Alfreton - Micropubs and Football

A visit to the wild eastern fringes of Derbyshire to watch Oxford City in a crunch National League North tie.

With a 5-point gap in the lower reaches of the league table between the two teams, a win for City with 3 games remaining would add a bit of comfort to the run-in. Three points for Alfreton, meanwhile, would put them in touching distance and a step closer to climbing out of the relegation spots.

I arrived early-doors with plenty (more than enough?) time to explore the town.
As usual, early-doors = Spoons.
This one has the appearance of a trad pub, albeit with a rather glaring red and white frontage - wet paint signs still in place. Spruced up in readiness for the Prop Up the Bar visit, no doubt.

Waggon and Horses (9 King Street, Alfreton, DE55 7AF)
This was recorded as being a pub called the Waggon and Horses in 1818 and would have once been one of several coaching inns on the market place.  By the 1990s it had become a café/bar prior to opening in its current guise.  The design is unmistakable Spoons, with some nice tables by the windows; a fairly gloomy section in the middle by the bar where you'll also find high tables and fruit machines; bright and airy in the high-ceiling back room which leads to a garden.

Guest beers appear to be limited to two here: Titanic 'Plum Porter' or Black Hole 'Milky Way' on this occasion  I always enjoy the Burton-upon-Trent Black Hole beers, so opted for a half (it was pre-noon and 6%) of the chewy and sweet 'Milky Way' pale ale.  

It's a tricky task to find many kind words spoken about Alfreton's appeal to the casual visitor.
It's one of those places where recommended attractions are 'nearby'.  So your Alfreton highlight is leaving to get to a tram museum or stately home in the Peak District.
But, always trust a town which has shops with plentiful displays of plastic storage containers.

A trek down King Street, past the closed Devonshire Arms and the giant Tesco, took me to the 19th century House of Confinement, although I'd need to visit 9-12:30 on Tues, Wed, or Thu to actually to see inside. 

Still, that's sightseeing ticked, so let's pick one of the current 11 pubs/bars that the town's 9,500-or-so residents have to choose from.
Right in the centre, I made my way to the Bankers Tavern micro...

The Bankers Tavern (33 High Street, Alfreton, DE55 7DR)
Located in - you guessed it - a former bank, this micro has been open since March 2023.  Prior to that it was the dreadfully-named What's Your Poison, appearing in the 2021 Good Beer Guide - the last time that Alfreton has troubled GBG tickers.
I entered to Earth Wind & Fire 'Let's Groove', news on a giant screen showing NASA control, the sun beaming in the window, a friendly welcome from the gaffer.

There were four cask ales on the bar: two from Derby's Little Brewing Co., Castle Rock 'Elsie Mo' from Nottingham, and Dynamite Valley 'Black Charge' from Cornwall.
A 'Black Charge' oatmeal stout for me, blowing any intentions to drink local.

Looks like the owner is a supporter of the team down the road...

I had a bit of a quandary as to where to head next.  The big mock Tudor King Alfred advertising £2.80 John Smiths Smooth?  The Victoria with Marston's beers by the football ground? The dubious-looking away-fans pub, The Dog House?
Let's try the Crossroads Tavern with a promise of Dancing Duck ales.

Crossroads Tavern (100 High Street, Alfreton, DE55 7HH)
An 'interesting' pub. Modern, bright, functional.
Three blokes sat around the edge of room when I arrived, all engrossed in phones.
The cheery staff member had a devil of a time trying to pour my 'Nice Weather' copper coloured session ale.  It was apparently the fault of the 'wrong glass', by which I think she meant a half pint one, which made little sense.  The advice of the landlord was sought: "e's ordered one of 'em real ales."

"Almost nothing left in those barrels," the landlord confirmed.  I was wondering if skipping that John Smiths Smooth may have been a mistake.
It kind of got there, eventually.  
To be honest, it's a surprise to see the cask in somewhere with karaoke corner, disco lights and advertisements for 'DJ Mark 7.30-late'.  It's great they're giving the Dancing Duck beers a go ('Dizzy' also on and also confirmed as having a nearly empty barrel; a 'Beaky Blinder' being pulled through during my visit).  And the chaps who followed me in also opted for cask (the only place I'd actually see anyone else drinking the real ale during my afternoon).

Moving on, I headed towards Alfreton's second micro pub which was scheduled to open at 2pm.  It's located in the area betwixt town centre and train station where there is little of any interest and nowhere else to stop for a drink.  You'll certainly have no joy at the Railway, looking good in the sunshine, but closed since 2014 and converted to flats.

Sadly, the Prospect Street Micro won't be an option for much longer either, as it's scheduled to close at the end of April.  In a rare turn of events, I'm arriving just at the right time to still be able to visit.

Prospect Street Micropub (55 Prospect Street, Alfreton, DE55 7GY)
It wasn't 2pm yet, but the doors were open and the first couple of customers were settled with drinks, intentions to arrange the outdoor tables abandoned due to wicked gusty winds.
Here's the beer list...a lesser-seen Irish stout, exotic lager, Devon cider, and three varieties of pale crafty ales.

Just the one cask available from three hand pumps, but it's a good 'un - Mexborough's Imperial Brewery 'Another Round', a 3.9% twiggy brown bitter.  I wasn't sure I liked it on first sip, but it was oh-so morish and I'd happily have returned to the bar for another if time had permitted.  Priced at a cost-of-living-crisis-friendly £3.40 a pint.

The pub filled up quite nicely whilst I was there, dad and young son playing darts, a couple admiring the murkiness of the Wiper & True 'Kaleidoscope', several football fans squeezing in a pre-match pint on the way to the ground.
What a shame it's closing.

The clock had ticked by very quickly to 14:30, meaning it was time to make the short walk to the North Street stadium, currently branded The Impact Arena.

Alfreton Town date back to 1959 when the Miners Welfare and United clubs realised the mining town wasn't big enough for two football teams and merged together. Most of their 21st century years have been spent in the 6th tier, with four seasons in the heady heights of the Conference Premier between 2011 and 2015.  An 11th placed finish in 2014 proved to be their best, in a season where Luton Town and Cambridge United were promoted from the same division.

I passed the main entrance next to the social club and did a trip around the ground, through a park and up Alma Street where you'll find a small mound which affords good views of the pitch without the bother of actually paying to get in.
At the bottom of that mound, obscured from view, is a less salubrious second entrance.

I thought the fire brigade may need to be called when that chap in front of me got stuck trying to squeeze through the turnstile - not helped by going in sideways and leaving the backpack on.
He made it...and we were in, standing on the Tin Shed terrace, the part of the ground allocated to away supporters if segregation is in place.

Oxford City started strongly and scored before I'd finished my chip butty: Jack Newell bending in a superb shot on 7-minutes.  City produced some decent football and looked to have this match in the bag, especially with the boost of an Alfreton Town red card near the end of the half.  But it didn't quite go to plan.

Little Oxford City don't warrant segregation, so we did the half-time switcheroo, the 50-or-so City fans taking their places on the uncovered seating behind the goal, Alfreton's most vocal support making a bit of noise under the Tin Shed.
They had something to cheer when Dylan Youmbi equalised from close range.  Then cheered some more when the linesman incorrectly put his flag up to rule out a legit Oxford goal, ruled as offside despite being inadvertently put into the back of the net by an Alfreton player.

The nerves were jangling at the end for both sets of fans.  City made some good attacking moves but couldn't get the final ball right.  Alfreton kept threatening with a succession of wickedly long throw-ins which bounced around the six-yard box and could have gone anywhere.

Honours-even at the end - a point better than a loss, but not elevating either team towards safety.  So, good luck one-and-all with the final games of the season.

I love these grounds in the Conference and really should travel to more.  Although I guess just once to Alfreton may be enough.

A Pub Ramble from Maida Vale to Paddington

In which we follow a route through central NW London taking in heritage pubs, a bottle shop, a shiny new Wetherspoon's, a monkey puzzle tree, and some fine ales. 

I emerged from the Bakerloo Line into the sunlight at the impressive red-tiled Maida Vale station.

I was here for the now-traditional annual gathering of our CAMRA Oxon-Berks-Bucks regions for a pub crawl ramble around a chosen bit of the capital.
This year: Maida Vale, our route shown on the map below.  The official suggested route finished at the Mad Bishop and Bear at Paddington station but we didn't make it quite that far.
3b,the craft bottle shop, was our own splinter group deviation; the relatively new 'Spoons wasn't a listed 'ramble' stop, so as not to upset the JDW-abstainers and delay them from getting their pint of Fursty Ferret.

Due to my prancing about in central London, I was last to arrive, welcomed by Gareth who was sitting outside watching the roadworks opposite..."Get yourself in there and get a pint of the 'London Lush'."

The Carlton Tavern (33 Carlton Vale, Kilburn, NW6 5EU)
I whittled on about the Carlton Tavern a few months ago. when I was in this neck of the woods making my way back from Hampstead via Kilburn.
It got knocked down, it got up again, as told in the newspaper story here.
Available cask on this visit was Otter 'Bitter' or the aforementioned London Brewing Company 'London Lush'.  The latter was an easy-drinking pale ale brewed with Citra and Comet hops just over six miles away in North Finchley.
Spot the person in the pic below who's not on a CAMRA day out...

It was a fairly long trek from the first to second pub, following Randolph Avenue back past the tube station - a tree-lined street of red bricked mansion blocks (2-bed apartment yours for £1.2 million).  When you're spending money like that you could do with a Grade II-listed Heritage pub as your local.
Ah, here you go...

The Warrington Hotel (93 Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale, W9 1EH)
The exterior of the Warrington gives a clue that it will be spectacular within... ornate columns and mosaic tiled steps leading to the front door.  The main room is to the right: an elaborate lounge of dark reds and browns, with bits of stained glass, a superb carpet, and one of the most eye-catching bar counters you're likely to find.  Semi-circular, it features a canopy above decorated in Art Nouveau style.

If the rich interior still isn't impressing you, the pub was used in episodes of The Sweeney and Minder (an episode called 'The Beer Hunter' which I really must seek out).  Hmmm, perhaps that's not so much of a selling point as Morse is in Oxford.

 

Unfortunately, the beer didn't excel in The Warrington.  Of the three hand pumps, only 'Old Speckled Hen' was in action - in reasonable condition without being exciting.
But the beer plays second fiddle to the privilege of being able to sit in this magnificent building.

A short stroll along Warrington Crescent took us to Pub#3, another heritage delight.

The Price Alfred (5A Formosa Street, Maida Vale, W9 1EE)
This Victorian hostelry dates back to 1856, although it's the refit in 1896 which earns a listing on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors and makes this such a showstopper.
Five separate drinking compartments surround the bar counter. The wooden partitions would once have offered an element of privacy and allowed people to drink in spaces that suited their social standing.  I believe the low doorways between each would have been used by 'potboys' collecting glasses (there being external entrances for each compartment).  But it's fun to stoop through them, even if not a single pub rambler today managed to do so whilst maintaining any cool.

  

This is a Young's house, with 'Bitter' or 'Special' available alongside a Timothy Taylor 'Landlord'.  Special, please, on solid if unspectacular form, but - again - it's the surroundings you're here for anyway.
We managed to grab a table underneath the snob screens, next to a wine-drinking lady snuggled next to her dog, greenhouse hot with the sun beaming through the etched glass windows.

It didn't take too much persuasion to tempt Gareth and Chairman John that we should make a diversion into the craft beer outlet across the road.

Real Drinks (4 Formosa St, London W9 1EE)
This is a small shop/tasting room, with fridges along one side (don't look - your bag will be heavy, your pocket will be light!) and shelves of wine and other beverages along the other.  There was a central table allowing us to perch on high stools and sample a few beers.  Six on tap provided a selection of pale brews from Kernel, Bullhouse, Utopian, Beak, Deya, and Lost & Grounded.

Disappointed not to find anything in darker hues, I delved into the fridge and picked out a bottle of Kernel 'Dunkel', keen to see how one of the original London craft breweries matched up to all the dark lagers I'd been drinking in Bavaria the previous month.
My companions gave the Bullhouse 'Suds' the thumbs-up, and we shared a superb Kernel Irish Whisky barrel aged imperial brown stout.

I do declare I found the most expensive bag of crisps available in any pub nationwide...

I hope they're good - none of us were feeling flush enough to find out.

Another short walk took us to Pub#4.

I didn't recognise the name and thought this may be my first new venue of the afternoon, but this was familiar as soon as I turned the corner.

The Warwick Castle (6 Warwick Place, Maida Vale, W9 2PX)

I don't think I've been here when it's been so busy though.  Three different areas within, all packed and standing-room only, except for some tables at the rear reserved for dining.  There isn't really much I can say about the pub - we squeezed to the bar, got served, and took half pints outside and propped them on a wheelie bin.  We're glamourous pub-crawlers.

The longest walk of the afternoon followed, although it's a pleasing and picturesque one along the Regents Canal...

..taking us from the leafy surrounds of Little Venice to the modern developments at Paddington Basin.
Amongst the food and drink outlets of Merchant Square is one of JD Wetherspoon's recent new openings.

Sir Alexander Fleming (Unit 53, 5 Merchant Square, Paddington, W2 1AS)
Opening the doors for the first time in September '25, this has taken the ground floor glass-fronted space that has already been a trendy bar, then a smokehouse restaurant. Judging by the age of this development, both must have been very short-lived.
Top marks for the friendly staff, efficiently clearing the tables and retained a very new and clean feel to this modern pub.  Top marks for the rarity of 'Spoons toilets on the ground floor which don't require a long trek and signposts helping direct you back to the bar.

It was super-busy as well - folks pouncing upon our table as soon as we got up to leave.
Not before we'd fuelled ourselves with some food and a respectable pint of Goddards 'Fuggle Dee Dum'.

Just time for another shot of the crammed-in shiny modern developments.
One of the remaining Brewdog bars is at the foot of that silver block - but for how long will those 11 sites last?

We left the 21st century towers behind and headed south of Paddington station where the hotels and apartment blocks are from a different era.

Sitting underneath a 1969 residential block was our next pub, The Monkey Puzzle. 

The Monkey Puzzle (30 Southwick Street, Paddington, W2 1JQ)

This proved to be somewhere a little bit different and not what you'd expect from a dull exterior (tree excepted).
The open-plan bar is decorated with a real traditional feel - proper pub carpet - dark wood - areas divided effectively to provide a cosy feel.  And could those be real central London locals sitting at the bar (scowling at me).

Being a Badger pub the beer range was never going to blow us away: 'Tanglefoot' or 'Fursty Ferret'.
Tanglefoots all round, taken to the outdoor table to make the most of the good weather before the sun slipped below the rooftops.

Our next destination was only a short 5-minute walk away...oh, hang on...it was a 15-minute walk away due to Chairman John leading us in the wrong direction.😲

The Victoria (10A Strathearn Place, Paddington, W2 2NH)
As if the two Grade II listed Heritage pubs earlier in the day weren't enough for us, here's a third, this one featuring a stunning interior.
It retains Victorian fittings inside, including ornate wooden bar back and some fantastic globe lights...

We picked the Sambrook's 'Blindside'.
Doh...rugby- themed beer, but it was something a little different from te more frequently found alternatives of London Pride, ESB or Hophead. 

Just as it was getting dark and I was beginning to flag and think about my bus home, we ambled into our final pub of the day.

The Bear (27 Spring Street, Paddington, W2 1JA)
This was another revisit for me, although it turns out to be cheaper when not accompanied by Mrs PropUptheBar ordering 10% sours.
The Bear is part of the The Craft Beer Co chain which started back in 2009 with the opening of the CASK Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico.  An apt place to finish, then, being as CASK was where we began our 2025 ramble.
They added The Bear to their list of locations in 2022, the site having previously been a wine bar and originally a bank.
We stuck with the cask this time, not even venturing a look at the wide range of keg lines.  My last beer of the day was from Chelmsford brewery, a Radio City Beer Works 'Antenna' 4.5% West Coast IPA.  Very good it was, too.

Thanks to the folks who put in the hard work to arrange these rambles, picking the pubs and devising the routes.
A great day out - looking forward to wherever 2027 takes us.

Wandering Up Whitehall

Brief midday central London pub explorations en-route to a CAMRA day out in Maida Vale.
Yes, an unusually-wise short post featuring three half-pints in Good Beer Guide-listed pubs all within a few minutes of Trafalgar Square.
The Oxford Tube bus whisked me from Headington to Marble Arch remarkably swiftly on this occasion. My Oxford colleagues who'd opted for the train were entangled with the United massive ("yelllllows!") on the station platform on their way to a crunch game at Portsmouth.  All trains delayed - so just me in the capital early doors.
I opted to head right to Whitehall, remembering that London looks pretty spectacular when the sun is shining. 

I hadn't walked this street in years.
It's busy with tourists, police vans watching diligently for wrong un's, the neo-classical governmental buildings magnificent, the cluster of pubs at the top of the street looking inviting. 
It was the Old Shades that I headed to, a 2026 Beer Guide entry that I really couldn't decide whether I'd visited before or not.

The Old Shades (37 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2BX)
This is a Grade II listed building, the true magnificence of which you need to be across the other side of the road to witness.  I wasn't about to try and stand in the middle of Whitehall waiting for a gap in traffic and pedestrians for the perfect pub picture.
The current narrow gothic building was built in 1898 by Treadwell & Martin.  Wedged between souvenir shop and Italian café, the Old Shades is bigger than it looks once you step in - stretching back some distance and widening after the first few tables by the window.

It looks like a Prop Up the Bar exclusive visit has been arranged to ensure pictures without pesky customers... 

The cask range on the long majestic bar counter featured six hand pumps, playing it safe with beers folks have heard of and the two locals.
"Prices reflect the very central location", notes the CAMRA website description.  Uh-oh.

A Southwark 'LPA' for me, a crisp pale ale with a bitter kick. 
£3.50 for the half pint.
With the pick of the tables, I slipped into the curved leather-upholstered corner seat underneath the portrait of Churchill.  And marvelled this magnificent pub...

So, where was everyone?
Some were drawn to outdoor tables, basking in the sunshine outside The Clarence.  Some were tempted by advertisements for steak & ale pies at the Greene King Silver Cross, 
But most were bothering the Guardsmen at Horse Guards Parade...

Crikey, that's a lot of tourists.
I continued to Trafalgar Square and snapped my own tourist shot of Nelson on his column and Charles I on his horse.

In an enviable position in the corner of the square was pub number 2.
This building was originally built for the Union bank, designed in Italianate style by F.W. Porter and opened in 1871.  Turned into a Scottish restaurant in 2005, Fullers took over and opened it as a pub in 2014.

The Admiralty (66 Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, London, WC2N 5DS)
Pre-noon drinking may be frowned upon in some quarters but it's all relative to what time you went to bed and what time you had breakfast, isn't it?
And it means you can make a fairly relaxed visit to The Admiralty before it gets inevitably rammed and the pickpockets begin their shifts.

'Jaipur' and 'ESB' perhaps a little stronger than I needed, Timothy Taylor 'Golden Best' lesser-seen than 'Landlord' or 'Boltmaker', but I steered towards the 'Pride'.  On reasonable, if not spectacular form with a price tag of £3.45 a half.
Most of the tables were adorned with 'reserved' signs, but I'd be long gone before "Vicky 1pm" arrived, hogging a large table with a prime view of the impressively decorated pub.
It's that mezzanine that is the icing on the cake...

You need to descend the spiral staircase to the basement to reach the loos.
That basement - refurbished after a big fire in 2022 - was a warren of booths within pillars and vaulted ceilings: the Gunwhale bar situated in the depths amongst nautical decor.

I had time for one more swift half before I needed to be elsewhere in the capital.
Plentiful options within easy reach of Trafalgar Square.  I decided to make a revisit to The Harp...after all, what right-minded soul could walk past this...

The Harp (47 Chandos Place, Charing Cross, London, WC2N 4HS)
Stained glass windows, budding flower basket display, outdoor vertical drinkers...
This is a central London pub with a deserved good reputation.
The first recorded mention of the pub was in 1805 when it was known as the 'Welsh Harp'.  It's a now a Fullers pub operating as a free house, providing a vastly different (and hard to pick from) range of cask than the Admiralty.
Ten hand pumps offering both familiar and more unusual ales.  I fancied veering to the dark side, so ordered the fantastic Downlands Brewery 'Oatmeal Stout'.

One day I'll do justice to the collection of classic central London pubs.
And find the most daunting steep staircase up or down to the WCs.
In the meantime, The Harp makes its case for an inclusion on that list - I wouldn't want to try taking these two steps at a time after five pints of beer...

But right now I was navigating them safely and leaving the heart of the city behind to catch the Bakerloo Line to Maida Vale.
More waffle and some half-decent pictures from there in the next post.