Cross Keys, Milton Keynes

A very nice old village thatched pub, the younge bar man said about 450 years old. A big garden with lots of nice flowers on the pub and around the garden. ( very nice to sit outside on a nice day). Me and my husband came in on 25/09/2011 for a nice sunday roast, was not to keen on the menu though but the food was brillant. Alot of real ale on and me and my husband are big fans but we had no clue witch one to try so we asked the lady behind the bar, she was abit confused with what to do so she asked the younge lad to serv us, he was very pleasnt and knew what he was talking about and recommended us a very nice pint of PotBellys Yelly Belly and a pint of St Austells Trelawny, in all the staff where very nice and friendly, highly recommended. Their was a couple of bad points.... the toliets where not atall nice very standed stuff, i would say they need a refurbish. We will go back again soon.

Another traditional, thatched pub which has been swallowed up by the ever expanding MK metropolis. There are two distinct areas, the bar area with plastic covered benches and a more welcoming lounge with individual wooden tables. Despite being a Charles Wells boozer, there's obviously a real effort being made here to offer a wide selection of ales. There are 11 handpumps offering: Wells Eagle IPA and Naked Gold, Youngs Bitter and Special, Courage Directors, Tring Jack O'Legs and Brock Bitter, Olney Hopping Mad, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold and Summer Breeze and Bath Ales Gem on our visit. An impressive smattering of microbreweries represented there, some local, in addition to the underwhelming Wells offerings. My Summer Breeze was ok without being stunning and I'd tend to agree with Mr Fastard that 11 ales may be a touch ambitious if the quality is to be kept high. Nonetheless, much better to show this level of ambition and reduce numbers if need be than never give the more adventurous choices a go. I'd pop in again to see what, other than the Wells beers, is on.

As you approach this attractive looking building the Charles Wells insignia might cause consternation but keep the faith because thankfully the pub offers a lot of ales not brewed in the Bedford mega-brewery.11 cask ales are available ,and on my visit there were two each from Crouch Vale and Tring and one from the nearby Olney brewery.As you might expect the Bedford brewed Youngs Ordinary and Special,Courage Best and Eagle IPA also rear their heads. Steve describes the interior well,the public bar area was empty when we pitched up ,but the locals were well represented in the lounge side.No musak but rhythmic belching did break the silence. The maps on the walls show the area when it was countryside before the development of MK,but this is now a town boozer.I think that 11 handpumped ales might be a bit ambitious when the throughput is modest and the beer I had wasn't as crisp as it might have been.However it is worth popping in to see what might be on offer,a wide range of changing ales have graced the bar.