Waggon & Horses, York

Entering a pub and seeing a bunch of PuG regulars in there clustered around the bar, with a couple more taking on the bar billiards, is a reassuring sight. The 10 handpumps on the bar was another reassuring sight. There's not a lot I can add to what others have said, except that I spotted a dartboard on one of the walls, and this was one of a rare breed of York pubs that managed to produce a cup of coffee, which got Mrs R's vote. This was one of my favourite York pubs, and definitely worth including on any crawl in this part of the world.

A lovely and friendly pub, the small front boarded room faces the bar, a tiled passage leads to three separate side rooms, one containing a bar billiards table, these seem to be plentiful in York, of the others, two were carpeted with one taking the appearance of a library with bookcases filling one wall. Stags head over the panelled bar gantry, loads of guest beer mats along the ceiling beams. Dimpled jugs hang from the bar, a window shelf contains Scrabble, dominoes and playing cards. A decent beer selection as seems to be the York norm, Roosters 41 degrees South, Bateman's Yellabelly Gold, Dark Star Hophead, Bateman's XXXB and Pheasantry Brewery Black Dragonfly. Ciders were Old Rosie, Wyld Wood and Bottle Kicking Fullback. There is a bit of garden to the rear and the pub is disabled friendly, containing a suitable toilet, a great spot, recommended.

Official site of The Waggon & Horses - www.waggonandhorsesyork.com

Official site of The Waggon & Horses - www.waggonandhorsesyork.com

A well run pub this one and well worth a visit. There was a choice of nine ever changing well kept ales. The pub consists of the main bar and lounge, with a smaller room on left, which was wallpapered. Also there was a small snug to the rear of the pub with a chesterfield settee. The manager was friendly and chatty, also very knowledgeable about the brewery trade. I went for the Rat Brewery Rattus Sambucus and Partners Brewery Spikes. The was also a piano in the front bar.

Multi-roomed pub with accommodation available. A large selection of real ale and food served. Live music advertised.

York CAMRA's pub of the Year 2012 is a Batemans tied house although with a wide beer range, in fact only two out of lots were from Wainfleet, the other were small/micro brewery beers from around the north. Beer quality is good if a bit cold and the service was on the slovenly side. Two rooms at the front, a public to the right and a lounge to the left, a central corridor leads to the usual offices and a small snug behind the servery. The public has sideways benches and a big screen, the décor is from the beer mat decorating book. The lounge is carpeted and furnished with tables and chairs, wax bespattered glasses on the tables hint at candle power in the darker hours. The windows are Deco but there are Victorian floor tiles and the lav's are labelled in French. The pub has limited weekday opening.

Located just outside the eastern perimeter of the city walls, the Waggon and Horses is a well kept, multiple room pub with a strong emphasis on good beer. You enter into the main bar with the servery opposite the front door. There are a couple of tables along the front wall with back to back benches which form small booth-like spaces. The walls and servery are lined with loads of pump clips, which hint at the goodies available at the bar. An upright piano can be found near the front door and various CAMRA leaflets and magazines were displayed on top of it. To the left is the lounge – a carpeted room with a small stone fireplace and mainly standard table and chair arrangements. A pump clip lined corridor takes you towards the toilets and has a third room off it which I thought was the nicest of the three. Fitted with dark wood panels and a lovely tile floor, the room has a real charm to it. There are bookcases on the walls and some display cabinets full of trophies and jugs and other such items. A small fireplace stands on the end wall and there is a mix of comfortable looking banquette and sofa seating. Music played throughout my stay, with a surprisingly high proportion of 80’s soft rock, but it wasn’t too loud, even when considering that the pub had only just opened and there were only two other customers in. On the bar, a fine row of hand pumps offered Bateman’s XB and Yella Belly, Great Heck Angel, Liverpool Craft Brew 56, Osset Yorkshire Blonde, Roosters Humble Pie, Brass Castle Tail Gunner and Salamander Hell and High Water. A good selection of continental bottled beer was also available. I gave the Angel a try and found it in good condition. This is a smart, well looked after pub with an ale range that makes it a must if you’re over this side of town. I found the pub very comfortable and could’ve happily stayed there a lot longer than I did. Well worth a look.

Excellent Real Ale pub that has been justly awarded York CAMRA's pub of the Year 2012. Although it is officially a Batemans house the landlord has wisely managed to persuade them that it would be far more popular if they relaxed their attitude on guest beers. The result is a winner for all concerned. As well as 2 Batemans "always" beers there are 5 ever changing handpulls that bring well chosen and excellently served beers from all over the UK. There are plenty of rooms in the pub so you won't have problems getting a seat and another perk is that if you want to purchase a takeaway from one of the nearby food outlets you can eat it in the pub as long as you drink their beer. How very enlightened - which aptly sums the pubs up all round really...