Most of the main roads in central West Bridgford are named after wealthy families that dominated the town's early history. There are also, however, new developments that are, in effect, suburbs of the suburb named after different things. For example, the Gamston development has roads named after the Lake District, and Compton Acres has roads named after Dorset and the Purbeck Coast.
There are no 'Streets' in West Bridgford. When the town was planned in the Victorian period the roads were originally named as streets: for example, Musters Street and South Street. However, the planners eventually decided that the term 'Street' was too urban, so today the town has Musters Road and South Road.
West Bridgford is notably different from the other suburbs of Nottingham in a variety of ways. During the Victorian period, Nottingham was growing rapidly, but development in West Bridgford was restricted, as much of the land was owned by the Musters family.
At the end of the First World War the Musters family sold the Trent Bridge Inn and the Trent Bridge Cricket ground to the cricket club. The club only briefly owned the inn as they resold it to a brewery for a sum in excess of the money they had paid to the Musters. After much pressure, the Musters sold land for building, but they applied strict planning regulations to the area then known as the West Bridgford Estate. This estate was planned over a grid of tree-lined streets. The main roads such as Musters Road had restrictions on the density of housing and house size. All houses were specified to contain a certain number of bedrooms. Smaller houses were permitted on side streets, and terraces were erected on roads such as Exchange Road for the servants of the wealthy Nottingham merchants who bought up property in West Bridgford.
What has resulted from these strict plans is a community that is still very separate from Nottingham. The town has no formal ties with Nottingham. In Nottingham itself, West Bridgford is often called "Bread and Lard Island" in the belief that its inhabitants spend most of their money on big houses and fur coats so they could only afford to eat bread and lard behind closed doors.
The northern boundary of West Bridgford is the River Trent, spanned by two road bridges, Trent Bridge and Lady Bay Bridge, and two pedestrianised bridges consisting of a suspension bridge and a toll bridge near the Ferry Inn linking nearby Wilford village with the Meadows area of Nottingham city. The pedestrianised bridges link particularly well with cycling routes to Nottingham, the railway station and the university areas, making several rapid, safe, car-free routes available.
Two spans of the original mediaeval bridge still remain, surrounded by a traffic island on the south side of the river, adjacent to Trent Bridge.
On a showery and chilly Saturday afternoon, George and I made a quick bus journey into West Bridgford from Nottingham city centre, the trip helped somewhat by decent traffic as both local football teams were playing away and the following day respectively. Our first destination was the local Wetherspoons, the legendary Trent Bridge Inn, which has featured in these pages before but never in photographic form.
On the day of our visit, the pub was busy but not rammed so getting to the bar for beer was relatively simple and quick. The choice, as usual for a Wetherspoons, was wide, with beers available from Purity, Funfair, Goddard's, Brewster's and a number of others. George and I were torn between both of the Funfair options, Teacups and Ski Jump, until we noticed that there was a beer on offer from Goddard's on the Isle of Wight, down in our neck of the woods! We obviously had to try some! Fuggle Dee Dum, as it was called, is 4.8% and dark chestnut in colour, with a creamy head, a slightly nutty flavour, malty top notes and a faint chocolaty aroma. It was certainly a very nice place to start and we took a seat by the side windows in a very large and encompassing booth. George was still hungover from the night before so was in need of food, opting for a bowl of pasta with garlic bread. I stuck to beer for the time being and was ready for a 2nd pint before George had finished his first. On the second run, I swung for one of the 3 Brewster's beers on offer. After much deliberation, I chose Molly Pitcher, part of their Wicked Women range of brews. Also at 4.8%, this was a pale, very hoppy affair with a fruity and zesty flavour and a crisp, dry finish. It also came in a glass that I wasn't expecting, a veritable carafe-sized chalice-shaped creation branded with the Brewster's name. It suited the beer very well and added a nice extra touch. It was also a reminder of the area that we were in for the afternoon. I don't think I would have got that in Nottingham, no offence meant!
Our next destination lay just around the corner, on the other side of Trent Bridge cricket ground. Larwood & Voce is an upmarket restaurant/bar that essentially makes up part of the cricket stand.
The pub is named after 1930s cricket legends Harold Larwood and Bill Voce and is owned by Moleface Pub Co., who also run The Wollaton in, er, Wollaton. The general feel is one of comfort and subtle style with a smart leather interior and a green and brown bar situated opposite the door. The lighting is low, dimmed for effect and the bar includes 5 handpulls, 1 of which is not in use. Of the other 4, 2 feature Harvest Pale, 1 features Tim Taylor Landlord and the other is the pub's own ale, Proper Moleface Ale, brewed especially for this venue by Magpie Brewery. One of the handpulls is stylishly designed in the form of a cricket stump. Whilst George went for the Landlord, I was feeling adventurous and opted for the Proper Moleface, which has a strength of 3.9%. I expected better things from this brew if I'm honest. Although pale, with a citrusy aroma and an underlying hop kick and bubbly finish, it was a touch too bland and watery for my taste. Whether this was an errant pint or simply my personal taste I'm unsure but the beer was unimpressive, even in the comfy surroundings.
Next on our list was a place that I knew would erase the bad taste from my mouth. One of 2 Castle Rock pubs on this trip, we next made our way to the Stratford Haven.
Opened in 1999 in the renovated shell of an old pet shop, this was the first new on-licence premises in the town for many years. Located on Stratford Road, the pub's name is a variation on the name of Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon, and there are many references to the Bard throughout. The bar is long and central and there is seating around the edge of the room. The 14 hand pumps display a variety of ales from locally and further afield. Amongst the selection are Mr. Grundy's Pip, Squeak and Wilfrid; Oldershaw Traleblazer; Rudgate Traditionale; Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Red Hart and Elsie Mo; Everard's Tiger; Bateman's XB; Adnams Broadside; Doctor Morton's Four Yorkshiremen from Abbeydale Brewery and Gwatkin Silly Ewe real cider. A couple of the handpulls were unused at the time of our visit. I made the unusual (for me) decision of choosing a mild, the Castle Rock Red Hart (5.0%), a chocolate and oatmeal stout, very dark and very chocolaty worth malty undertones. It was a tad heavier than I'd normally cope with but the interesting flavours made it more than drinkable and soon it was time to venture onwards.
Back onto the main high street now, our journey took us, via the Co-Op for a pasty, to the Monkey Tree.
Named after the Monkey Puzzle Tree (actually a species of pine), one of which takes up the front of the property, this is an upmarket bar renowned for high quality food and drink. The interior is relatively open plan with leather sofas and low seating and a bar to the right hand side of the room. 2 of the 5 handpulls are not in use but the 3 that are in use feature Flipside Franc In Stein, Navigation Golden and Bateman's XXXB. George bought the next round as I was outside eating a pasty, and he chose my beer for me, wisely selecting Franc In Stein. With a strength of 4.3%, this is a golden yellow beer with a nice fruit and malt balance and a hoppy aroma and a zesty flavour. The aftertaste is pleasantly crisp and refreshing. We unwisely decided to sit in view of a television meaning that it was hard to prevent my eyes drifting upwards now and again to keep an eye on the football scores. Thankfully, the beer was enough to distract me for the most part.
Our next location was slightly further away but worth it for the walk as it was the 2nd Castle Rock pub on the itinerary: the Poppy and Pint.
Time was getting on by now, and we still had one more venue to visit, so we wandered back into the town centre proper to visit the Test Match.
This huge art deco building is now Grade II listed after starting its life as a coaching inn back in the day. Now operated by Greene King, this estate pub is very expansive throughout with hotel room above the central area which contains lots of low tables spread out across the interior. The bar occupies one side of the room and features amongst its selection Abbot Ale, Landlord, Nottingham Brewery Extra Pale Ale, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles. I decided that my last pint for the day would be the EPA, which was in excellent condition. By now, I was very tired and starting to noticeably flag. I was also, again, in visual range of a TV which admittedly got on George's nerves, as I kept drifting back to the football, completely accidentally though! Halfway through my pint, the time had come to call it a day and and we eagerly awaited a lift home.
Our day in the suburb of West Bridgford had certainly been worth it as we had explored the ale scene as thoroughly as we could with the time we had. The nature of the area does mean that prices are slightly higher but, more often than not, the extra few pennies are certainly worth shelling out for what is generally decent beer. One or two nearby venues didn't make the agenda but there's always an opportunity for a further visit, especially as one of those we missed out has the only known ghost story I've located in relation to the area. None of the venues we made it too have fessed up too any ghostly goings on so further investigation may be necessary. All in all now, West Bridgford is one of those rare real ale havens, especially now that craft beer shop Hopology has opened in the area. This is another place I've still yet to visit but I will certainly be making the effort to see what this shop has to offer at a later date. West Bridgford overall though, has earned a big thumbs up worthy of its upmarket reputation.
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