BURTON-UPON-TRENT.

A small-ish 2 room pub entered by a narrow alley way to the side. Walking down there you realise this is the brewery tap of the Burton Bridge Brewery. The pub itself small and you need to negotiate a step to get into the pub through narrow double-doors. Hard carpeted floors await you as do wooden church pews and tables. The central bar area has been opened out on one side and extended into the room behind - where there is a large wooden fireplace with a gas fire in it. It can easily fill up, but this makes the place feel friendly and cosy. Low beamed ceilings are very old as is the whole building and ivy covers part of the sign. As for beer, this is the tap and so they had three or four of their own beers on plus a guest. All well kept and tasting fine. There are also a number of whiskies. Food is served lunchtimes only, but not on Sundays. Toilets for men used to be outside, but refurbishment and common sense means they are now inside. There is a summer seating area outside which catches the sun nicely. Ladies toilets are up the inside stairs. No accommodation here though, though there is B&B available in the town, try Tourist Information. A no smoking area has been added for your comfort.

This is a sister pub to the Burton Bridge Inn and so serves a similar array of their ales plus a guest ale. All again were well kept and served, though are not keenly priced as you would expect from a 'brewpub'. Not far from the station, this pub has a nautical blue and white facade and you enter through a central door at the front. There is a bar to the right and seating to the left, another bar at the rear also has seating at an assortment of tables and chairs. There is a no smoking section too with benches - though there is a small step down to it. The decor is very historical with lots of old pictures of Burton on the walls including a large map of the town boundary. For the non beer drinker there are fruit wines and a number of continental bottled beers. There is food here from a traditional menu of pub grub. A limited selection for vegetarians is available. All meals are reasonably priced including the steaks. Food is served Mon-Thu 12-2.15, 5.30-8pm, Fri 12-3, 5.30-8pm, Sat 12-2.30, 5.30-8pm. There is seating outside for summer.

This is another brewpub in Burton. They don't brew on site, but it is the brewery tap for Old Cottage beers. You enter from the front of an inconspicuous building in a street that has nothing going for it. Sorry to sound so down but it's plain and a little rough. Once inside - little step - the bar is to the right and down some steps. Here you will find the small bar itself which serves as a central bar for the public room behind. There are usually three to four ales on including one guest ale. There is not much else for the non real ale drinker except wine. The bar is cosy with a wood burning stove and over mantle. Seting round the wall is a padded bench with round tabled and some stools. It gets busy at lunchtimes and evening here and is invariably smokey. However, there is a no smoking snug on the opposite side to the bar. This is not large, but gives a feel for real friendliness. Food is served ere lunch and evenings and is traditional pub food - not Sunday evenings. Upstairs is a skittle alley with its own bar. Despite the unappetizing facade, this is a good pub and well worth the short walk from the railway station and the Town Hall where the beer festival is held twice a year.

This is another classic pub style that is all too often discarded by the need to make things look uniform. Housed in the former stables and shed of the old Thomas Sykes Brewery (set back a ways from the ring road), this can be a daunting place to 'pop' into if you are not aware of the delights inside. A small step down and you enter through an old warehouse style door to a second door to your left (the bar) and another to the right (the snug). The bar area has a cobbled floor and slopes up to the bar and the portable gas heater for winter. There are some tables and chairs here, but not too many - note the anvil table. The decor is olde worlde and reminiscent of how it must have looked 50 years ago, right down to the need for a lick of paint and the kinda dirty look - if you understand what I mean. The bar is a Heath Robinson affair set in the far corner across the triangle of it. The whole thing looks put together for a fiver. Now some of you may think that a criticism, but I think it shows an emphasis on serving good beer rather than worrying about padded chairs, etc. However, it did put off a couple in our group. The bar extends in a long finger down to the right to get to the hatch which is the service area for the snug. Children are allowed in here till 8.30. Tables and chairs dominate and it is small enough to feel private when on your own. Toilets are interesting, but you have to see it in context of the pub. It sort of reminds me of the Cow and Plough in Oadby before it got refurbished. There is also a function room where they hold twice yearly beer festivals. In the summer you can sit out in the old brewery yard. No food here and no accommodation. This pub is actually under threat of closure by the council - they want to build on the land. It might not be there after March, so go while you can and get a bit of real community in yer.

Other Accommodation

Star and Garter. Grange Street. (01283) 272928. b&b £15 pp £17.50 with eve meal £12.50 room only.

Prince Arthur, 114, Shobnall Street. (01283) 566945 / 509798. 3 singles £15 b&b

The Compasses, 77-78 Wellington Street. (01283) 561737. £15 pp, £18 en-suite no breakfast before 10.00 pub meals mon-fri lunchtime and evening

Oak & Ivy, Wellington Street. (01283) 532508. £12.50 room only, £16 b&b

Station Hotel, Borough Road. (01283) 564955. 16 beds, most rooms en-suite. £16 room only, £20 b&b

Swan Inn, Bridge End, Burton Bridge. (01283) 563552. 1.5 miles from Town Hall. £15 pp

Acknowledgment to Bruton CAMRA

Maps of Burton Pubs