The Shakespeare, Durham

Quite a small bar area at the front with another room at the rear. 4 real ales.

A narrow building in a street of interesting buildings of many types, there is a notice taped to the window beside the door advising of the existence of further seating in the room to the rear of the bar. Just as well, as the presence of more than 10 people would make the front room seem crowded. The bar counter occupies most of the left hand wall, and has four hand pumps. I remarked on the presence of four nationally known brands, and the barman indicated that he'd heard this before (with the implication that it's not going to change any time soon). I went for Fullers London Pride, which was as good as this beer ever gets this far from home and served with a sparkler. (Landlord, Tribute and Hobgoblin Gold were the other options.) I quite liked it here, as it was quieter than its location in the touristy streets of Durham might have led one to expect - maybe that's because they don't do food.

Once an outstanding pub, reputedly the oldest extant in the city, it’s come down a bit over the years. Four pulls of mainstream casks and the usual suspectson keg, the cask is not something to brag about. Our visit was only made tolerable by the decent bar staff.

My final stop of a Saturday evening crawl in Durham City was this old pub in the centre. It does in fact have a couple of rooms. The front room was full. So, I continued to a fully enclosed room at the rear, which was rather warm. Bar staff were friendly. But the only two real ales were Deuchars & 6X.