Falmouth Pub Crawl

In which we set out to visit the seven current Good Beer Guide pubs of Falmouth, with Heritage, hills, Bass and Cornish pasties on the agenda.

First up, the handy early opener, situated next to a harbour which even the grey skies weren't going to stop looking picturesque.

‘front (Custom House Quay, Falmouth, TR11 3JT)

This was one of the late great Alan Winfield's top 5 pubs.  So I was raising my first glass of Atlantic stout to Alan, even though he'd be frowning at my list of 7 pubs for the day and wondering where the other 17 on the crawl were.

'front is located in a single cellar-style room, attention from the entrance distracted somewhat by the dominant Fish & Chip shop signage.  Under the vaulted ceiling was a long bar, tables along one side of the room, a comfy sofa corner and a space for live music with instruments hung from the wall.
Real ale ruled, with a long run of hand pumps dispensing a range of different styles from boring brown bitters to pale ales and sea salt stouts.

The background music veered the right way for me here, moving from TLC to a second airing in two days of No Doubt, then to Hendrix and some cracking 60's psych guitar.

Draining our the glasses at 'front, it was time to tackle our first hill of the day.
Quay Hill led us to the Oddfellows Arms...

Oddfellow’s Arms (Quay Hill, Famouth, TR11 3HA)

They may have opened at noon, but I don't think the landlady expected anyone to be ambitiously climbing the hill and visiting the pub right on the dot of opening.  She was sat at a table to the side with the newspaper laid out and the volume of the music cranked up.
"I'll turn that down", she said as she came to serve us.  No don't - it was as good as pub soundtracks get, featuring Martha & the Muffins, The Beat, and Elvis Costello.

This was a tiny place, with a basic trad front bar and a room to the back dominated by a pool table.  
Beers on the bar were a Padstow Brewing Co 'May Day' (which I would usually have chosen, except I couldn't abide with the seasonal discrepancy), and two from Sharp's: 'Atlantic and 'Special'.

I picked the Special, without realising it's the same thing as 'Sea Fury'.  Doh.

Traditionally I deduct a ½ point  on my imaginary pub-scoring system for anywhere that has one of those 'beer, helping ugly people to have sex since 1862' signs.
Cripes, how many points do I have to take off the Oddfellows after a trip to the WC?...

Okay.
Let's do the classic.

Seven Stars (The Moor, Falmouth, TR11 3QA)
This Victorian pub has been run by the same family since 1868, with local clergyman Rev Barrington Bennetts serving behind the counter for fifty years until his death in 2011.  I wonder if he poured my beers when I first visited, fresh-faced and oblivious to just how good the pub was 20-or-so years ago.

It's fantastically unspoilt.  Stepping into the bar is like stepping through a time warp as long as you don't pay attention to how much you're being charged for the beer.  A narrow room, with the counter taking up the whole of one side, bench seating by the windows and a couple of tables by the fireplace at the end.

There was a superb beer selection listed on a small blackboard propped on the bar next to the boxed cider.  Two stouts and a mild: Sharp's 'Nut your average', Padstow 'Pilot', and Treen 'Cloud Cuckoo' mild. 
But...y'know...Bass...

As it was still early doors, mid-week, there was just the old boy and his dog at the far end of the room, with a couple more locals making their way in while we there.  
The chap behind the bar overheard our conversation as we planned what order to tackle the rest of the pubs in (yes, this stuff is planned!).  He was most enthusiastic about the Seaview Inn, telling us they had Penzance 'Potion No.9' on - the best beer in Cornwall, he claimed.

Leaving the Seven Stars we called into the award-winning Cornish pasty shop...

 

Three of the seven pubs down, the next one was a bit of an oddity, as you'll see from the two non-conventional pub pictures below...

 

Beerwolf Books (3-4 Bells Court, Falmouth, TR11 3AZ)
This was previously the Falmouth Working Men's Club, hidden up an alleyway from busy Market Street.  It was opened in it's current bookshop/beer bar incarnation at the end of 2012.

Heading up the stairs we were confronted by table tennis action to one side of the open-plan room, the bar to the other side, and a section in the corner containing the bookshelves.

I'm not entirely sure I liked it, but it was the busiest place we visited all day and seemed to have found a winning formula.  There were family groups, people trying to play table tennis with babes in arms, young hipster coffee drinkers, and surf dude types with pints of beer.

With several cask ales from Penzance Brewery I picked the ‘Crows-an-Wra’, a crisp golden ale, whilst Mrs PropUptheBeer made a bolder choice, opting for the Weird Beard 'Ryeclops Rising' 8.5% imperial stout.  

Our next destination was a climb up the hill again to the Seaview Inn.
Only to discover we hadn't checked the opening times properly and it was a late-afternoon opener.
We marched up to the top of the hill, then we marched back down again...to the Moth & Moon, close to the bus stops, Spoons and the Seven Stars.

Moth & The Moon (31 Killigrew Street, Falmouth, TR11 3PW)
This proved to be a modernised terrace pub which was probably much more rough 'n' ready when it used to be the Mason’s Arms.
There's still a feel of the cocktail bar that it first reinvented itself as when the name changed. 
The blackboard next to the bar advertises £9 espresso martini's, the lighting was dim, night lights were on the tables, and the soundtrack was easy-listening jazz.  Not really the kind of place I could warm to, despite the Atlantic 'Winter Red' being in good condition.
The micro first floor outdoor smokers table was an unusual feature though...

Right, let's try the Seaview Inn again...
Trust the one pub that we had to go back and forth to a couple of times to be furthest up the hill.  This is Jacobs Ladder, which we became quite familiar with...

And this is the Seaview Inn, still not open when we made it back for the second time...

Seaview Inn (Wodehouse Terrace, Falmouth, TR11 3EP - web)
We could see the landlord sitting inside doing his crossword and obviously determined not to unbolt the door a minute early.  A group of four lads and a solitary dog walker joined us to loiter outside the pub - all of whom got served before me, as was completely expected.

On the earlier recommendation of the landlord from the Seven Stars, I ordered the Penzance ‘Potion No.9' and decided it was nice enough, but probably not the best beer in Cornwall.

The Seaview Inn is a sizable place, all open plan allowing you to do a whole circle, round the back past a servery, into a section with a pool table and back to the front of the bar where you started.  Pretty much every table had a sign on saying who it was reserved for later, suggesting that this is somewhere which gets busy of an evening.

 

We just had the one pub left, although it did involve navigating those steps once more and trudging uphill again to reach the Boathouse.
It may have been dusk on a grey day, but I could still appreciate the great views up here across the water...

The Boathouse (Trevethan Hill, Falmouth, TR11 2AG - web)
I really liked this multi-roomed two-level pub.
Plenty of outdoor terrace seating on the ground floor, whilst the bar itself is up a flight of stairs.  Separate rooms lead off this, with large windows making the most of the elevated location and wonderful vista.

There seemed to be a hefty amount of table reservations for later in the evening, at which point I'd probably grumble about the place, but with a side room to ourselves and a gorgeous pint of Treen’s ‘Sunbeam’, this was a fine end to the Falmouth pub crawl.

Truro Pub Explorations

Our winter travels took us into Cornwall and to the counties sole city, Truro.
It's billed by the local tourist board as "our great little city", with a population of just over 20,000 and 16 pubs, if I'm counting right.
And it offered sensibly priced accommodation. Further south-west there were some very ambitious hotel room rates where they've scrapped the concept of off-season bargains for folk like us who come down to Cornwall in the pouring rain.

No Poldark tourist trail in Truro for Mrs PropUptheBar after she discovered that the producers used Frome for the TV show instead.
"To the pub!" she demanded, not keen on traipsing around getting wet when we could be settled in a cosy hostelry.  First stop: the Old Ale House...

Old Ale House (7 Quay Street, Truro, TR1 2H - web)
I wasn't sure that we were going to find this open being as it's the brewery tap for Skinner's who were in administration at the time of our visit.
They were founded in 1997, with 'Cornish Knocker' and 'Betty Stogs' beers finding their way around the country, the brewery moving to bigger premises, and the Ale House being brought under their wing as a tap in 2008.
It was announced at the beginning of October that Skinner's was going into administration, although the pub wasn't affected as it is not owned directly by the brewery.

It's the kind of pub I really like, taking me back to the olde ale houses and brewpubs that used to be my faves in the 90's.  Scruffy round the edges, low beams, moodily lit, and wooden floors scattered with monkey nut shells.

I didn't go straight in for the Bass, perhaps put off by the make-shift laminated pump clip, or perhaps still content with the pint I'd had earlier in the day in Bodmin's Hole in the Wall.
I started on the local 'Lowen' from St Ives...

Then returned to the bar for a lovely 'Betty Stogs', being as there was no guarantee if I'd ever see it again.
And then went for the Bass (on fair to middling form).

Skinner's now appear to have found a buyer, so hopefully that won't be my final pint of Betty Stogs and this won't be a brewery that disappears without a trace.

Staying for three beers in one pub is almost unheard of on Prop Up the Bar, with my itchy feet wondering what we're missing around the corner.
Eventually the rain seemed to have eased, so we moved on and made a short stroll to the White Hart...

White Hart (25 New Bridge Street, Truro, TR1 2AA)
This was a great basic little city centre boozer in a city centre that has lost most of its pubs over the years.
There's a step down through the front door, hence the windows and hanging baskets at pavement level.  Inside the locals were spaced out on stools along the bar, or sat amongst shopping bags on the tables at the side.
  

Fullers ‘London Pride’ or Greene King 'Abbot' on the hand pumps may not be an especially exotic choice, but the Pride was in wonderful condition - beer of the day.

I was invited to join a pub quiz team later in the week on the basis that I could answer the folks at the next table when they asked who the singer of No Doubt was.  (They would have been disappointed when they found out how much I don't know).
'Don't Speak' (do any other No Doubt songs get an airing?) played in the background, Harlequins beat Northampton on the TV, and the early evening seemed pretty fine in the White Hart.

We should have just stayed there for another pint, but instead set out clambering up a hill in the drizzle to claim a second Beer Guide tick.

The Rising Sun (Mitchell Hill, Truro, TR1 1ED - web)
Hmmmmm.
"Frequented by local drinkers although there is a substantial food offering" says What Pub.  It certainly was substantial, with tables in the larger back room fully set up with serviettes and wine glasses.
Dreadful leather-cushioned chunky stools lined the bar with no gaps between them preventing me actually getting to the counter.
Foodie awards hung on display and random cook books sat on ledges.

Just look at the horrors of our table, the last available in the non-dining front room...

The redemption was that my pint of Sharps 'Sea Fury' was in good condition, and we were next to the crackling fire to warm us up and dry the wet coats.

We could have pushed the boat out and stayed for the award-winning food.
But we didn't - we went to Wetherspoon's instead...

Try Dowr (Lemon Quay, Truro, TR1 2LW - web)
This is located on an open space where you'll find one end of the Pannier market, the bus station, and the inevitable elaborate festive German sausage stall.
Truro's JDW opened in 2006 in a building that previously housed local newspaper offices, so it's not the most characterful of pub conversions - just a long room with a good carpet...

I made hard work of a pint of Nottingham Brewery ‘Rose’s Oatmeal Stout’, which was the indicator that it was time to call it a night and head back to our hotel.

Also of note is the Red Elephant Beer Cellar, located in a Georgian building right next door to the cathedral.  We ended up in this craft bar and bottle shop the following evening, sipping sours and imperial stouts on precarious high stools.

Well worth popping into for crafty murk if you're in the neighbourhood, but visit the Old Ale House first, where hopefully they'll be serving up Skinner's beers for years to come.

Bass Discovery in Barnstaple

I made a rare foray into North Devon during our recent Christmas travels, picking the town of Barnstaple for an overnight stay.

We arrived just gone 2pm with a craving for food, making Wetherspoon's the most logical first point of call.  I didn't realise at the time that this was the first of the two current Beer Guide ticks in the town - at this rate we'd be done and back in the hotel watching The Weakest Link by teatime.

The Panniers (33-34 Boutport Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1RX - web)
This turned out to be super-busy, as we trekked around the various sections of the pub, just managing to grab a high table as someone was leaving.  At the next table was the postman in his shorts, other customers included Barnstaple youths, families, professional drinkers and old boys in Christmas jumpers.

The run of guest beer pumps was probably one of the best I've encountered in Spoons - unless you don't like dark ales.  Bradfield 'Farmers Belgian Blue', Titanic 'Plum Porter', Nethergate 'Growler', Nottingham 'Oatmeal Stout' and Exmoor 'Exemas Ale'.
I stuck local with a lovely pint of the Exmoor winter brew, the temptation being to just stay here and make my way through the lot of 'em.

The pub takes its name from the Panniers Market just across the road.
Which looks like this...

Giving no opportunity to walk off the calories from lunch, our next stop was just a minute further up the road.
I'd almost missed this, spotting the day before that it was on the Wickingman Bass list, and a day after we'd been there that it's on CAMRA's list of pubs with historic interiors of national importance. 

Corner House (108 Boutport Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1SY)
I loved it from the outside - a fine curved frontage with a road sign inconveniently in the way of pictures; a retro Bass advert above the side door and a no-nonsense look about it.

And here's the beer range...no messing around with Christmas beers here - the 6X just gets a Santa hat for a couple of weeks.

Mrs PropUptheBar picked the Extra, a St Austell beer that I haven't seen before which was very nice indeed.  Better, if I'm being completely honest, that my Bass.

The building dates back to 1935 and remains little altered since.  The main room has a curved counter, the seats just beyond the end of it by an inglenook fireplace once being a separate room.  Wood panelling covers most of the walls with a plethora of rugby themed pictures hanging from it.

It was quiet when we arrived, but a group on a pub crawl arrived shortly afterwards and livened things up.
Is there any Country and Western one of them inquired, heading to the jukebox.  So it was that we were entertained by Freddy Fender's 'Before the Next Teardrop Falls', followed by a bit of Dolly Parton - a most unexpected pub soundtrack.

Having put up with me taking pictures of my Bass glass whilst listening to country & western, Mrs PropUptheBar demanded a micropub and craft beer to make up for it.
Let's see what I can come up with...

Beer Matters (7 Tuly Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1DG - web)
I'd spotted this brand new micro pub in a 'Stop Press' article in the North Devon CAMRA Beer Tiz magazine.

We received a warm welcome and a description of the four ales on offer, all from very local brewers: GT, Clearwater, Country Life and Coombe Brewery.
A decent pint of 'Ruby Sunset' from Coombe for me.

To say they've only been open a matter of weeks there were a few locals settled into seats and chatting away to the owner as though they'd been coming here for years.
One chap arrived, ordered his beer, and asked if he could stick a leaflet on the small notice board for the Earwax Removal by Microsuction place he'd just been to.
He then sat sipping his pint completely oblivious to the other customers asking him questions...
"Take his leaflet down - it doesn't work!"

Next up, the craft diversion...

Latitude 48 (96 High Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1HR - web)
A minimal bit of research suggested we had two options for craft murk in Barnstaple - a respectable shop/cafe at the side of the Pannier market or Lattitude 48 on the High Street.
Both advertised beer, gins and cocktails. We picked Latitude which looked the place to be for young hipsters like us. 
Most of the beers on offer were your standard big brand 'craft', with the Fierce & Noble standing out as the lesser-seen beer-ticker option. 
Even if the font did make my eyes go funny and I initially thought it read 'birthday sex' - thankfully not what I tried to order.

In the back of the bar all tables looked to be reserved for later in the evening, with a decent late afternoon crowd already making headway's on the cocktails and G&Ts.
The front section of Latitude 48 was the sporty bit, with shuffle board, pinball, pool table and an unnecessarily large TV displaying a log fire.

A hefty £1.50 for pool and payment by card only, which scuppered the chap traditionally lining up his coins on the edge of it. 

We still had one Good Beer Guide pub to visit, so drank up and set off through the drizzle beyond the shops, alongside Pilton Park and across the River Yeo to the Reform Inn.

Reform Inn (Reform Street, Pilton, EX31 1PD - web)
This was a grand spacious pub with pool table in pride of place in the middle of the main room, seats in a few nice nooks and crannies, hi-vis bloke at the bar, skittle alley out back.

As the 'Brewery Tap' signs out front suggested, this is home to Barum Brewery, four of their beers being available when we visited.
I picked a thoroughly enjoyable 'Reformation Ale', at a bargain happy-hour price, then missed some absolute sitters on the pool table for which I'm blaming a dodgy cue.
Coin-operated and 50p a game - I don't care that the Latitude table has grey felt and looks a bit sexier - the Reform Inn is hands down winner.

Sat in the Reform Inn, we realised that we were actually only a 10-minute walk away from another Beer Guide pub listed as Bradiford to confuse us.
So we headed out into the night to find the last pub of the day.

Windsor Arms (55 Bradiford, Bradiford, EX31 4AD)
Our visit to the Windsor was a quiet and uneventful one, which could mean it really was quiet and uneventful or that it was the sixth pub of the day and I don't remember much about it.

In a very quiet street, this was a two room local pub, with a handful of customers sat on high stools around the bar.  The friendly landlord popped over to ask what we thought of the GT 'Santa's Pod' - a new creation by the brewer apparently.  

To say my plan had been to visit the two beer guide pubs then 'see what else we find', I think we did rather well in Barnstaple.
Several great pubs offering a bit of variety, Bass, murky craft, home brew, pinball and pool.