Duke of York, Salisbury

A former Ushers pub, given the small ceramic plaque by the door and name to the hanging sign and with a defibrillator fixed to the outside wall, the pub proudly wears its heart on its sleeve. An avowedly locals’ pub, it’s well described below, the interior basic. There were seven pumps, my Hop Back GFB good and £2.40 a half. This is a decent pub – certainly better than the neighbouring Village – but is let down by loud televised sports’ commentary.

The Duke of York is a U shaped pub with a carpeted bar around the central U-shaped serving counter that supports Fosters, Amstel, Guinness and three flavours of Thatcher’s cider alongside seven hand pups that were drawing Hop Back’s Summer Lightening, GFB and Entire Stout, St Austell’s Cornish Best and Tribute, Downton Brewery’s QuadHop, and Wadworth’s 6X. Padded benches run under the front windows either side of the central entrance where tables sit on the oches of dartboards on both the front left and right-hand walls. There are two televisions, one of which was supplying some low background music courtesy of Now 80s. In the right rea corner is a bare board floor seating area where access is gained to the toilets and a small enclosed paved beer garden at the rear. On the right-hand wall is a full bookcase that includes a long line of the Good Beer Guide, this pub has just won the local CAMRA POTY award, which doesn’t surprise me. I thought the friendly governor was very welcoming, and the lone local sat at the bar engaged with the group. The stout and QuadHop were on good form, so I’d have no issue returning if I find myself in Salisbury again.

Backstreet community pub also sought out by readers of the Good Beer Guide, and while I was waiting for others to arrive I saw the feature on page 2 of the local newspaper highlighting their latest Camra branch Pub of the Year award. Plainly furnished L-shaped bar with limited decoration apart from the feature fireplace on the right-hand side. Hop Back's GFB, Summer Lightning and Entire Stout available from three of the seven handpumps, along with Tribute, St Austell's Cornish Best, 6X and Downton's Quad Hop (£4.60 with 20p Camra discount). An excellent, if rather hidden away, stop near the station.

A fine back street ale orientated pub a short walk from the train station albeit on the wrong side of the tracks for Salisbury Town centre. It’s hard to imagine that this was the centre of Salisbury’s gay scene before it shut down some 17 years ago as, since reopening as a real ale focussed local, it gives you the impression it has always been that way. The bar supports seven hand pumps in total and alongside three from Hopback (Summer Lightning, GFB and an extremely good Entire Stout), there were St Austell Tribute and Cornish Best, Wadsworth 6X and Downton Brewery Quadhop. An extremely good ale house to start or finish any crawl of Salisbury.