Kenilworth Pub Explorations

In which we explore the Warwickshire town of Kenilworth, where the Beer Guide delivers a trio of very different pubs to visit.

Kenilworth is a town of two halves, with a park in between.
To the north is the stuff for day-trippers to coo over: the castle, views over the Abbey Fields, thatched roofs, and tea shops in Tudor houses. 
The southern part of town is more functional and modern: housing estates, shops, a busy main road, and the kind of local's pubs that I'd have visited if I was half as good as Life After Football.

Our planned route for the day would take us around a good cross-section of the town, starting at the micropub, handily close to the bus stop...

Ale Rooms & Gin Bar (7 Smalley Place, Kenilworth, CV8 1QG)
Didn't micro-pubs once used to be ramshackle affairs?   The first I visited had no bar counters, furniture knocked together by a mate of the landlord who does a bit of carpentry, and signs stating 'no, we don't sell Carling'.
The Ale Rooms is of the smart micro-pub variety.  Here there was art work adorning the walls, pastel shades, plush beige cushioned seating, Beavertown craft and fancy gins.

I warmed to the place a bit more when the other customers, two track-suited lads, finished their midday Estrella's and departed, after which the chap behind the bar got chatting to us. We learnt that this is part of a small chain and that they're linked to Leicester's Framework Brewery.

We told the barman we'd come to visit the town's Beer Guide pubs.
"Ah, we get that quite a lot - you're not the only ones", he reassured us.  Nice to know!

Leaving the Ale Rooms, we strolled up the road until we reached the castle.
Can't cover Kenilworth and not include a photo of the castle...

Our route around the picturesque ruins was curtailed by a few spots of rain, so we headed along the High Street on our way to pub #2, the Olde Worlde one...

Virgins and Castle (7 High Street, Kenilworth, CV8 1LY - web)
Not so olde worlde prices though, as I did a double-take looking at the menu with it's pie and mash for £15.50.  Crikey, everything's expensive these days - I told Mrs PropUptheBar that we'd be sneaking in bags of Wotsits on our pub visits from this point onward.

It was a very good pie though, washed down with a pint of the 'Terminus' golden bitter from Chesterfield's Brampton Brewery.

This is the oldest pub in Kenilworth, dating back to 1563.  It became the Sign of Two Virgins in the 18th century, then merged with another pub, the Castle Tavern, in 1828.  Hence the unusual name.
It's a nice place - a fair few rooms, lots of nooks and crannies, and suits of armour watching over you as you ascend the stairs to the loos.

 
It was just a hop across the road to The Old Bakery...

The Old Bakery (12 High Street, Kenilworth, CV8 1LZ - web)
Okay, so if I thought the Ale Rooms was a bit smart, I was definitely gonna be out of my comfort zone here.
An Elizabethan building, the one-time bakery has been converted to an hotel ('14 airy rooms with luxurious yet understated furnishings').  In front of the hotel is a small two-room pub, which I'd figured would be foody, but is actually wet led.

The decor was old wooden beams, rugs and pot plants.  Gentlefolk supped white wine in the window seat.  A very civilized place.

They did have a fine choice of ales (Wye Valley, Salopian, Rudgate and Goff's) and beer mats advertising Coventry Beer Festival. And I did enjoy my Goff's 'Jester 17', even though I'm surprised I picked beer that advertised rose hips as an ingredient.

Beams!

Leaving the Old Dairy, we made our way down past the church and across Abbey Fields.

Veering westward from the main shopping street, we walked through the housing estate until we reached Oaks Precinct, where you can get a haircut, a tattoo and a bronze tan prior to heading into the pub next door.

The Gauntlet is of course named after the 80's home computer game series which frustrated the hell out of me on my ZX Spectrum.
Or perhaps the glove of a medieval suit of armour - who knows?

Forget all these new-fangled video consoles - this is when graphics were great!

The Gauntlet (8 Oaks Precinct, Caesar Road, CV8 1DP - web)
"Oh, it's actually alright", said Mrs PropUptheBar who'd judged the book by it's cover and contemplated going to the tanning salon instead of coming in the pub.

A sprawling central bar with plenty of open-plan space around it, booth seating, pool table, and a handful of punters dotted around keeping their distance from one another. 

Robinson's 'Trooper', Proper Job, Butty Bach or Landlord were the four ales available.
I picked the Iron Maiden curated 'Trooper' because I've been in the Gryphon in Bristol and am still feeling very heavy metal.  But it wasn't on great form.

Three cyclists arrived and returned their pints of Proper Job as being unfit to drink. 
So, bad day at the Gauntlet for the beer, then.

With four pubs under our belt, it was time to leave Kenilworth.  We caught the bus back to Leamington Spa, a town which would provide a few more beer distractions before the day was over and needs a revisit and a post all to itself in the near future.