Feathers, Peterborough

This seems to be a great community pub in a very attractive village. There was a whole mix of age ranges present, and the various pub games on offer (pool, darts, backgammon) were all being taken advantage of. There was also a fruit machine, quiz machine and a plasma on the wall, although this was not obtrusive. There's a couple of small courtyard gardens which offer a pleasant outside space, one with a view of the road/village. There was a fairly short, but decent enough bar snack menu with pub staples such as ham, egg & chips but also some more unusual dishes like fishcakes wrapped in pancetta. I tried the ham, and whilst it was perhaps a tad expensive at £7.95, it was a decent herb-crusted joint and came with both a small pot of tomato chutney and a jug of vinaigrette dressing, so it's a step up from your usual pub food. There was a very good choice of beers on the bar as follows – Riverhead Deer Porter, Adnams Broadside, Ne'er Castor Clout, Woodforde's Brew 78, John Smith's Cask and Oakham JHB. Ciders were also well represented with Stowford Press (a pleasant change from the omnipresent Strongbow around these parts) plus Oliver's Perry and Oliver's Choice from Cromwell Ciders. The pub seemed quite busy for a Monday night which is great to see in the current climate. It just goes to show that if you do things right you can still attract the punters in, even with two other pubs in the village.