The Railway Inn, Congleton

This pub has been well described by Nev below, but my real ale experience was not in the same category. No doubt this was my fault for going for the Old Speckled Hen rather than the Wainwright. I'm not sure how much of this beer's poor quality was the fault of the brewer, or how much was down to the cellerman. I was getting zero pleasure from the beer, and rather than have an argument about it (NBSS 2) left my half finished glass on the table and dashed to the very good Queens Head across the tracks for a taste bud refresher before my train to Stockport. Maybe the Wainwright would have been ok, but a better option for me is to steer clear.

Close to the station,this is a large pub with a scruffy exterior but an internal refurb has left it a bit souless.On entering thereOis a pool room with darts board to the right,The bar ahead with a two sided lounge connected by a mid room wood burner.The furniture is old fashioned in dark brown,a far section looked more like a dining area while beyond the bar french windows lead to the beer garden.overall it's clean but antiseptic.There are lots of terrestrial flatscreens on mute with scrolling news,occasional sport while the muzak was mindless too. Two handpumps but only Marston's Wainwright was being offered in good nick NBSS 3.5 with fine lacking on the glass as the pint went down.If someone can keep ale to this quality,why not expand the range and steal some of the custom from the nearby Wonky Pear and Queens Head.

The Railway Inn in one of two pubs that sit either side of the bridge that travels over Congleton Railway Station. The interior is U-shaped with a central L-shaped bar counter that supports two hand pumps, one of which was unused leaving Wainwright as the lone cask ale option. Premium keg was also available alongside Carling. Flagstones and bare boards run throughout with the odd bit of carpet thrown in. There’s a pool table in the corner and rolling news was on the television. Six Nations rugby is heavily advertised so I expect there’s no satellite sports shown here. Handy for the station, but comes in a solid third when compared to its peers around the station.