Charlton Arms, Nottingham

The Charlton in a 30 second walk across the street from the superior Cadland. The outside looks quite inviting with a brewer’s Tudor frontage. The inside is now one large knocked through room that has been extensively refurbished since the Greene King acquisition of punch and they have spent £120,000 doing it up. Unlike some refurbishments by them that have improved the look of shabby pub interiors this particular one I am not a big fan of. They have pub put down a mix of ugly carpets and new tacky looking furniture that is really un appealing as well as a new white tiled bar that overall does not fit in with the traditional looking outside at all. One thing I did like is at the back end of the pub down a level were some big comfy armchairs that were good to sit and relax in. beer wise there were five hand pulls drawing a dire selection of Greene king and national beers. On my visit there was a choice of Gk IPA, London Glory Doombar (available soon) and a house beer brewed by the Nottingham brewery in which the hand pull was in the shape of a rifle as well as one that was unclipped. This set me back £3.20 and was cold and super cloudy and an overall poor pint. I would have taken it back but I really couldn’t be bothered and decided to sup up and swiftly exit probably never to return. Overall it Is a pretty average pub but I suppose it does cater more towards family’s now with lots of food menus and TV screens. I prefer traditional pubs and am not a big fan of Green King so this place I did not find ideal especially with the poor and not particular cheap beer. If around the area you might catch it on a good day and get a passable beer but I won’t be going out of my way again any time soon to visit.

Official site of Charlton Arms - www.johnbarras.com

Official site of Charlton Arms - www.johnbarras.com

A John Barras pub in a residential area, approached through a large car park and an outside seating/smoking area. The bar is E-shaped, and it has carpeted snugs and a raised area at one end. There are framed pictures of sportsmen adorning the walls, and the bar snacks on offer are unimaginative but serve their intended purpose. There are tv screens, gaming machines and free wifi to entertain the customers. The ambiance was pleasant and the staff friendly. Three hand pumps on the bar but only one ale on – Courage Best – which was just about OK. It's fine to drop in if in the area, a good basic pub and appears to be a lively local.

The Charlton Arms is situated in what locals call chilwell village,the pub is almost opposite the Cadland. This pub used to be a Shipstones tied house with two real ales on the bar with both Shipstones bitter and mild being very nice drinks,the pub also used to have two decent sized rooms. On a more recent visit the pub has been opened out into one large room with the bar facing this room had bare pine boards giving the pub a modern look,there were three real ales on with the likes on London Pride and Gk IPA. I prefered the Charlton Arms in its old guise. Pub first visited 1981 Photo taken November 1987