Grimsby Pub Explorations

Where next after enjoying a great start to the week in Nottingham?
I opted to catch a train into the top corner of Lincolnshire to visit Grimsby.
In the week prior, I'd discovered that you get met with some blank looks when you tell your work colleagues you're going to Grimsby on your holidays.  

Straight off the train, I headed into the Yarborough Hotel, handily next door to the station.  This was my home for two days - my first experience of a Wetherspoon hotel.

Yarborough Hotel (29 Bethlehem Street, Grimsby, DN31 1JN - web)
I got to know the sprawling multi-sectioned layout of the ground floor bar quite well over a couple of days, calling in here for beer, evening meal and breakfast.

Beer-wise, the Yarborough is a regular local CAMRA award winner, and featured a showcase of Oakham Ales on this occasion.

After dropping my bags off and grabbing a bite to eat, I followed a rather long route through town and into New Clee...

And the Crow's Nest in Cleethorpes somewhere off the bottom of the map

To begin with, a stroll through Grimsby's main shopping arcade, emerging onto a square where you'll find the buses to Cleethorpes and a pub on a barge.

The Barge (Victoria Street, Grimsby, DN31 1NH - web)
Apart from a small snug on the upper deck, the majority of the seating and the bar counter are located down in the depths of this old grain barge.  Handily empty for a photographic opportunity, with the early afternoon custom enjoying the sunshine on the picnic tables on the quay.

There were two real ales on offer - Charles Wells 'Bombardier' and my pick: Navigation 'New Dawn'.  Which was fine, although I reckon everyone else was on the lager and dark fruits cider.
I was quite content, sitting at the side of this nautical bar, enjoying the grunge soundtrack.  I  vowed to come back in the evening to see it when it was busier - but I never did manage to.

From the Barge I walked up past the Tesco Extra, over the railway lines on a pedestrian bridge and onto Freeman Street.  I'm afraid I'm too timid to go exploring the select pubs of Freeman Street, even though that would probably make for a much more interesting blog post.

Turning right at the top of the road, I headed down Cleethorpes Road until finally reaching an alleyway with a sign pointing me to the Rutland Arms.

Rutland Arms (26 Rutland Street, Grimsby, DN31 3AF)
I saved the external pub picture for my departure, with quite a crowd of folk in the doorway and hanging around outside, none of whom looked as though they'd especially want to be in my photo.
Here's the beer line-up in the Rutland...
A 'Grimsby Mild' for me, at a budget-friendly £2.70 a pint.

The punters who'd been stood outside returned back to liven up the place.  A chap made his jukebox selections and realised his mistake when he returned to the table, The Police pumping out the speakers.
"Aw...I've picked the wrong fuckin' Roxanne, haven't I?"
Turned out he was after something by Roxette, but this didn't deter him belting out the chorus enthusiastically along with Sting.

The next song had everyone on the three tables around me singing along with gusto.

Finally Meat Loaf appeased the old boys table in the corner, with some diligent foot-tapping and nodding of heads.

A quiet moment in the Rutland Arms, pre-jukebox singalong

Oh, and the mild was gorgeous - a great easy-drinking dark ale in good condition.
And I never did let Roxanne/Roxette man know it wasn't Guinness, as he seemed very sure that I'd traveled miles for the best pint of Guinness in the region.

After some entertaining music, someone had to pick Ed Sheeran...time to move on.
I had a 1.1 mile walk into suburban New Clees to reach the next Beer Guide entry.

The Spiders Web (180 Carr Lane, Grimsby, DN32 8LN)
This is apparently a three-room pub, but not being open-plan I only got to see one of them.  Not wanting to disturb the ladies nattering in the right-hand doorway, I entered through the left-side which left me stuck in a bar room with pool table taking pride of place in the middle.

Not really the choice of local ales I was hoping for: Sharps 'Atlantic', 'Doom Bar' or Wychwood 'Hobgoblin'.  I really didn't fancy any of them, so ashamedly ended up with a pint of big brand fizzy cider.  Ho hum.
Well, a bit of Rancid blasting out the music system will improve the pub visit, won't it?  Except the bar staff decided it was too noisy and switched it off midway through to be replaced by some turgid pop.  Bah.
 
A further ½ mile walk took me across the border into Cleethorpes and my next pub...

The Crows Nest (Balmoral Road, Cleethorpes, DN35 9LD)
Arriving at the entrance, I was struck by the dominant signage...
"No One Under 18",
"Cash Only",
"Mobile, Tablet and Laptop Free Zone"? 
Who do they think they are, Sam Smiths?

Oh, they are.

Yep, I'd completely forgotten that this was Samuel Smith house.
And a completely different one to those I've encountered previously which have been in old historic buildings.

Instead, this is a large estate pub dating back to 1957.  It's rather lovely inside, spacious rooms with fitted seating curving around the walls and the bay window.

The cask 'Old Brewery Bitter' was on pretty good form here.
The main room in front of the bar was where the regulars were sat in a line along the back wall.  I took my beer through to the comfy but quiet side room.
And having taken my couple of illicit pictures, I diligently observed the digital ban for the rest of the visit, sitting quietly, supping my ale.

From the Crows Nest, I walked the short distance for my first glimpse of the sea at Cleethorpes.  As I was pottering about I realised that the last remaining Grimsby tick closed at 9pm, so hopped aboard a bus to get back to the brewery tap in time.

Docks Beers (The Church, King Edward Street, Grimsby, DN31 7JD - web)
Docks Beers began brewing in this converted church back in October 2018.
They had two cask beers on offer, alongside a fair number of kegs and fridges full of cans with funky designs on them.
And friendly staff, helpfully pointing me in the direction of the fruitiest craft ale in a can to take home to Mrs PropUptheBar.

Most importantly, Docks Brews provides May's shiny brewing equipment picture...

I opted for one of cask ale options - a 'Humber Bitter' which was nice enough.  But nicer still was the 'Graveyard Shift' milk stout on keg, which I popped back to the bar to order before closing time.

And that brought my days explorations to an end.  Time to had back to the Yarborough for a good nights rest, as I had Cleethorpes to tackle the following day.