The Old Buttermarket, Canterbury

This historic pub is currently run by Nicholson's. Previous embarrassing incarnations as a trendy bar, drug den and scabby dive are long gone, and the pub is now an exceptionally pleasant place to enjoy excellent beer and averagely good food. Its location – right by the Cathedral gate – means it attracts a fair load of tourists. The original building, which dates fron the 14th Century, has been adapted and changed over the centuries, most recently with the addition of a slightly anomalous conservatory at the back, but it remains atmospheric and quaint for the most part. Five ales on – I had Hopdaemon Incubus and Leeds Brewery's Gathering Storm stout, both in superb condition. The staff were mixed – a slightly idiotic prepubescent male yoof who insisted on addressing everyone as 'guys' and a Rubenesque female who was charming, helpful and efficient, while the manager was professional and welcoming. Well worth a visit and inclusion in a crawl.

The Old Buttermarket page at the Nicholsons site - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

This Nicholson’s pub opposite the cathedral gate is on the site of the17th century Black Boy coaching inn, which was apparently connected by tunnels to the cathedral itself as a monks’ escape route. The present building is early 20th century. The front bar is not huge, but like many locally the building goes back a long way, and through the doorway at the back are larger rear areas served from the other side of the central bar. Two banks of five hand pumps offer the same ale choice to each room, on Saturday being Elgood Black Dog (a decent pint at £3.35), Rudgate IPA and Adnams Southwold, with a reversed Revd James clip on the fourth and the fifth vacant. The Nicholson’s lunch menu is priced at £6.50-£8 and the ‘pub classics’ menu from £8, though I didn’t try it. I found the service to be pretty indifferent, and waited what seemed to be a long time unacknowledged at a bar with only one other being served, before receiving fairly perfunctory service myself. Unsurprisingly however, given its location it seemed to be doing a brisk tourist lunch trade, which with the pricing at the top end of the local market I daresay makes it a good earner for Nicholsons. I may well have picked a bad day: I am sure I would rate this pub better had it not been the only one that weekend which I didn’t find welcoming from the start.

The Old Buttermarket page at the Nicholsons site - www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk