Waterloo Stores, Swansea

Random stop for a quick half as the bold exterior and warmly-lit interior looked inviting in the cold rain. Not bad inside, a modern fit-out but with a mildly traditional feel eg the panelling has now been painted-over; has moved on from its Irish pub days. Very quiet. Just the one ale, a decent Gower Gold (NBSS 3). Worth a look en route to the Pilot. 6.5

Originally known as the William Hancock and more recently called Waterloo, this single room pub is now trading as an Irish themed bar, although the theme is thankfully not laboured. The pub has an L-shaped layout with a bare boarded front area seeing the servery run down the right hand side and plenty of attractive dark wood panelling helping create a traditional feel to the place. Comfy banquettes run in two U shapes either side of the entrance, under some obscured glass front windows. The bar has a dark wood counter with a stained and patterned glass bar back. Various Irish related items have been scattered around the room, including photos, adverts, ceramics, mirrors and the like - enough to establish the theme without the need for overkill. High shelves contain other items such as books, bottles and earthenware. A small stage to the front left was being set-up for a gig later that evening and there was a huge screen above showing Sky Sports News. The room extends to the rear along the right hand side, passing a juke box, a couple of smaller TV screens, additional seating and eventually opening out into a space filled by a pool table. A cracking '80's soundtrack featuring the likes of Squeeze and XTC kept me entertained whilst the band tuned up. There are four hand pumps on the bar, but three were out of action on this visit, leaving just Sharp's Doom Bar as the sole ale option at £3.20 for a pint. Thankfully it was in very good shape and I quite enjoyed supping it whilst watching the news and listening to some great tunes. This is, in many ways, a very run-of-the-mill pub, unconcerned with the trends of the day and content to offer standard pub entertainment staples such as live music, sports coverage and a pool table. I didn't mind stopping off here as part of my crawl, but I'm not convinced there was enough to merit a visit in its own right.

This is a detached corner pub, with patio area. It was formerly known as the William Hancock, after the brewery that owned the pub back in the 1880s. The pub has a touch of the Georgians about it, with the green rusticated lower frontage and neo-classic doorway, but also the Victorians, with the white upper with two gabled dormers. The interior has an L-shaped room, with an area at the back that is up a few steps. There are a couple of pool tables and a dart board. The interior is in white, with lots of heavy wood panel, and a wood floor. Lots of sporting pictures are on the walls, mainly to do with Swansea. There was no music, but TVs with the cricket on. The service was fine and a few locals were in, as well as a holidaymaker called William Hancock, bizarrely - he was understandably elated to find a pub named after him. Beer; usual tap stuff with three handpulls, although only Bass was on - it was decent enough. A tidy enough place, which just needs a little more on the real ale front for my taste - happy to have popped in though.