The Pennyweight, Darlington

From the outside the Pennyweight has all the blandness of a certain chain pub with its dull livery not really making the place as appealing as its location warrants although the large clock over the door acts as a neat centerpiece. The interior is equally dull, a clash of exposed but obviously new brickwork and modern trendiness. The bar area is a bit faceless with tatty floors, rugs that have seen better days and pew seating that just didn’t seem to fit in with the surroundings. The modern bar has 6 metallic beer pumps, one of which produced a barely drinkable pint of Black Sheep. The other options were Cameron Strongarm (which I had already had in the pub opposite) or Deuchers which was off with 3 other pumps unbadged.although if my first (and only) pint was an indication of beer quality, I wouldn’t want to try any more. I didn’t get too many glimpses of the far end of the pub as people were gathered to watch the World Cup on the TV at the end but it looked a bit more welcoming with a brace of fireplaces and a more homely look. There is seating out in the square (plastic glasses) but the beer quality alone was sufficient for me not to hang around too long to worry about any more of the pub’s other attributes.