Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

A traditional looking pub towards the top end of Buxton’s High Street, it looks as though it may perhaps have been a cottage at one time, but then again with an archway at the side advertising Good Stabling, perhaps it has always been a coaching inn.

Directly facing you as you go in is a remarkably small snug, with just enough room for one small table and a couple of arm chairs, whilst the remaining three rooms are off to the right, one behind the other. Décor wise it’s all quite traditional with the front bar having dark wooden boards on the floor with pale green paintwork on much of the walls and some dark red wood panelling in places. A small fireplace was off to one side, a glass cupboard with a display of Toby jugs was next to it and there were a few old black and white photographs of the locale dotted around the walls. The central room which included the bar counter was perhaps a little cosier, with old flagstones on the floor, exposed stone walling and a few black beams on the ceiling. Beyond this again was another room, although this appeared to have been booked out for a private function with one large table filling much of the available floor space, so other than a large map covering most of the back wall, I did not note any details.

Beers on tap were Young’s London Original, Rev James, Wainwright’s Golden Beer, Brakspear Gravity, and Marston’s Pedigree. The solitary cider meanwhile was a rather disappointing Inch’s Medium Apple. Overall, a pretty decent pub and I’d happily pop in again if in the area.

A narrow frontage goes back quite a way inside. The bar is on the right and it's like drinking in a corridor. The barmaid was quite chatty as was the only other punter. No real ale here, so I had a quick half of Fosters and moved on.

New bar situated on Square Street just off Bridge Street

This roadside pub complements well the White Hart just up the road, though this one more family and food focussed whereas the other has a much stronger beer culture. That said it does have a current GBG entry, though it probably isn’t a strong candidate for continual inclusion – the Adnam’s Galazo I had was a bit insipid, though this was followed by a Sharp’s Solar Wave, which was a much better bet. Otter Bitter was also on cask, though we didn’t get to sample that one. Guinness, three from Thatcher’s – Gold, Rascal and Juicy Apple – Amstel and Moretti were also available. It was a friendly, welcoming place, devoid of grockles despite its location. The young barmaid was very chatty and made us feel at home. Food was restaurant standard, slightly expensive for the area. Dog treats were available from the bar, and there was water available. A TV screen dominated the bar area, though it was piping in Radio 2 when we visited so wasn’t overly painful. I’d be happy to come back and eat.

Pepe’s Piri Piri restaurant and takeaway has been granted planning permission to open its doors at the former Horseshoe Bar, on St Andrews Street, Dalkeith.