BITE user comments - DiscerningDave
Comments by DiscerningDave
We called in this excellent pub on the Dale Road Saturday; three real-ales were available. The welcoming and knowledgeable Landlord chatted to us about the pub and the beer range, they also do CAMRA discount which was another bonus. This was our last call before catching the train home but we would all have loved to have stopped here longer, so this pub will certainly be high on our list for a return visit.
I had the Matlock Wolds Farm ale which was a great one to finish with, on what turned out to a great day in Matlock.
29 Jan 2017 13:31
We called in here Saturday lunchtime and found it to be a friendly place that served a fine pint of Woodforde's Wherry and we enjoyed a meal which set us up nicely for a tour of some of some of the pub-gems in Matlock.
29 Jan 2017 13:14
Also of note just across the road is The Station Hotel, very friendly and welcoming and our group enjoyed excellent value for money food. I had as superb steak pie and sampled some fine real ales. (4 guest ales) I can't see it listed so apologies for mentioning it here. Again we will be back for another visit, not least because of the friendly welcome.
11 Jul 2014 22:02
A fine array of real ales available and at value for money prices. Well worth a visit on your tour of the area. I had a lemon flavoured beer which was very refreshing on such a hot day. This will definitely be added to our list of return visits.
11 Jul 2014 21:40
Enjoyed two visits to this pub today, the first when our group arrived by train and the second before departing after visiting some other real ale gems in the area. On both occasions the barmaid serving, was very friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed some excellent ales. I finished off with a Hamels Worde Spanish Stout 4.2% which was on fine form. We shall definitely be back!
11 Jul 2014 21:33
Our group was served by a very pleasant welcoming young lady and we had a nice pint of Wentworth beer last Saturday after a walk.
4 Jul 2014 21:23
The County and Station, Matlock
Called in here for a delicious steak and ale pie Saturday lunchtime, it was cooked perfectly, top marks for the tender and tasty steak. Great value for money with generous portions and the beer range was Jennings Cumberland Ale, Cocker Hoop and Marston's Pedigree. Very pleasant and friendly landlord.
10 Nov 2013 12:43
Visited this pub while waiting to get the train to Wirksworth. Had a splendid pint of Bass from the jug and a lovely citrus-flavoured beer from Beartown brewery. Very busy at lunch-time, had we more time we would have had a meal here as the food looked great; we'll definteky be paying another visit in the future.
7 Apr 2013 21:49
Visited the pub today, very friendly lady serving who was quite happy to let us have a sample try before you buy. They had Amber Gold, St Austell's Tribute and their House ale brewed in Wirksworth which seems to have improved in taste since my last visit. Nice warm fire to match the warm welcome.
Also visted the Black's Head nearby, a surperb little pub, again with a very friendly lady at the bar who was also happy to let us sample the ale before buying. I can't see this pub listed on the site but I do recommend it to you.
had a nice blonde ale brewed by Greene King as well as a guest ale by Milestone.
7 Apr 2013 21:45
Paid a visit today and it's still a delightful pub, a friendly local. Sampled the Timothy Tayloe's Landlord which was on form. :-)
7 Apr 2013 21:38
A real gem of a pub, friendly staff and always a good range of well-kept ales. We enjoyed Dark Side of The Moose and Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild. (A Homer Simpson: "mmmmh doughnut" moment for sure). Also enjoyed a good-value basic meal. We always pop in here when vistiting Bilston for a gig at The Robin 2; they have a good juke box. One simple improvement they could make is getting the lightbulbs fixed in the toilet-cubicles as there was one out in one of the two Gents' ones and the missus had the same problem in the Ladies, shut the door and you can't see anything where's your "sat-nav" when you need it! D'oh!
2 May 2012 19:13
We visted Friday and Saturday and they had regular changing guest ales, the ones we had were well kept and interesting including Black Sheep, a honey beer, and one from St Austell brewery. The fish and chips we had were spot on to! Friendly staff - recommended if you like a decent pint of real ale and some nice food.
10 Oct 2011 14:43
I visisted here 7 - 9 October to find it was closed (yet again!) but evidently it's to be under new ownership soon but sadly this was not in time for the circa 300 middle-aged rock fans who attended the Town Hall weekend festival many of whom were hoping to part with cash for some decent ale and food. In April 2011 when I visisted the pub had Floweres IPA and a couple of others on hand pump. Real ale in Lydney centre is very rare, so I hope the new owner sees and take advantage of the gap in the market to give drinkers a real choice and make a go of the place. (We had to go either to Parkend or Aylburton for a decent pint and meal in a pub).
10 Oct 2011 14:22
We called in here lunchtime Saturday 20 August and in spite of it being a Race Day (won't make that mistake again) but just managed to get a table in the corner and enjoy some beer-battered haddock and (particularly delicious) fat-chaps (like wedges). The staff were friendly and we enjoyed a honey beer from the Wentworth Brewery and a then had a ginger beer both tasted well kept and welcome! We decided to walk our lunch off touring the city walls and then seek out the Telford's Warehouse pub for further refreshments.
22 Aug 2011 19:25
Glad I read the review by Blackthorn, it convinced us to visit here Saturday.
What a great find!! They had some music at a sensible volume and it was album tracks that I liked!
My wife enjoyed a Timmerman's Strawberry Belgium fruit beer served in a nice posh glass and me and my brother enjoyed a couple of pints of Dark Side of The Moose (Purple Moose Brewery) gorgeous hints of coffee and a Weetwoord Brewery beer Cheshire Cat a light citrusy blonde beer. They were all spot on! They also had Surreal Ale from the Abbeydale brewery.
We sat outside at benches next to the canalside to enjoy the breeze and relax chatting and watch a family of swans float by! It was great to get away from the hustle and bustle of the City Centre (especially as it was a Race Day unbeknown to us - d'oh!) Staff were very friendly and it's a place we will certainly revisit.
22 Aug 2011 18:37
We had nearly an hour to wait for our train at Crewe on the evening of Friday 19 August, so we took the advice of the previous reviewers and popped over. Agree that outside it definitely didn't look like it would serve well kept real ale (neon lights etc) but inside there were 4 hand-pumps from the Salopian brewery and we enjoyed a perfectly good pint of Salopian Lemon Dream and found a quiet area away from the music. The staff were friendly and polite, the clientelle were mainly in their 20s. Not a pub I would go out my way to visit but certainly one that is worthy of a visit for a decent pint if you have an hour to kill.
21 Aug 2011 11:32
Agree with previous comments, a real gem of a pub and given the opening hours my brother and I called in yetserday (Sunday) and enjoyed a pint of Skinner's Betty Stoggs which was on very fine form, it's a beer we know well. They had a radio playing at a low volume and it was a nice place to chill out for a bit and put the world to rights. It would be good if they also opened on a Saturday afternoon.
15 Aug 2011 21:12
Me and my brother called in here yesterday after a quick visit to the EVR railway and we enjoyed a wel-kept pint of Batemen's Summer Swallow and their locally brewed house-beer Anchor Bitter which was perfectly acceptable. The staff were friendly and offerred us the chance to have a sample taste of one of the beers beforehand. We also and a reasonably priced excellently cooked roast beef dinner, a very pleasant visit and based on this experience we would certainly return.
15 Aug 2011 21:06
I can sympathise with comments from those that just wanted a quick drink and not being able to sit down at the tables reserved for diners. However it was handy for us as we had called in to have some real ale with a meal, so it was nice to be able to do that without any hassle.
I had a Jennings Cumberland Ale while my wife had a zest fruty-beer called Sunbeam recommended to her by the bar lady as they didn't have any Belgium fruit beers. The food was generous and well cooked and the staff very friendly.
7 Aug 2011 20:14
The Admiral Benbow, Shrewsbury
Visited this lovely pub with my wife Saturday on a day trip and enjoyed a pint of Slaters Queen Bee which was well-kept and delicious, while my wife savoured a Belgium fruit-beer (framboise). It is a great place to relax and have a quiet chat without competeing with a cacophony of noise. A generous selction of ales were on offer but we had a train to catch, maybe next time! :-)
7 Aug 2011 20:00
Glad I read the reviews for this place, as it was a great find that we may well have ignored otherwise. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The beer we all really enjoyed most of all was from Barngates of Ambleside called Catnap only 3.5% yet having a full flavour, a superb session beer. They also have an interesting range of bottled beers including Old Tom Chocolate ale. There is a sign that says Original Lancashire Tappas Bar and it attracts a well balanced mix of genders and ages with customers from young 20-somethings enjoying the food and beers to middle-aged discerning real ale drinkers. Small and unusual but with a great atmosphere. Well worth adding to your list of Ramsbottom pubs, especally if you love well-kept interesting real ales.
20 Feb 2011 12:01
Real ale pub conveniently located just across the road from the Dean Forest Railway Parkend station. Yesterday they had Wye Valley Butty Bach and Brains's The Rev James, which I believe are their regulars. It is a lovely quiet pub where you can just relax and chat with a pint with music at a pleasant background level. Black and white pictures adorn the walls showing the original freight line and trains that used to run past here. We caught the steam train back to Lydney Town where we called into the re-opened Cross Keys pub for a meal and pint of Warwickshire FFiagra 3.8%.
21 Jun 2009 11:40
When visiting relatives this is the pub we all choose for a lunchtime meal and drink. I tried the Otter Ale which was on form and deliscious. We usually book in advance for a meal as it can be busy on a Sunday lunchtime, we have found the staff very friendly and the food very good so we keep going back there. They serve the best black cherry cheesecake we have ever tasted, a real treat! We then enjoy a nice walk (weather permitting).
20 Jun 2009 22:29
The Who'd Have Thought It, Milton Combe
I visit this lovely pub whenever I go down to see relatives in Devon. They have three real ales on, one is always a Skinner's Ale (which is my favourite Cornish brewery). On my last two visits they had the Heligan Honey and on a second visit it was Betty Stoggs. They also had the delicious amber Princetown Jail Ale and Sharps Doom Bar. Friendly staff too; they do meals but it is the quality of the well kept ales that is the real bonus for me.
20 Jun 2009 22:11
This real-ale pub is open and thriving again! My brother and I visited this friendly pub toda after a visit on the Dean Forest Steam Railway. It evidently re-opened in April 2009 and I was very impressed with the friendliness of the staff and locals who I chatted to. They had previously had Old Peculiar on according to the board, but today we saw Keltek Gold and a beer ammusingly called Fiagra (I think tat was the spelling) and one local quipped that if you have too many you could end up with a stiff neck! We also enjoyed a value for money meal here. Do check it out.
20 Jun 2009 21:27
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Moca Bar, Matlock
This was our first call on Saturday after getting off the train to start our mini-tour of the great pubs available in Matlock. Plenty of ales on sale and the Brampton Mild I had was superb and The Oakham Citra was also on fine form according to my mate who gave it the thumbs up with a satisfied smile. We have been here before and I'm pleased to say that it is still maintaining its high standards.
29 Jan 2017 13:41