The Black Horse, Nottingham

The Black Horse is one of two pubs in the small rural village of Caythorpe the other being the Old Volounteer. This is much more in the heart of the houses a good 15 minute walk from loudham station whereas the vol is much closer to loudham meaning the Black horse is the main option for a drink for those in the centre of the village. I was very excited to visit here as I is the home of the Caythorpe Brewery that I was told was in the outbuilding behind the pub. After a look around I found the building but no signage and no obvious sign of any brewing taking place here so am not totally sure if the brewery is in fact still here or if it has moved. The pub has two main rooms and it like stepping back in time. Nothing has changed in here since the 60’s and is one of the best examples of unchanged pub decor I have seen. You enter into a very small narrow corridor with options of rooms on the left and right. The main bar is on the right in a very snug square room. The bar is in the corner and is tiny and barely big enough to hold the four hand pulls and the three tired keg tap. On the bar was Abbot Ale, harvest pale, Bass and Caythorpe Brewery Dover Beck Bitter. I like Caythorpe beers anyway so obviously went for their beer at £3.30. The beer was a tad on the hazy side but a very tasty well-made beer made all the better by the fabulous old fashioned surroundings. .the other room is another small square lounge type room with bench seating around the perimeter and no bar. Homemade food is served and looked very good on my visit. Beware as the pub has limited opening times not opening on Mondays and 11:30 – 2:30 then 5:30 -11. Sundays they close at 5. There is also a no children allowed problem and toilets are located outside. Overall a cracking old school pub that is worth the walk simply to see the decor. Next time I’ll go on a cold winter’s night to enjoy the open log fire. Well worth a visit.

I first visited the Black Horse on 26 January 1985 when it was a Shipstones tied house,the outside of the pub has'nt changed that much since my first visit but the beers on the bar are a lot different now as this pub is home to Caythorpe brewery and it has a good choice of their beers on the bar. I am quite fond of Caythorpe beers and i had a drink of Caythorpe Dark Jem which was a really nice drink. This is a nice pub and the better of the two in Caythorpe in my opinion. Pub visited 11/4/2009

Classic village pub operating in one half of the ground floor,the other half being part of the landlady's house.The gents is outside at the entrance to the car park and this adds to the rustic charm.A modern front door and internal refurbishment disguise the age of the building but the wood burner fire in the saloon was thoughtfully operational on a chilly morning in May.The landlady was keen to point out that this was a traditional pub on a Sunday ,only serving beer ,crisps and nuts although food is served on other days.The ale variety is good and all well kept and the friendly atmosphere is a reminder of what has been lost in many village pubs that become dominated by food.Worth the long walk and extremely difficult mooring (to a willow) on the River Trent.