Derby Pub Explorations

Blog Post Ingredients:
Two pints of Bass, two pictures of dogs, one heritage pub, one micro, some amateur night-time photographs and lots of grumpy Derby fans bemoaning losing to 'that lot up the A52'.

Derby was the first stop on our northbound trip.  Hopping off the train we made a beeline straight to the Smithfield, ready for a pint of Bass.
The pub was looking pretty superb...

The Smithfield (Meadow Road, Derby, DE1 2BH - web)
Previously the Cattle Market Hotel, the finely curved Smithfield is situated between the river and the Trent/Barton bus garage.
It's the kind of pub I could comfortably settle in for the rest of the day, although that would be a waste of all the hard work I put into my home-made pub map and dodgy directions.

Most customers had settled on the tables in the main room in front of the bar, with more seating in a back room or in a section to the side under the Allsopps mirror and darts board.

The pub had an impressive beer range, but it had to be the Bass, didn't it?
With a little bit of extra time I did broaden my horizons and popped back to the bar for a tasty half of Howard Town 'Shining Clough' a 5.3% strong ale.

The Smithfield has picked up a handful of Derby CAMRA Pub of the Year awards in the past few years and it's not hard to see why with quality ales in comfortable surroundings.

We reached check-in time for our Riverside Premier Inn, dropped off our bags, took a picture of the cathedral (sightseeing ✔ done), then went in search of the cities oldest pub...

The Dolphin, dating back to 1503

Ye Olde Dolphin Inne (5a Queen Street, Derby, DE1 3DL - web)
Time to get out the Ye Olde Pub check list and see if this ticks all the boxes...
☑ Timber framed
☑ Quirky spelling of the name
☑ Frequented by someone famously historic - Highwayman Dick Turpin, apparently
☑ Haunted - bodies robbed from graves for local physicians were stored in the basement and may account for a ghostly girl in the cellar and a grey lady who haunts the restaurant

Cask ales available were Bass, Abbott and Pedigree for the traditionalists, alongside pale ales from Blue Monkey and Nottingham Brewery.

Ring bell for service

It's a cracker, with three rooms accessed from the corridor.  
We settled in the wonderful snug with its wood panelling, bench seating around the wall, fireplace and windowsill full of paperbacks and Derby Drinker magazines. 

We were entertained by a friendly and animated Caribbean gent who may have been a speaker at Parliament Square, a poet, a philosopher, a comedian...perhaps all of them.
I'm afraid I didn't quite get the gist of all the stories and information he imparted, but I smiled whenever I felt I should and high-fived him an alarming number of times.

Hatch service

Leaving the Dolphin, we tackled the longest walk of the day, up Mansfield Road and alongside Chester Green.  Most of the Derby micros involve a little more trekking into the suburbs, so just the one on the itinerary today.

Dodgy night-time pub photography, no.1

Little Chester Ale House (4a Chester Green Road, DE1 3SF)
This is a micropub in the traditional vein: no music, TV or other distractions, just a bunch of folk sat in the front room bemoaning the sorry state of Wayne Rooney's Derby County.
The only available table when we arrived was in a nook beyond the bar, removed from the action, which was probably part of the reason I didn't really warm to the Ale House.

Three of the four beers available came from the local Hartshornes Brewery, located just a little further up the road.
I opted for the 'Apocalypse' 6.2% English IPA - the strongest one - well I would, wouldn't I.

The pub dog paced the floor looking thoroughly fed up, before being quickly disturbed from an ill-chosen sleeping spot in front of the doors to the WC's...

Whilst I got some funny looks getting caught out trying to take a picture of the mild smut outside the gents...

Time to move on to a proper pub, up a dark street...

Dodgy night-time pub photography, no.2

Furnace Inn (Duke Street, Derby, DE1 3BX)
This was somewhere I was happy to revisit - a super, no-nonsense pub, which used to the home of the excellent Shiny Brewery before they moved to bigger premises.  It's pleasantly busy, as we timed it just right to grab the last table surrounded by a wide range of punters.

No street poets high-fiving me here, but I did make a friend at the next table...

The beer choice in the Furnace was superb, offering good local ales and some crafty kegs.  
Finishing up my milk stout, we let Google guide us through the side streets to the Five Lamps...

Dodgy night-time pub photography, no.3

Five Lamps (25 Duffield Street, Derby, DE1 3BH - web)
There was a sturdy run of recognisable beer names on the pump clips along the bar, but I'm sure they were hiding the Bass from me when we entered. Or maybe I'd just got my heart set on the Titanic Plum Porter, which was gorgeous as ever.  Is there such a thing as a bad pint of plum porter?

We were well fed with some tasty food in the Five Lamps, fueling us for the walk back into the heart of the city. Next up, an iconic real ale and music pub, the Flowerpot.
 
The Flowerpot (23-25 King Street, Derby, DE1 3DZ - web)
You can entertain yourself with the gig list here, looking at the inventiveness of cover bands when it comes to conjuring up their names: Moretallica, Fred Zeppelin, Small Fakers and Kings Ov Leon, to name but a few.

The Flowerpot offers up live music, with folks settling down in the rear room when we visited as a hairy chap with a guitar and accordion sound-checked, sounding pretty good.

Pedigree or Oakham 'Bishop's Farewell' were the well-known ales on the bar, alongside five casks from lesser seen micro's and a crafty tap to keep Mrs PropUptheBar happy. 
I opted for the porter - a Ridgeside 'Larboard & Starboard' from Leeds - another beer in fine condition with the quality being top notch all evening.

And that was it - time to call it a night.

Except we veered into the Silk Mill Ale & Cider House (19 Full Street, Derby, DE1 3AF - web) as we passed by... One more for good measure.
This was quieting down after the days sport on the big screens had finished, with several groups of merry-makers heading off in taxis to livelier venues.  Which left us, relaxed and taking our time over a great pint of Froth Blowers 'Cloudburst Porter'.

The Silk Mill and it's mural - earlier in the day

So, a successful first night of our trip.
Although with 18 Derby beer guide entries this was a flying visit to somewhere that I really should find my way to more often.

We departed on the 11am Sunday morning train to Sheffield - where I'd heard they've got a fair few pubs as well.