Cherry Tree, Market Harborough

Although this place is listed as somewhere called Little Bowden it is actually one of the closest pubs to Market Harborough Railway Station and must have been very close to the old line that went from Rugby to Market Harborough and then on to Peterborough. It looks like the building with the thatched roof was the original pub and other buildings have been added over the years. It must have once been a country pub but no longer is as the nearby roundabout hosts three supermarkets. I found my way through the labyrinth of rooms to the public bar at the far side. The other rooms were mostly devoted to diners. The garden is huge and had a marquee in it. The bar has five hand pumps which had Everard's Beacon, Tiger, Sunchaser & Original and Elgood's Black Dog Mild. I had time to try the Tiger (£3.30), Sunchaser (£3.30) and Original (£3.50) all of which were in first class nick. I've generally found Everard's pubs to be fairly reliable and this is a good one.

The Cherry Tree is a delightful, traditional thatched pub which hasn't been messed around too much internally. Consequently it's all wooden floors and beams and higgeldy piggeldy rooms, the largest one of which is on the right of the pub and serves as the bar with fruit machines and music. You wouldn't know this was there though if you tucked into one of the smaller rooms for a quiet pint and didn't have a poke around. The bar itself in fact takes up the middle of the building so you can be served in 3 or 4 different rooms. It's an Everards boozer with Tiger, Old Original and Beacon on when we visited, supplemented by Shardlow Reverend Eatons as the guest. The Tiger was excellent. Food is served and I saw a few people eating but didn't look at a menu or partake so little to add here. Although not in the town centre, The Cherry Tree is only a short walk away and that walk is well worth it as the pub is, by some stretch, the best I've visited in Market Harborough.

A charming thatched roof Everards tied house,on the outskirts of Little Bowden but close to Market Harborough station,it is worth spending some time here to inspect the interesting interior.To the left of the low entance door is The Cottesloe Room,set up for diners but available to drinkers after 9pm.A narrow internal corridor winds around the interior allowing accesss to many seperate sections,a snug,a games room with skittles and darts and the loos.The long island bar has seperate serving areas for these different rooms ,and the main part of the bar has sensible padding over a very low structural wooden beam.The quarry tiling and small windows all adds to the charm.It's easy to get snuggled in here and a good number of locals were imbibing and chatting.The food looked good but does not dominate proceedings,and there is a wide age range of customers.Friendly and helpful barmaids another plus point. Outside is what is described as an "adult beer garden" but don't get the wrong idea it's just offering petanque and an escape from children.It looked well manicured. There are four handpumps with three Everards ales (my Tiger was spot on ) and a guest from Shardlow Brewery on my trip. It may be a long walk from the canal basin,but for me this pub would be route 1 for an evenings drinking.A GBG regular it's the one pub in Market Harborough that should not be missed.