Darlington Pub Crawl

The beginning of the Easter break saw me make the 224-mile trip northbound, where the town of Darlington would be base-camp for trips to Durham and Stockton.
First up, a bit of a tour around some of the local Beer Guide pubs 'n' bars in Darlo.  I think I can get away with the familiarity of calling it Darlo having spent 3 nights there, watched the football team play, and somehow ended up in George's retirement bash at the Britannia.

From High Row, in front of the market hall and clock tower, several narrow entrances between the buildings lead to Buckton's Yard, Clark's Yard, and Mechanics' Yard.  Down the latter of these is the Quaker House, which doesn't make for the most obvious of pub pictures...

There's a pub there somewhere

Quaker House (2 Mechanics Yard, Darlington, DL3 7QF - web)
But inside it's a bit of a gem.
There's some colourful stained glass above the bar, and Motorhead drip mats on it, a classic rock soundtrack piping out through the speakers.
Somewhere within the building is the micro Mad Scientist brewery, so it's their own ‘James Watt’, with a railway pump clip, that I picked.

A great selection of ales, all around the £4 a pint mark, and 'Nineteen times CAMRA Town Pub of the Year', it was tempting to just settle for the afternoon on my stubby stool next to the radiator in the Quaker House.
But that's not very intrepid and there are 9 entries in the Beer Guide (a 10th, the Bondgate Tavern, seems to have recently closed).  So off I set on a short walk onto Coniscliffe Road for the next two venues...

Number Twenty 2 (22 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG)
I was a little worried by this one as I haven't quite got over all those Blackpool pubs and bars with numbers for names.
From the outside the large curved shop-style windows with clock above the door looked quite intriguing.  It feels a little like it should be a trendy wine bar or French bistro within, but was instead a bustling bar with a confusing choice of real ales on offer.  I didn't spot the blackboard listing these at first, and with the pumps being spread around different parts of a large bar I ended up just pointing at "that one please".

There were more hand pulls beyond a pillar for cider, and closer inspection revealed that half the beers were from the Village Brewery - their own beers, brewed nearby at Hambledon Brewery.  
A nice place that I promised myself I'd come back to, yet never did.  Next time.

Just two doors down is the micro...

ORB (28 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG)
I was kinda expecting to find ORB packed to the rafters, but it was quiet in comparison to Number Twenty 2.  I was customer number 3 on arrival, although it wasn't long before a few more folks arrived.
Situated in a former Beauty Salon, a rather smart slate fronted bar was to the left of the front door with a handful of stools dotted around.  Up a couple of steps to the rear there were a few more tables and a shelf of books and games.

Six cask ales on offer, ranging from £3.80 to £4.80 a pint.  I picked the cheapest one, not cos I'm a cheapskate but because I fancied the local, sensible strength, Durham Brewery ‘Magus’ pale ale.

Ah, that reminds me, there's a football match to go and watch.

Darlington FC, the Quakers, used to play at the more central Feethams Ground before over-ambitiously moving into the 20,000 seater Reynolds Arena.  Several bouts of administration, a reformation, a spell playing in Bishops Auckland, and then a move back to share a rugby ground followed.
Blackwell Meadows was a quick bus ride from the town hall to the southern edge of town.  A short queue at the home turnstile and £16 got me into the ground for the National North tie with Chester City.

I enjoy watching football at this level, with the opportunity to walk around and pick several different vantage points throughout the game.  The advertising hoardings promote the local washing machine store; the away supporters have to stand on a small bank behind one goal; and the local kids were playing a frantic game of footy all of their own on a patch of grass to one side. 

The most vocal of the 1,912 supporters were stood in the 'Tin Shed' covered terrace, although there wasn't a great deal for them to cheer.  "Abject in every department" was the conclusion of the chap next to me towards the end.  2-nil down, Darlington did score a 90th minute consolation and set up a bit of an exciting finish as they sensed the possibility of a draw which didn't materialise.

After the final whistle I didn't fancy jostling the crowds for the first bus, so pulled my hood up and ambled the mile back to town in the persistent drizzle.  A good decision as I saw no bus whizz by and beat the Darlo supporters to the craft bar.

Here's the low-point of the day's pub photography...

House of Hop (4b Houndgate, Darlington, DL1 5LR)
The House of Hop is a modern single room bar, with a mix of high and low seating, a fine display of beer cans, and lots of mini lights spread over the ceiling.
It's apparently owned by a couple, one of whom looks after the bar, the other being a brewer for Three Brothers Brewery.  And it was their 'Dan's Brown' small batch brown ale which I picked from the choice of 4 casks, which went down a treat.
I was planning to stick around and see what else was on offer, especially on the keg lines as I'd read this was the best tap selection in town.  But it became uncomfortably busy with damp footy fans.  I figured it was best to move on rather than try to squeeze back to the the bar.

Back to those alleys...gittys... yards again - Buckton's this time - down which you'll find Crafty Merlin's Tap and Bottle Shop.

Crafty Merlin’s (6 Bucktons Yard, DL3 7QL)
Oh, I liked this!  It was opened during lock down as a bottle shop and has since expanded into a micro bar with two floors.  In comparison to the stylish House of Hop, this had a ramshackle feel to it, basic bench seating and cushions atop beer barrels, a scruffy blackboard listing what's on offer and a varied bunch of happy punters.
There were three casks available, two from Hambledon brewery which I ignored completely as I only had eyes for the George Samuel ‘Sticky Toffee Milk Stout'.  Oh yes!

My first day in Darlington ended in The Britannia (1 Archer Street, Darlington, DL1 6LR) at the northern end of the town centre.
This was packed to the rafters, with nowhere to stand with my Timothy Taylor 'Boltmaker' (on great form) without being in someone's way.
George was having a retirement do here which I don't think was private.  

A better pub blogger would have discovered what George was retiring from and reported on the quality of the pies and peas which were delivered to the snug on a huge tray.
Sadly, not me.
I was worn out and needed to pace myself and get a good night's rest if I were going to get around all the pubs of Durham the following day.