The Grog & Gruel, Fort William

To my amazement, the numerous beer fonts here contained no brews I actually recognized: precisely none of the standard range of ales or lagers. I opted for a pint of Cairngorm Lager, on the basis that I had at least heard of the mountain range. It cost me £3.65, which is actually very expensive for the town. The impressive collection of font clips above the bar suggests that there is a regular rotation of beers on sale, although I'm not sure about the wisdom of excluding the better known ones. It is, for example, one of the few British pubs I've ever been in which doesn't sell Guinness. I didn't sample any of the gruel available, but this is a very pleasant pub with a good atmosphere and a wide range of unusual beers.

This is the local Camra area's pub of the year for 2012, and you can see why with its nine hand pumps arrayed invitingly on the bar. One was serving cider (though the offered taster to a customer who asked if they served Magners didn't appear to hit the spot) and there were seven ales available among the others: all from Scottish breweries. A collection of former pump clips is neatly and proudly displayed, alongside a rather grotesque pig's head, apparently made of papier-mache. (The pig features in the pub's logo and is repeated in a number of other decorations.) The pub is a lengthy, deep and narrow affair, featuring a lot of wood: floor, bar, screens, pillars, not to mention tables and chairs, and a wood burning stove (not lit, though I could have made a case for it being so). The right hand wall, opposite the bar, has been adorned with small stones, arrayed to simulate a dry stone wall. I had a very enjoyable Orkney Black Gold, and my only regret was that I had another 25 miles to cycle so didn't dare stay for another.