Smiths Arms, Chester Le Street

This is a strange one as it looks like an old town pub but is pretty much in the middle of nowhere apart from the fact that the A1(M) runs very close by and you can see and hear the traffic on it. As you enter there's a door to the left and a door to the right. The door to the left leads to the small public bar where there is a huge row of hand pumps which were blocked by the regulars on a Friday afternoon. There is also a pool and darts area behind the serving area. Luckily there is a blackboard with the beers and ciders listed. After a while when more locals with their dogs made it a bit crowded, a retreat was made to the lounge bar. This had plenty of space but only had a limited serving area. Beers noted were Adnam's Old, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, By The Horns Stiff Upper Lip, Black Sheep Baa Baa, St Peters Flawless, Otter Pale, Titanic Plum Porter, Dorset Jurassic and two ciders. I went for the Otter Pale and the Plum Porter which were in good nick. This is a strange pub but a worthwhile one to visit. It's GBG 2018 listed.