A Welcome Trek

After the past couple of weeks ended up being quite heavy and included a high number of pubs and volume of alcohol, we decided to make this week considerably more relaxed and a tad more leisurely, and visit some pubs that are a fair distance outside the city centre and required a decent amount of walking to travel between. Once again, I was fresh from 2 hours sleep after the end of my current shift pattern at work. So, with my eyes slightly hazy and the sky slightly cloudy, I headed off into town to meet Matt at the bus stop to begin the day's adventure. We decided that our cheapest option was to get an all-day ticket on an NCT bus for £3.40, making it easier to get to our first destination and home from our last stop of the day, without having to shell out too much of our drinking money on travel fare. 

Our first stop on the day's protracted ale trip was The Crown.

Situated on Raleigh Island, near the boundary of Wollaton, The Crown has been a local landmark for many years and is now owned by the Pub People Co. The exterior is a soft pebble dash with cream colouring and the interior is large and expansive with a large, wooden central bar. There is lots of seating consisting largely of booths and high, round tables. One corner includes a pool table and a dart board. On the bar, there are 5 hand pulls, only 2 of which are currently available. One of the 3 not in use is usually a cider and the ale choices are limited to Harvest Pale and Doom Bar. We decided immediately upon Harvest Pale and it was perfectly kept in every way. The pub offers 15p discount to CAMRA members with a valid membership card although, when I produced mine, the bar maid was unsure whether she was allowed to accept it, as it was her first day. She made no attempt to ask any other staff or management for advice though, which somewhat put a downer on the moment. The jukebox was playing through artists alphabetically which meant that our trip had a background soundtrack of ABBA songs which eventually segued into AC/DC.

Following our first pints of the day, we had a brief chat about how to get to our next stop of the day, before deciding that it was quicker to walk straight down Western Boulevard and turn right at the QMC roundabout before walking down the A52. After a 20-25 minute stroll, we arrived at Toby Carvery.

 Located on yet another roundabout between Wollaton and Beeston, Toby Carvery sits against the backdrop of Wollaton Hall which is roughly behind the pub. Obviously, the Toby Carvery chain is associated with very reasonably priced carvery meals but, on this occasion, we wanted to see what ale they had to offer to accompany the food. The outside of the building is in the traditional red and black design associated with the brand and this particular one also has a Travelodge connected to it, which makes it a perfect location for people looking for cheap accommodation on the outskirts of the city. Inside, the layout is very stylish with exposed decorative brickwork and ornamental features as well as a large amount of seating areas with small changes in elevation to break up the ground floor. There wasn't an enormous to choose from with regards to ale as only 2 of the 3 available hand pumps were in use, and both featured Young's Bitter (3.7%), although Tetley's was also available on smoothflow. The Young's Bitter was very tasty. Golden in colour with a malty taste and a biscuity undertone, it was certainly very refreshing after our walk. I decided that it would be rude not to eat whilst here but, as Matt had already eaten, I didn't feel like stretching to a full carvery dinner so opted instead for a full feast carvery sandwich. Served in soft white bread, this was essentially slices of all 4 carvery meats all together, served with roast potatoes, a large salad and, for a reason that I never determined, a slice of lemon. It was very delicious and very cheap, and washed down with another half of Young's, definitely dealt with my hunger pangs and gave me a much needed nutritional push to the next pub.

 
Next on our list was a pub that stands on the A52, just down the road from the carvery but on the opposite side of the road. Recently redecorated and rebranded, The Nurseryman was our next location.

 

Branded under the Eating Inn gastro-pub chain, this is a traditional family oriented venue with emphasis on good food and drink. Behind the whitewashed exterior, the L shaped bar sits in the centre of the room, which contains plush seating and is decorated with local historical photos. There are 8 hand pulls on the bar, 4 of which are currently available offering Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale. The pub also features occasional guest ales, with the most recent being Blue Monkey Marmoset. The Abbot Ale is my chosen tipple here and it's very well-kept and well-presented in a branded glass. The bar also features Aspall cider on draught. This certainly pleased Matt who went for a pint of it and we pulled up a pew on one of the low, square tables between 2 of the TV screens, which are both showing opposing news channels, Sky News and BBC News respectively. The pub is rather busy but it is a Friday afternoon and this doesn't lessen the relaxed family-friendly atmosphere, which certainly makes us feel at home. The pub name is unusual and although I've been unable to find out any of the history regarding its name, the pub sign shows a man hoeing a field. This would suggest that a nursery man is a name for a worker of a field or garden.

We had one more location left on this journey and it was a fair walk away, back across the A52 and further down the road, situated on yet another roundabout, this one on the boundary of Stapleford and Bramcote.

 

The Sherwin Arms is a community-driven food-based pub marketed under the Flaming Grill brand, with a strong emphasis on steaks and burgers but with healthier options too. The orange and black exterior leads into the relaxed interior with its fabric seating and wooden tables around a U-shaped bar. There is a moderately sized outdoor seating area consisting of a number of picnic tables. There is lots of advertising within detailing the large number of food offers and meal deals that take place throughout the week and the walls are decorated with yet more photos from the local area. There are a number of TVs throughout and these are presenting coverage of the first day of the 4th Ashes test. There are 4 hand pumps available, 1 of which is out of use, but the others showcase Old Rosie, Harvest Pale and Bombardier. Having spotted Bombardier too late, we went for Harvest Pale again and this was excellent. The pub has Cask Marque accreditation and the beer is a great testament to this. The cricket was less enjoyable as Australia seemed to be making short work of the England batting order. Regardless of this, the day up to this stage had been worth the journey, even if the ale choices were fairly limited. With our trip now at an end, we put our bus tickets to good use and made the journey back into town, even though this took 2 buses.

The ale trip itself was not too bad. The pubs were interesting and different and, despite the lack of ale choice, the overall quality was good. It's not always about the number of different beers or breweries on show at these places but the quality of ale should speak for itself. It doesn't matter whether you have the same beer in many different pubs. If the beer is in decent shape, there can't really be room for complaint. The pubs we visited on this trip are very much community places, supplying hospitality to regulars and locals and, no doubt due to their location on major transport and commuting routes, people passing through on their daily routine. All in all, community pubs, especially those on the outskirts, are doing their bit to promote ale and keep the quality as it should be for all who fancy a swift one.