Ash Tree, Rugeley

The Ash Tree is a new build Marstons tied house that is in a decent location next to the Trent and Mersey canal. Once inside there is a decent sized room which is T shaped,the bar faces on entry,there is a slight raised area to the front left,the room is carpeted and the seating is normal tables and chairs,background music was playing. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Marstons Help the Heroes which was a nice drink,the other beers were Pedigree and Jennings Cockerhoop. The pub was very busy on our Saturday afternoon visit with both drinkers and diners. I thought this was a pleasant pub to have a drink in,in summer it would be even better sitting outside next to the canal. Pub visited 7/3/2015

Known to many locally as "The Ash Tray" this pub is not one that I would ever venture into again. It is nice for a cold beer on a hot day walking down the canal and that is it. The food is awful and the service is pretty dire too.

A modern low level brick and cream rendered detached canal side pub/eatery, with beer garden and kids play area. Despite being modern, there is an attempt to give it some aesthetic value. It is a part of the 2 for 1 Marston’s chain. The interior is the all too familiar open plan arrangement for this kind of place, with brick and different coloured plain walls for décor; crimson, white, salmon and green. It is, of course, all laid out for food and our food was delivered promptly and my gammon was really nice, so no complaints there. There is Sky TV, as well as mainly arty kind of pictures, vases and the twigs. The service was friendly, the clientele completely mixed and lots of them – a party going on in one corner. Beer; tap stuff, with a cold keg Banks’s MILD. On handpull there was Pedigree and Banks’s Bitter. Pubs like these are generally dull as buildings and this is no different – so I would rather eat here on a hot day, outside, with the nice view of the canal. The food and the service was fine, the beer drinkable – it is a decent example of this kind of pub.