We began our day at the Castle Rock brewery tap, the Vat and Fiddle.
Located adjacent to the Castle Rock brewery, which sits behind the pub, the Vat and Fiddle is a 1930s rebuild of a Victorian local that was known as The Grove for most of its life, before a series of failed rebrandings led to its eventual closing by its owners. Resurrected as a real ale house, the Tom Hoskins in 1992, it was subsequently rechristened the Vat and Fiddle by new owners Castle Rock in 1997 and gained a reputation as a proper drinkers pub. It is dubbed as the brewery tap for the brewery itself. It had been a while since we'd both visited this place so it was pleasant to see that the level of excellence we remembered was still present. The old, Victorian interior has a rectangular central bar, wooden furniture and fabric sofas and a bar billiards table, a rare site in Nottingham, although one also resides at The Newhouse on Canal Street, another Castle Rock pub not too far away. The bar has lots of ales, spread across 12 hand pumps, but also has a vast variety of whiskies available behind the bar. The overall atmosphere is very relaxed and exactly what you'd hope for and expect to find in a classic drinking establishment. Ale-wise, the majority of what's on offer is Castle Rock as you'd imagine, although Colchester Brewery's Lemon Drizzle is available as a guest. The house beers on offer are Preservation, Elsie Mo, Screech Owl, Harvest Pale, Richard Beckinsale, Honey Bee, Sheriff's Tipple, Black Gold and Trailing Snapdragon. Very much spoilt for choice, it took a little time for us to decide but in the end we went for the two offerings from the Natural Selections range. I went for a pint of Trailing Snapdragon (4.2%), whilst Matt went for the Honey Bee.
The Snapdragon was excellent, a very fruity wheat beer, golden in colour and with a zesty aroma and citrus taste. The pints went down so well, and it was still not yet lunchtime, that we felt that a second was in order to give us a broader idea of the range of beers available. Second time around, Matt went for the very lemony guest beer from Colchester Brewery. I went for a brew from another of the brewery's special ranges, the Nottinghamian Celebration Ales, dedicated to famous Nottingham residents. On this occasion, it was Richard Beckinsale, brewed in memory of the much-loved actor who starred in Porridge and Rising Damp and also fathered Underworld and Van Helsing star Kate. This ale was also 4.2% and was bronze in colour, with a slightly bitter aroma, a malty taste and a smooth finish. We could easily have stayed in the Vat and Fiddle all day but that wouldn't have been very productive so we finally decided that we should probably move on to some more places in our chosen area of study for the week. We'll definitely be going back more often though! The Vat has been through a lot in its relatively short life, not too mention the fairly recent loss of the much-loved pub cat Kipper, and is one of Nottingham's most well-known pubs, together with the associated brewery. The brewery has the rare distinction of allegedly being haunted. In 2011, a member of staff spotted a male figure walking across the cold storage area, although the unknown man could not be found upon further investigation. Over the years, several staff have reported seeing things from the corner of their eye that they cannot explain. With this anecdote aside, as long as the beer continues to be as consistently good as it is, a little ghostly interference can only be a good thing!
The Snapdragon was excellent, a very fruity wheat beer, golden in colour and with a zesty aroma and citrus taste. The pints went down so well, and it was still not yet lunchtime, that we felt that a second was in order to give us a broader idea of the range of beers available. Second time around, Matt went for the very lemony guest beer from Colchester Brewery. I went for a brew from another of the brewery's special ranges, the Nottinghamian Celebration Ales, dedicated to famous Nottingham residents. On this occasion, it was Richard Beckinsale, brewed in memory of the much-loved actor who starred in Porridge and Rising Damp and also fathered Underworld and Van Helsing star Kate. This ale was also 4.2% and was bronze in colour, with a slightly bitter aroma, a malty taste and a smooth finish. We could easily have stayed in the Vat and Fiddle all day but that wouldn't have been very productive so we finally decided that we should probably move on to some more places in our chosen area of study for the week. We'll definitely be going back more often though! The Vat has been through a lot in its relatively short life, not too mention the fairly recent loss of the much-loved pub cat Kipper, and is one of Nottingham's most well-known pubs, together with the associated brewery. The brewery has the rare distinction of allegedly being haunted. In 2011, a member of staff spotted a male figure walking across the cold storage area, although the unknown man could not be found upon further investigation. Over the years, several staff have reported seeing things from the corner of their eye that they cannot explain. With this anecdote aside, as long as the beer continues to be as consistently good as it is, a little ghostly interference can only be a good thing!
Our next location is considerably closer to the canal and is actually on Canal Street. Renowned for good food and a consistently changing wide range of ale, Fellows, Morton and Clayton is much-loved.
This wonderful Victorian pub is named after the local company that used to manufacture canal boats for use on the nearby waterways and further afield. The brick exterior leads into an interior consisting of exposed brickwork and traditional wooden features, including lots of seating, arranged over 2 or 3 staggered levels. There is a disused brewery upstairs that harks back to the day when the pub used to provide its own beverages in conjunction with guests. There are a couple of dart boards in the carpeted lower area and the pub also boasts a small but decent outside area that contains a few picnic tables. There are 10 hand pumps available for the hardy drinker, with a variety of different concoctions on show including Westons 1st Quality Cider, Sharp's Doom Bar, Lincoln Green Tuck and Marion, Thwaites' Wainwright, Black Sheep Bitter, Tim Taylor Landlord, St. Austell Proper Job and Castle Rock Harvest Pale. For those of you that don't know, Matt is from the West Country so there was no way we were not going to have the Proper Job, especially because it meant that Matt could order it in his regional accent, to the general bemusement of the bar staff. The beer was not bemusing though. At 4.5%, it was very hoppy and pale with a fruity aroma and a heady, citrus taste. We took a seat out in the beer garden, as the weather was brightening up from an initial overcast look and the sun was very warming. This pub is popular with football fans and it's easy to see why. As well as being on the walking route from the City Centre to both the City Ground and Meadow Lane, the atmosphere is very welcoming and provides a pleasant drinking and dining experience for all.
The third spot on our canal-based journey was literally the other side of the fence from where we were sitting and was the 2nd Castle Rock pub on the itinerary. I've visited the Canalhouse a number of times before, including for my very first proper blog entry, and no trip to the canal is complete without a chance to delve into its range of ales.
There was lots to choose from again on this occasion, including the requisite quantity from Castle Rock, and Matt and I both opted for a guest ale on this occasion. Matt plumped for another Colchester Brewery beer, in this instance Red Diesel, whilst I was immediately drawn to a beer from one of my favourite breweries, Abbeydale, and their Philosophy (4.9%). This was another example of the quality on offer from this Yorkshire based brewery, copper in colour, very malty in taste and with a soft, smooth, creamy head. As we sat by the canal with our pints, Matt's friend Luke joined us, fresh from a week-long stint as holding manager for the nearby Waterfront, which would have been good for a visit had it not been closed.
With another member to our party, our next plan was to nip over to the other side of the canal and visit the local Wetherspoons, The Company Inn.
At this point, we had already decided where our journey would end and Matt then hit on a better idea and suggested that, as we were nearby, it couldn't hurt to visit Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which is only across the road. I love the Trip so I immediately thought this was genius. The Trip was busy, with both locals and tourists but we didn't mind as it meant that we could sit outside in the shadow of the castle. We ended up enjoying an exceptionally well-kept pint of Olde Trip here, after attempts to order both Robin Hood and Rock Mild were met with news that both had run out. I felt bad for the lone barmaid as she seemed to be completely by herself, dealing with a busy bar, but did so with a smile the whole time and did not seem too flustered or stressed, which is very difficult to manage under those conditions, trust me!
Following the Trip, our final destination loomed and you can't get much closer physically to the canal than The Navigation. It would have been a travesty not to make a return visit here as we were in the vicinity, especially as it gave us another opportunity to try one of Annie's awesome burgers! The ale selection was interesting and varied and I opted for a pint of Independence (4.1%) from Shipyard Brewery. This proved to be a wise choice as it was brimming with flavours being very hoppy, with hints of both malt and citrus. It was certainly very tasty. Whilst we were perusing the menus, we relocated to the outside seating area which sits right on the very edge of the canal. I opted for the Mushroom Swiss burger which contained a large quantity of delicious mushrooms and slatherings of Swiss cheese. It was very tasty indeed and I was pleasantly surprised that one of my friends is now working in the kitchen here too. Whilst eating our burgers and discussing our successful day exploring the canal, we began discussing canal boats and locks. The Navigation has a lock right next to it and it was interesting watching boats progress through them down the canal. It was at this point that logic and common sense seemed to desert me as I couldn't grasp the concept as to why, when water runs through a lock to allow a boat to pass, the water level on one side stayed at the same level, whilst the other increased. This led to a heated, frustrating but, in hindsight, thoroughly hilarious, attempt by Matt to make me understand that the secret was in the speed at which the lock was opened and that the overall water volume was unaffected. Eventually, my brain stopped being silly and allowed me to understand what was happening. It makes complete sense now that the water that flows through a lock is immediately replenished by water flowing downstream from the source, allowing the water that drains through to run away once the gate is closed. We even got to open and close the lock for a passing boat which was fun bur, I must admit, didn't really help at the time. Once I stopped thinking of a canal as a closed system though, I finally got my head around it. I think..........
And on that watery and physics-based bombshell, it became apparent that perhaps we should go home. The day had, once again, been both interesting and thoroughly enjoyable and I even learned something about the sorcery of travelling by canal boat. The venues around the canal are varied, diverse and certainly interesting from an historical viewpoint as well as aesthetically. The summer that we've just had has no doubt contributed considerably to their popularity and there really is nothing quite like a quiet, well-earned pint by a canal on a sunny afternoon. Next week, as I have a week off prior to the start of my teacher training, I plan to make 2 pub trips to a couple of interesting areas in the Nottingham area. I shall say no more for now so keep an eye for future posts! I'm off to read about magical water gates..........
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