My first stop was Fothergill's on Castle Road, in the immediate shadow of Nottingham Castle. This is a pub and bistro occupying a long, low building almost opposite the famous Robin Hood statue.
The building was designed and constructed in 1883 by architect Watson Fothergill, whose name it retains to this day. The frontage is glass with wooden furniture within and the interior has been recently stripped back to show off some of the original architecture and features, including the bare brick walls opposite the main windows. The bar and associated restaurant area are just inside the main entrance and there are a couple of small staircases leading down to further seating areas a short distance away. The bar is central and square in design with a number of unusual choices of draught lager and cider. There are also 5 hand pumps, which immediately drew my attention. Most of the options are local with Harvest Pale and Screech Owl from Castle Rock, Sunchaser from Everard's and Infinity from Blue Monkey brewery. There is even a real cider on hand pull, in this case Fanny's Bramble, a blackberry cider from Sandford Orchard. On this occasion I opted for the Infinity (4.6%), which was excellent. Whilst seated in a quiet corner I had a brief glance at the food menu, which sounded very appetising and may warrant a further visit in future. I also had the unfortunate joy of listening to a woman nearby describing her dairy allergy and using 'sheeps' as a plural of sheep, which sent my inner grammar Nazi into a rage and made me wish that someone else nearby had heard it too.
The building was designed and constructed in 1883 by architect Watson Fothergill, whose name it retains to this day. The frontage is glass with wooden furniture within and the interior has been recently stripped back to show off some of the original architecture and features, including the bare brick walls opposite the main windows. The bar and associated restaurant area are just inside the main entrance and there are a couple of small staircases leading down to further seating areas a short distance away. The bar is central and square in design with a number of unusual choices of draught lager and cider. There are also 5 hand pumps, which immediately drew my attention. Most of the options are local with Harvest Pale and Screech Owl from Castle Rock, Sunchaser from Everard's and Infinity from Blue Monkey brewery. There is even a real cider on hand pull, in this case Fanny's Bramble, a blackberry cider from Sandford Orchard. On this occasion I opted for the Infinity (4.6%), which was excellent. Whilst seated in a quiet corner I had a brief glance at the food menu, which sounded very appetising and may warrant a further visit in future. I also had the unfortunate joy of listening to a woman nearby describing her dairy allergy and using 'sheeps' as a plural of sheep, which sent my inner grammar Nazi into a rage and made me wish that someone else nearby had heard it too.
My next location was somewhat unconventional. Fat Cat Café sits on Chapel Bar, just up from Angel Row and old market square.
Set over 2 floors, it prides itself on being a venue for good drink and informal dining.
The outside of the building benefits from floor to ceiling windows, giving the interior a light, open feel whilst inside is all dark wood and low lighting, complimented by leather sofas and low wooden tables. The premises is split over two floors with the lounge bar area downstairs and the restaurant area on the floor above. The bar is long and situated on the right side of the building, next to the stairs to the upper floor. A sign on the exterior window advertises real ale and there are 4 hand pumps but, sadly, this is as good as it got.
Upon entering, I was unexpectedly asked to take a seat so that the waitress could come over and take my order. Table service was a nice touch, although I only wanted a pint! Of the 4 available hand pulls, there was only one in use, providing Harvest Pale in decent enough condition, although it was a touch too warm. One can only hope that a greater range of ales is normally available to compensate for the disappointment I felt on this occasion. The atmosphere within was relaxing enough though so it wasn't necessarily all bad.
The outside of the building benefits from floor to ceiling windows, giving the interior a light, open feel whilst inside is all dark wood and low lighting, complimented by leather sofas and low wooden tables. The premises is split over two floors with the lounge bar area downstairs and the restaurant area on the floor above. The bar is long and situated on the right side of the building, next to the stairs to the upper floor. A sign on the exterior window advertises real ale and there are 4 hand pumps but, sadly, this is as good as it got.
Upon entering, I was unexpectedly asked to take a seat so that the waitress could come over and take my order. Table service was a nice touch, although I only wanted a pint! Of the 4 available hand pulls, there was only one in use, providing Harvest Pale in decent enough condition, although it was a touch too warm. One can only hope that a greater range of ales is normally available to compensate for the disappointment I felt on this occasion. The atmosphere within was relaxing enough though so it wasn't necessarily all bad.
Leaving Fat Cat, I turned right and headed down into Market Square and towards my next destination, The Bank, on what is technically Beastmarket Hill.
As the name suggests, this was in previous years a branch of Barclays Bank, before their relocation further up the road, and the pillars outside the entrance provide evidence of their financially inclined past. The pub, in its current format, is owned by Mitchells and Butler and it is obvious from the outset that this is one of their more food-driven venues. Inside, there is an abundance of seating and a relaxed atmosphere with lots of in-house advertising of the various (and numerous) food offers. I was instantly struck by the irony of a former bank being so keen to save its new patrons some hard-earned cash. As I made my way inside, I couldn't help but notice the Cask Marque accreditation sign next to the door, which offered some hope as to what I might find. The interior is fairly spacious with much of the structure, such as support pillars and aesthetic touches, hinting at the pub's prior identity. The bar sits on the right hand side and extends almost the length of the wall. 6 hand pulls are present, and they are doubled up with Greene King IPA, Bombardier and Everard's Tiger. Not quite the range I was hoping for but, to avoid being rude, I stretched to a pint of Tiger which at least was well-kept. The pub was busy with locals and older people what with it being around lunch time but I still managed to find a decent seat near one of the many televisions showing BBC News.
Around the corner on Friar Lane is The Approach, a place that has recently been gaining a decent reputation with regards to its cask. The Approach is part of the Navigation Brewery estate, which also includes the Southbank Bar and The Cross Keys amongst others.
The stone and glass frontage gives way to a spacious interior with lots of high tables and chairs and some plush seating throughout the room. The bar is long and slightly curved, stretching across the majority of the right hand wall of the building. The Navigation Brewery pubs provide a collector's card which I am proud to already have so I was looking for another opportunity to get another stamp towards the 6 required for a free pint. Annoyingly, the bar will accept either CAMRA discount or provide a collection stamp but not both. I settled for the stamp as the difference is only 20p but it's something worth bearing in mind. Ale-wise, 2 were available from the 4 hand pulls on the bar. They were Navigation Pale and Wychwood Hobgoblin. I opted for the former as the latter is one of the few beers that I happen to prefer in bottled form, and took a seat facing one of the large TVs, this time tuned to Sky Sports News. This seems to be a recurring thing with Navigation pubs but I'm not classing it as a bad thing. As much as anyone, I like to be able to watch TV with an accompanying pint. The Approach is also big on its ability to host live music events and there was plenty of advertising material available to supply information on upcoming events. The place had generally a better feel about it than it had on my only previous visit, way back in 2006.
My final stop of today's tour was one of Nottingham's iconic pubs. I'm sad to say though that it turned out to be a disappointment on my part.
One of only 4 venues in Britain owned by the Eerie Pub Co., The Pit & Pendulum is a relative newcomer to the real ale vanguard in Nottingham. Located on Victoria Street adjacent to the tram line and with a second entrance on Pelham Street, this horror-themed pub is certainly very atmospheric and situated over two floors, decorated with all manner of horror and torture themed memorabilia. The ground floor contains the main bar and most of the seating, whilst the lower floor is accessible down a spiral staircase and contains, amongst other things, including more seating, a fake bookcase that is actually a doorway to the toilets. The lower level is actually incorporated into the existing cave system and this provides an added dimension to the place, especially when a tram goes past and the whole building vibrates. There is also a second bar downstairs that is only normally manned in the evenings and on busy nights. The exposed brickwork that makes up part of the cave complex is clearly visible in many of the various snugs that are built into the walls.
I had high hopes for The Pit, as it's locally known, particularly when I spotted the sign outside one of the two entrances that proclaimed how proud they are of their ale. Upon reaching the bar though, it was a different story. 5 hand pulls are present on the bar but all of them had their badges turned around, indicating that they had all run out! However, not wanting to judge a book by its cover, I asked the lady behind the bar for confirmation, only for the shocking truth to be revealed: all the ale was currently gone but there should be some available within the next 40 minutes. Disappointed, but refusing to resort to lager or cider, I opted for a coke and went and sulked in one of the downstairs snugs, accompanied only by some sinister looking manacles mounted on the wall behind me. As much as I like the atmosphere of The Pit and was a regular in my Uni days, I'm of the opinion that, if a pub is going to advertise ale, it should ensure that at least one hand pull is in use at all times. Admittedly, I could've waited but 40 minutes seems like a very long time to wait for a pint of the good stuff.
The Pit & Pendulum redeems itself slightly in my eyes because of the alleged hauntings associated with it. Admittedly,there is a certain irony that a horror-themed pub should have ghost stories linked to it but that doesn't mean that the tales can be discounted. In this case, there have been many stories of staff being prodded by unseen hands, sometimes whilst serving customers. Shadowy figures have been seen by many people in the downstairs area and there have been numerous accounts of voices whispering in the male toilets. Overall, today's excursion has taught me that a pub is probably not renowned for ale for a reason. With the notable exception of Fothergills, the locations on this trip left a lot to be desired for fans of real ale. This does not mean in any way, shape or form, that they are bad places to go for a good time. It merely suggests, that for those of us searching for a specific type of beverage, that there are other locations better suited to our needs.
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