Worst real ale drinking town.

[sheffield hatter]

...my years of trawling around Conference North football grounds has provided me with several poor drinking towns. The lowest accolades would probably go to Gainsborough, Alfreton and Hucknall, although two of these are still ok destinations due to their proximity to Nottingham.

Fortunately Luton haven't got as low as the sub-Conference divisions yet. We played at Alfreton on Saturday for only the second time, but my first visit. Actually, "played" is probably not quite right, and even "turned up" has connotations of commitment that probably didn't apply to several of the Hatters on the pitch. Anyway, I was there.

I went in the Victoria near the ground, although the police had designated it a home fans only pub (I slipped in under the radar). Two real ales on, Flipside On Your Marks and Clarks Classic Blonde - kept a little on the cold side. Very nice pub, and friendly landlord. Just along the road is Bluey's (formerly Hudson Bay), which some friends of mine tried when we had a game here in April, and they said there were a couple of real ales on, although it's an "Aussie bar and bistro". In the town centre there were six real ales at the King Alfred, though the pub is a little too 'Spoons-like and impersonal for my taste. Nearby the Blue Bell only had Abbot. The Devonshire was a pleasant little pub with two Oakwell beers: Barnsley Bitter and the excellent Dark MILD. Just across the road was the Miners, which only had Pedigree, though this was in good condition and only £2.30 a pint (but served in plastic on "police instructions"). I didn't go in the Waggon & Horses (JD Wetherspoon).

I also had time before kick-off to meet some friends from Luton in South Normanton where we visited the excellent GBG-listed Devonshire Arms and the Clock. (Reviews of most of the above will follow in due course.)

So, all things considered, the beer drinking in Alfreton was a lot better than the football. (We lost 3-0 if you must know.)

The Eight Jolly Brewers in Gainsborough has been a destination pub for a number of years - I always include it in my Lincoln-and-back by train crawl. It's off the main shopping street, just around the corner from a Smith & Jones and a 'Spoons , but as far as I know that's about it for this small town.

Now if you really want to hear about poor real ale towns, how about Kyle of Lochalsh and its opposite number across the water on Skye, Kyleakin? Truly dire.

[Al 10000]

Swindon is also pretty crap.
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I have made the effort to go to Swindon on train about six times and have done lots of pubs in Swindon and surrounding towns,i have always enjoyed drinking in Swindon probably because i like Arkells beers,so i would disagree about Swindon being crap.

[Farway]

As for Farnborough! Except the one out of town near Farnborough North. Prince of Wales

Even my expensive, seen off again, pint at his year's Air Show was crap, out of a tin & in a plastic "glass"

[Bucking Fastard]

The Eight Jolly Brewers in Gainsborough has been a destination pub for a number of years - I always include it in my Lincoln-and-back by train crawl. It's off the main shopping street, just around the corner from a Smith & Jones and a 'Spoons , but as far as I know that's about it for this small town.

Great minds think alike ...and it is about all there is,I popped in a few others but none compared with the Brewers

[oldboots]

Now if you really want to hear about poor real ale towns, how about Kyle of Lochalsh and its opposite number across the water on Skye, Kyleakin? Truly dire.

Most of Scotland, and to an even greater extent Ulster, is fairly poor for real ale drinkers. In Scotland you are often faced with the choice of icy Tennants, the very nasty Belhaven Best or one of the lacklustre national kegs familiar to the English. The only thing to be said for Jockland is that you'll usually get a decent choice of malts and in a bigger measure than south of the border. The Scots/Celtic drinking culture can produce some "challenging" bars, think Rab C Nesbitt etc. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness can offer some first rate bars and hotels but I'd write off most other places from an ale point of view and just enjoy the local culture and the hopefully friendly natives. North West Scotland is not a good place for ale but there are a few compensations.

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Outside of Belfast and to a much lesser degree Derry, the same "when in Rome" attitude applies to Ulster, enjoy the scenery and the local approach to life. Ditto the Republic away from Dublin and Cork.


A quick look through the posts shows Slough and Farnborough chasing each other to the bottom with North London as a whole not far behind.

[sheffield hatter]

Most of Scotland is fairly poor for real ale drinkers. In Scotland you are often faced with the choice of icy Tennants, the very nasty Belhaven Best or one of the lacklustre national kegs familiar to the English. North West Scotland is not a good place for ale but there are a few compensations.

I was pleasantly surprised by Oban when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I particularly liked the Lorne, and both the Woodside and Coasters were OK (though only one real ale in each). Surprisingly, the Oban Bay Brewery tap, Cuan Mor, had only one ale available, but perhaps this was because it was Monday, and a particularly wet one at that.

Inverness, as you say, has some high points. A few miles outside of that city there are the Dores Inn, which has four hand pumps and is worth the trip out (I believe there is a regular bus service, though I was on my bike), and I can strongly recommend the Benleva at Drumnadrochit, where the Loch Ness brewery is run by a real enthusiast.

Much further north, if you're passing the Scourie Hotel it would be a shame not to stop.

There are other oases but generally this is not an area to visit for beer and, as you say, there are other compensations when in the Highlands and Islands.