. It did have a few of the tropes that irrationally annoy me (prices listed as 6.0 instead of £6.00, and inconsistently, for example: trying to make something sound on-trend by shortening the name for another), but it was pleasant sat outside in the sun, the service was fine, the beer was fine, and the prices not ruinously expensive, even if the format was mangled. No cask ale, but decent craft bollocks from Camden, which was fine.
The Vine Inn
Rugeley, Staffs:
A positively lovely, traditional, multi-room pub just on the edge of Rugeley town centre. A brewery onsite creates the house beer (which was great). There’s food- including specials nights (Greek, Carribean), and friendly staff.
Inside is very traditional: quarry-tiled floors, lots of rooms- it’s a bit of a warren. There’s outside space as well.
Revisit: The Lazy Hill
Original post here
Whatpub Link
It’s been a long time since we’ve been in here, but it’s not changed, covid precautions aside.
It’s still a great pub, there’s still great beer. The large function room at the back that belies the place’s origin as a club was open to increase space, and the place was busy on this last night before Lockdown II The Sequel.
The beers had changed, but a great selection. Great service, too.
Ye Olde Windmill Inn
Gentleshaw, Staffs:
A proper country pub, but only up the road, really, just over the border in Staffs, but it really is countryside- not an awkward halfway house where there’s no amenities but all the disadvantages of urban life, but actual open country.
I’d been meaning to go here for years, but the disadvantage of proper country is that it’s not accessible by public transport, and it’s a bit further than I’d usually cycle, so the offer of a chauffeured visit and lunch seemed worthwhile.
They’ve repurposed a bit of what was apparently parking in front of the pub to a terrace area (with great views), but there’s still decent parking over the road- a good thing, given that car is how many people will be getting here, and the lanes are too narrow to park in.
The pub itself is nice, traditional, multi-roomed, beamed. There’s decent real ale, great food, and pleasant staff. There’s a bowling green outside, too, as well as a play area that hopefully might keep the kids corralled in, and the remains of the windmill that gives the pub its name.