Turf Hotel, Richmond

Situated on the busy through road that by-passes the historic main square, the Turf Hotel was one of the pubs that stood out before my trip around the area but didn’t really live up to expectations. It looks reasonably accommodating from the outside, a two sided pub/hotel slightly set back from the road with a few benches at the front. The left hand bar is a brightly lit but rather bland bar with the sedate ambience that generally typifies Hotel bars. There is a sole TV, open fire and small rasied section at the rear but generally there isn’t much to warrant more than a passing glance. The second bar is more of a sports bar with 3 TVs + big screen, pool table and photos of various sporting superstars. The collection of memorabilia is quite noteworthy and includes a Gary Sobers signed cricket bat, a David Beckham England shirt and captains armband (+ signed football) and boots signed by Alan Shearrer, Gazza and local(ish) boy Michael Dawson. Various golf and football trophies are also on display. The beers are of little interest with just the one ale, the ubiquitous Black Sheep Best although it should be noted that the only hand pump is situated in the Hotel bar – there are none in the Sports bar. The place does have a decent reputation for its pub grub but we didn’t try any on our visit. The place is fine for a quick pint, maybe two if you really want to try both sections, but there really isn’t enough here to warrant anything other than a passing visit.