Worst real ale drinking town.

[Crossste]

Just got back from our annual beer and boating holidays and called off at some marvelous places for a pint. Stone and Burton being most memorable. But! There is always a down side.

The worst town for beer i have been, either boating or just a day out, has got to be Marple (just outside Stockport). Every pub that we found in the centre was Robbies, the only variety being it was either bad Robbies or crap Robbies, although to be fair the Robbies in the Ring O' Bells just outside the centre was good. One good pint in one pub out of six is a very poor ratio in my opinion. Not even a JDWs to fall back on.

So other worst ale drinking towns. (Sorry if its been done before and i missed it).

p.s. Why is speel chucker telling me i have speelt centre wrong.

[ROBCamra]

Oldham is pretty bad.

There are two JDW's and The Ashton Arms is very good, but the rest is almost entirely complete dross.

Thirsk is a nice town but has some of the most boring pubs for beer you could imagine.

[oldboots]

There are quite a few wastes of space out there, Scotland has more than its fair share but confining myself to England, here's a short list:


Letchworth (haven't been for years one visit was enough, I see it now has a 'spoons)

Wantage - largely ex Morlands pubs now GK there are two worth while pubs, Abingdon is almost but not quite as bad

Thirsk - almost wall to wall John Smiths. Northallerton and Richmond are saved by a couple of good pubs each but are also quite poor.

Brackley, Northamptonshire - my winner, poor to undrinkable beer in almost every pub, what is drinkable is boring or the pub is disgusting or both.

[Spinko]

I can think of a number of towns that are salvaged by one or two that stand out.

Headingley is pretty bad considering the rugby league and cricket fans that visit, except you have Arcadia hidden away at the top end of town.

Castleford in West Yorkshire has a JDW but that's about it.

Bolton is by-and-large pretty poor once you get past Ye Olde Man and Scythe (although I've not been there and going off reputation!)

A couple of mid-Wales towns in Newtown and Welshpool don't have any memories of any decent boozers for me, and thinking about it even Aberystwyth is pretty poor apart from Ship & Castle.

I think a combination of student and working class tends to be a place to avoid.

[Millay]

p.s. Why is speel chucker telling me i have speelt centre wrong.

These American spoll chuckers really puss me oof. Why can't they detect that we are in England and use the Queen's English.

[Strongers]

NW9 is great for Guinness but no so for cask ale.

[aleandhearty]

Castleford in West Yorkshire has a JDW but that's about it.

...Apart from local institution The Shoulder of Mutton, described by Roger Protz as 'one of the best pubs in the country', the nearby Eagle,a new ale venue, which was recently mentioned in a CAMRA newsletter for the quality of its beer. Finally, the much lauded Junction which has up to six pumps featuring local micros, including beers from Ridgeside and Five Towns served from the wood.

[Aqualung]

Wembley is pretty awful. The Spoons is really not one of their best and I can't think of anything else even worth considering.

In fact the whole of NW London outside of the more trendy or gentrified areas (Hampstead, Camden and Kentish Town etc) is pretty grim. Harlesden has a jettisoned Spoons and Fullers pub and a very tired looking Young's pub (the Grand Junction).

Tottenham and Edmonton are pretty dire too. I haven't returned to the Edmonton Spoons since having rubbish pints on two consecutive visits, and haven't been to the 2013 GBG listed Beehive.

Large parts of London don't really have a viable choice apart from Wetherspoons, happily I have other options even though a number of the Spoons in my area seem to be some of their better ones (well at least the beer is drinkable!).

[Mobyduck]

Basingstoke is pretty Grim, The Queens Arms aside, not a place for a decent crawl.

[hondo]

Thirsk is a nice town but has some of the most boring pubs for beer you could imagine.

just discovered Crown & Anchor
http://www.crownandanchorsowerby.co.uk/ last month a short walk from Thirsk town centre