The Town Crier, Leek

The Bird in Hand is located on the cobbled market square which unfortunately seems to be a big car park, well at least it was on the Tuesday evening I visited the area. To the left of the entrance is a small bar area with a counter along the rear and limited seating in front window. The right side of the counter serves the right-hand side of the pub that has more seating and disco equipment. Sky Sports was muted on the televisions and the likes of Gangnam Style were coming out of the speakers. Standard and premium keg were available alongside Neck Oil, unsurprisingly the solitary hand pump stood unused. I found somewhere to sit by the window where I stared out while trying to ignore the homeless looking local who kept staring at me. The visit of a debt collector went some way to ease the awkward atmosphere, the barmaid gave him short shrift, it was certainly not her first time. I was very glad to leave.

Prominent but fairly basic corner pub with a small bar to the left and a larger room to the right leading through to a games room behind. Was fairly unaltered but due for a refurbishment in September 2016 so might change.