The Navigation, Nottingham

Canalside pub by the bridge/Castle Lock. Interior is a dull corporate battlefield green and a small amount of exposed brick. Six pumps with 3x Timothy Taylor and two other guests. My half of Boltmaker tasted aged (NBSS 2.5). Maybe I got unlucky, as the CAMRA website is currently giving it a rare three pint pot rating. Would give it another go en route to the Canalhouse. 6.5

Corner pub next to the canal and just a few minutes walk from Nottingham railway station. There is one large open-plan room which was quite busy with a mixture of drinkers and diners on our Friday lunchtime visit. There are wooden floors and a mixture of decor and furnishings. The far left corner is very maroon with some red chesterfields and a few mirrors. Board games are available and there are also a couple of TVs. Plants abound. There is an outdoor patio to the rear. There were 5 cask ales on. Timothy Taylor beers seem to feature regularly and on this occasion, both Boltmaker & Golden Best were on. Other beers were Bradfield Farmer's Blush, Beermats Charismatic & Thornbridge Market Porter. A CAMRA discount is offered, including on halves. Keg options included Timothy Taylor Hopical Storm & Camden Stout. The cider was Orchard Pig Reveller. Food does seem to be a major draw here. There are menus on each table with lunchtime specials.

Another canal-side pub, this one set in a fairly attractive building, a mix of red brick and white stucco, internally it has been opened out but sympathetically so. I didn't note the beers on apart from the Oakham Reapers Wish, my beer of choice, but wrote down there were five handpumps which differs from previous reviews and whatpubs suggestion of four changing beers, however there is choice and a rather pleasant pub.

The Navigation is an L-shaped pub with a bar counter to the right and seating to the left that is faced by a stage that was hosting a live band. The fifty-something crowd were lapping up the Wednesday evening hound dog music, which was actually good fun, although it wasn’t very busy. Premium and craft keg were available from the bar and the four hand pumps were drawing TT Golden Best, Pheasantry’s BB Best Bitter, Barry Brewery’s Vale of Glamorgan and Grainstore’s Rutland Panther. The service was polite and the atmosphere good so I’d return if passing.

Situated right by Castle Lock ,there are picnic benches running along the lockside if you want a close up of boating action.The main entrance is off the main road,you enter into a largely open plan interior with the bar to the right,while further back on the left side there are french windows ,with a metal stairway leading down to the lockside.There is a music theme ,and well chosen sounds were being gently played on my lunchtime visit. It's a free house and the three handpumps will serve a rotating selection of mainly Locales,with a mix of beer styles.On my trip that meant Mr Grundy's Sniper,Chantry New York Pale and Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout (a very reasonable £3.90,NBSS 4). The chalk board outside mentions the beers coming soon ,many from breweries close by. There is also a partially covered rear courtyard,away from the traffic noise and with it's own music speaker.This is a dog friendly spot.A calm and friendly atmosphere from the couple who run it,well done to them for a vast improvement since the dark days of Marston's ownership.Worth including on any real ale tour of the city.

This is no longer a Marston's pub, it's been bought by Admiral. Consequently the number of handpumps is down to three and the range is very pedestrian to say the least, although both my pints were well kept. One large single room, with the left hand side obviously being the live music part. It's nicely decorated with mainly music related pictures etc along with a pool table. There's a small patio area next to the lock on the canal with a few tables. We called in on a Sunday night and had a couple of drinks before we made our way back to the hotel. I asked the landlord if they were open until 11 on the Monday, but when we turned up at 10:20 it was closed. Maybe it was something we said. It's an unremarkable pub at the moment as there's no chance of live music. I've been in a lot worse though.