Belgian Blue in Bracknell

On a crisp cold December day I took the chance to visit the Berkshire town of Bracknell, calling in to the two current Good Beer Guide pubs, as well as popping to neighbouring Binfield for a pint of London Pride.

I'd consider I've explored Berkshire reasonably well over the years: completed the Reading Ale Trail; walked the Thames path, taken in the sights of Maidenhead; risked frostbite at the Siren Brewery fifth birthday party during the 'Beast from the East'; even watched Lewis Capaldi at Reading Festival by mistake once.
But I'd never set foot in Bracknell, so off I went on a maiden voyage. 

Bracknell spent most of its existence as a market village before being designated a new town at the end of the 1940's.  Over the years it expanded to incorporate nearby villages, topping 100,000 residents and attracting an impressive roster of tech firms to make this their home.

Hopping off the train at 11:30 on a Saturday morning I strolled through a recently redeveloped busy shopping centre.
Lots of modern buildings...

And underpasses which I needed to navigate to find my way to Wetherspoon's...

Which is housed in one of the few old buildings in town, a grand Tudor manor house next to the ring-road...

Old Manor (Grenville Place, Bracknell, RG12 1BP -web)
It's a bit of a cracker.
There was a choice of various rooms to sit in, two bars, grand old fireplaces, wooden beams and low doorways complete with 'please mind your head' signs.

The real draw is the characterful old hall, surely one of the most impressive rooms in a Wetherspoon pub anywhere in the country.  There's a priests hole beside the fireplace, plus stories of secret tunnels used by highwaymen evading the law - all the kind of stuff I'm a complete sucker for.

Having been a private residence, club and residential hotel in the 20th century, the Old Manor is now a regular Good Beer Guide entry serving the best selection of real ales in the town.
The choice on my visit included two local breweries: Rebellion and Stardust, as well as a blueberry bitter by Coach House Brewery or a Brewsters pale ale.
But I only had eyes for the seasonal Bradfield 'Farmers Belgian Blue', a bit of a rarity round these parts.  Guaranteed to generate small talk with the bar staff about it's unusual colour (more purple than blue).

Mmmmm!

Moving on from the Old Manor, Google told me it was going to be a 25-minute walk to my next destination in the suburbs.  The route took me south of the centre, through a housing estate, across some parkland called 'The Parks', and onto a fantastically named street: Ralphs Ride', where I'd find a new Beer Guide entry...

Newtown Pippin (Ralphs Ride, Harmans Water, Bracknell, RG12 9LR - web)
This is something a bit different: a two-room 1950's flat-roof estate pub.
According to a local news article this was named the worst pub in town a few years ago and had a rotten reputation, before being recently revived by new tenants.

I picked the right hand bar where there were a couple of old boys furrowing their brows over their crosswords, a hi-viz trio on the high tables, and a couple of ladies perusing the laminated menus.

I settled down with a pint of Rebellion 'Overthow' (the other choices being Black Sheep bitter or Youngs 'Special').  A good beer considering no-one else was on the cask and the chap behind the bar took the opportunity to teach his colleague how to pull a pint when I ordered.

I checked the bus times, spotted a local service was due to pass the pub in a few minutes time, and quaffed the last quarter of my pint...  Then decided to take one last picture outside at which point the bus whizzed straight past me.
Oh well, at least some quality chips from Churchills next door fueled a walk back to Bracknell bus station.

Once there I hopped aboard the 150 service for the 20-minute journey to Binfield.   All was quiet in this village on the northern edge of Bracknell, as I ambled down the road on my way to the Victoria Arms.

Victoria Arms (Terrace Road North, Binfield, RG42 5JA - web)

A large central bar has counters looking out into three different drinking areas, the largest being the extension to the right with its beams being home to an impressive display of beer bottles.
Extra TVs had been dotted around to ensure no-one missed England being knocked out the World Cup later in the day.  The clientele mostly seemed to consist of various varieties of blokes from the village, all seeming quite cheery as they got behind Morocco in the afternoon quarter final.
I grabbed a seat by the fireplace and settled to watch the first half of the match, supping a  decent pint of London Pride.  The other cask options were familiar Fullers pub fare: ESB, Hophead and Seafarer.

Loving the bottle collection.

Upon leaving the Victoria, the bus that I aimed to catch didn't materialise.  During a chilly sub-zero wait as the sky began to get dusky I conceded that plans to pop into Wokingham or out into more housing estates to the Canny Man would have to be curtailed today. (I'd promised to get back to Oxford at a sensible hour).

But there was still time for one last pint thanks to a delayed train.
The Market Inn sits handily across the road from the bus and train stations and nowhere near a market.

Market Inn (Station Road, Bracknell, RG12 1HY - web)
This is a one-time Firkin brew-pub, now a Stonegate boozer, offering drinks promo's, good value food, and TVs for the football in every direction. 
Not a great deal of choice on the real ale front...

That'll be a Landlord then.

This pub seemed to be doing a good Saturday afternoon trade, with most tables occupied, leaving me with a choice of sitting conspicuously under one of the TVs or on a bench between the entrance and Christmas tree.
It was never likely to be my favourite pub of the day, but the 'Landlord' was passable and I was comfier sat in here than spending half on an hour on a freezing station platform watching a departure screen.

And just to show I'm not a complete Grinch at this time of year, here's a picture with the Christmas tree in it to bring the post to a close...