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.