Buck Inn, Richmond

Situated just off a pleasant cobbled square in a picturesque part of town, the 16th century Buck Inn appears to be quite inviting from the road. A corridor leads to the main bar with a homely side room off to the right with glowing fire whilst a few open rooms radiate from the main bar area itself with a couple of TV's and dart board and all the old panelling and Tudor imagery that one could expect. For all its pleasant décor and charm, the positives soon stop. On the beer front just the one ale, the seemingly ever present Black Sheep Best and I can't believe how short a time it takes to start getting sick of seeing what was hitherto a welcoming pint. Slapped into the centre of the pub is a pool table, incongruous and just plain awkward to negotiate around when people are mid-shot and you really don't want to upset the people in here. The Buck is clearly the magnet for all the dregs that make small town centres such unpleasant places. They are here, sneering and snarling, arguing over their women and gagging for a ruck, f'ing and c'ing across the pub and generally making the pub a totally unpleasant experience. The whole place was intimidating from the people blocking the door on the way in to the people ready to ruck on the way out. Whether this is an evening weekend thing or a permanent problem I don't know and I didn't fancy a return visit to find out. The views of the Castle from the beer garden may be wonderful but I think I'll stick to views of the pub from the Castle.