Carlton is a suburb to the east of Nottingham, in the borough of Gedling. It is close to the suburbs of Bakersfield, Colwick, Gedling, Mapperley, Netherfield, Sneinton and St. Ann's. Situated near the level Trent and with an NG4 postcode, Carlton appears in the Domesday Book as Carentune. The main shopping area is Carlton Hill which has several shopping chains and smaller stores, such as newsagents, chemists and grocers. There is also a fairly large shopping area in Carlton Square, the traditional centre of Carlton and where Carlton Urban District Council was based before Carlton became part of Gedling Borough Council in 1974. There are a number of churches of various denominations including Pentecostal, Anglican and Greek Orthodox. There is a large Tesco supermarket at the bottom of Carlton Hill, built on the site of St. Paul's Primary School which stood from 1869 until 1983. The school was built next to a 17th Century graveyard which was relocated when the Tesco was to be built on the same land. This allegedly produced ghostly activity at the Tesco, presumably caused by the energies of the deceased who had been relocated from hallowed land, and this may or may not have been dealt with by an exorcism.
As I live in Mapperley, Carlton is close enough for me to walk so it wasn't long before I found myself on the main high street of Carlton in search of my first destination, the local Wetherspoons pub, called The Free Man.
Opened in 2010, The Free Man takes its name from part of the old Saxon name for the area. It''s name is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words 'Ceorl', meaning a free man, and 'ton' or 'tun', meaning settlement or enclosure. Carlton, therefore was a 'settlement of free men'. The two-storey detached building was erected for the Greater Nottingham Co-Operative Society in around 1960, and traded here until its closure in 2007, after which it was bought by Wetherspoons. Inside, the normal Spoons layout greets me, with the bar along one side and lots of seating. There is a small alcove, containing seating, just inside the entrance and the toilets are located upstairs. On the bar are 10 hand pulls and these include standard Spoons offerings (Abbot Ale, Ruddles Best) and 6 guest ales from Nottingham Brewery (Bullion, Rock Mild, Hill Top Bitter) and Milestone (Summer Breeze, Hoptimism, Old Oak). I'd brought along a couple of my Wetherspoons ale vouchers so planned on sampling a couple of the guest brews and it made sense to have one for each guest brewery. My first option was Hill Top Bitter, a special edition ale brewed specially for The Free Man by Nottingham Brewery. At 4.5%, this is golden with a zesty aroma, a hoppy taste and a crisp, dry finish with hints of citrus. It's certainly a very nice way to start, although it took me a bit longer than normal to finish as my Mum phoned me after a couple of sips and engaged me in conversation about my new job. For my second pint here, I opted for something slightly different, Milestone Summer Breeze (4.5%). This golden ale is infused with wild berries, has a soft, tangy aroma and a smooth, creamy head. The taste is noticeably fruity and very delicious to say the least!
I had intended that my next destination would be The Nags Head, further down Carlton Hill. As I approached the pub, I managed to glance through the window and noticed two things that struck fear into my heart. The first was the absence of hand pulls and the second was the large, menacing shapes of locals perched at the bar. Even from outside, the atmosphere felt slightly threatening and, with no ale on offer, it didn't seem worth it. Instead, I kept walking to the bottom of the hill, popped into the aforementioned haunted Tesco for a quick snack, and found my next destination waiting for me nearby: The Blacks Head.
This traditional two roomed pub has the bar in the centre of the room with plush seating and wooden tables on two sides. Frosted glass windows occupy the front wall and there is further seating through a doorway to the rear. Old brewery posters and prints decorate the walls. On the bar there are 6 hand pulls offering Doom Bar, Harvest Pale, Springhead Roaring Meg and Tetley's Blacks Head, brewed especially for the pub. I began with Blacks Head (3.7%), golden in colour with a hoppy aroma, a smooth, sweet taste and an undertone of zest. I took a seat at one of the wooden tables and soaked up the relaxed atmosphere. There were a couple of regulars and employees in the place as well and they were engaging in pleasant conversation whilst leaving me to mind my own business, although I was given a pleasant goodbye when I eventually moved on. I decided that the trauma of The Nags Head warranted a second pint here so I opted for Roaring Meg (5.5%), which was in perfect condition. As I finished the last drops of this, I was intrigued by watching a couple of employees attempting to change the channel on the TV. This was unsuccessful as it would appear that the device in question seemed to be developing a mind of its own and had apparently switched itself on earlier that morning. As interesting as this tidbit was, it was time for me to venture elsewhere.
My plan at this point was to visit The Old Volunteer, a pub which, according to the sign outside and its own website, was Carlton's premier live music venue and provided a good choice of real ales. When I arrived, slightly after its 2pm opening, there appeared to be nobody home and the door was closed. I waited around for a further 10 minutes, aware that sometimes it can a bit of effort to get a pub open on time, but to no avail. The doors remained steadfastly shut and, suitable miffed, I moved on. Next up was a pub that I had been apprehensive about but turned out to be a pleasant surprise: Inn For A Penny.
The pub boasts a fairly traditional interior with decorative exposed brickwork and white plastered walls and standard wood and leather seating. There is a small, raised area which breaks up the layout a little, a dart board, games machines and a number of TVs, on this occasion showing Sky Sports News coverage of transfer deadline day. There are 6 hand pulls, 1 of which is not in use, but the other 5 have an interesting mix of things. Available are Weston's Strawberry Twist Cider, Abbot Ale, Harvest Pale, Navigation Traditional and, my choice, Holden's Buffalo Soldier. This is one of Holden's seasonal ales based around famous musicians, in case Bob Marley for those of you who have no taste. The ale itself is golden, with a citrus aroma and a very fruity flavour with distinctive hints of mango and peach and a smooth, creamy finish, all at a strength of 4.5%. It's very nice indeed and sets me up nicely for my final location.
It ended up being further away than I thought and involved turning back on myself and walking quite a way further into the Carlton outskirts than I planned but eventually I got there. Located on Westdale Lane is the Greene King operated Westdale Tavern.
This cream paint and traditional brick building is part of Greene King's Meet & Eat chain. The bar is central and there is lots of high seating, a pool table, a fruit machine and some TVs. My heart was buoyed as I arrived and saw a sign at the entrance advertising a celebration of real ale. Imagine my disappointment then, when I entered and saw that the one available hand pump was out of use and I was forced to resort to Greene King IPA on a smooth flow tap. It was refreshing after my long walk and was tastier than I expected but that really wasn't the point after what I expected from the advert. I can only hope that the month-long celebration that was advertised is now in full swing and my arrival on September 1st was the only reason that there was nothing better on offer. I spent time mulling over my pint about my day and using Google maps to find the quickest route home. I'm confused by Carlton. It has a strange mix of pubs that are better than expected (The Blacks Head) and pubs that should be better than their reputation would suggest (Westdale Tavern), all in relatively close proximity to both home and Nottingham city centre. After the massive success of Beeston and Sawley, Carlton was a taste of suburban reality. On my surprisingly long walk home I reflected on this and pondered the benefits of a return trip here. Suburbs like Carlton struggle to make real ale pubs because of their surroundings, their inhabitants and their economic conditions. It's a shame but I'm glad I visited. At least I've done my best to put these particular pubs on the map.
I've got something a lot different planned for next week and I'm very excited. Watch this space!
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