The Crown Inn, Newark

A roadside inn at the crossroads in this quiet village. Surprisingly for Nottinghamshire, a banner on the gable end proclaims Scrumpy Wasp ciders - these are produced at a micro cider press in the village, and in fact the pub is now owned by Scrumpy Wasp. I popped in for a half when cycling to Retford, and was astonished at the low prices - their own cider, guest ales and Carling/J Smiths all at £2.50 per pint, though this may be a special discount following the opening last week under the new ownership. Inside it's all modern lounge bar furniture: low dining chairs with high backs, easy chairs and pouffes all in leather - or leatherette. I'm not sure whether to mourn so many cows or deplore the lapse in taste. Suffice to say that it's difficult to know where to sit after purchasing a drink - I ended up on a high chair at the bar. There are four hand pumps, with two ales and two ciders. I had a cider for a change - Scrumpy Wasp Amnesia. Like most high alcohol ciders, this tasted like apple juice to me, so perhaps I should just stick to the real ales. The beers were from local breweries: Copthorne of Sutton on Trent and Double Top of Worksop. The pub was blessedly free of music at the time of my visit (midweek late afternoon), but there was a CD player standing on a corner of the bar. A regular came in and turned the machine on, whereupon we had a friendly discussion about the need for background music in pubs, and whether 80s pop in particular should ever be heard again. I won, but I'm sure it was only a temporary victory. If this was my village I'm sure I would be in here on a regular basis, but I'd probably have something to say about the furniture and the music.