First Base, Milton Keynes

This is not a particularly easy pub to find. For starters, it’s within the Xscape centre, and unlike some of the other nearby venues like The Moon Under Water, it has no outside entrance. Furthermore, even walking up the arcade you will not see the pub sign. There is a small door marked City Limits – go through here in to a lobby area and then beyond that are several doors, one of which is the pub. Once you’ve managed to find it, you discover that it’s quite a cavernous affair with high ceilings and two separate wings. One wing is entirely given over to snooker, with no less than seven tables. The rest of the pub has a rather industrial feel to it with large ventilation ducts and other services clearly visible in the ceiling. There is some exposed brickwork and a few pictures dotted around, but little in the way of creature comforts. Rather oddly, all the pillars had what can only be described as splintered wood towards the top, and there was also splintered wood at the same height around much of the perimeter. I can only assume at one time there was a suspended ceiling, but for some reason this has been ripped out. Sport seem to feature fairly prominently, and from just the one spot I was sat in I counted seven Plasmas or Projector screens and no doubt there were more that I couldn’t see. A board highlighted forthcoming sporting fixtures and there were numerous flags draped around the pub as well as several fruit machines. At one end was a small stage area along with a number of rather large speakers, lighting rigs and a glitter ball. “Outside” (ie; not in the pub, but still inside) was a courtyard area that seemed to be straight out of a theme park. A large New Orleans paddle steamer took up one wall, there was a large central tree with a circular bench around it, an elaborate old wooden building facade, old fashioned street lamps and even a starry night sky! There were no real ales on tap unfortunately, the only bitter being John Smith’s Extra Smooth. Even worse, the solitary cider was Strongbow. A blackboard behind the bar was advertising four pint pitchers for £10 with the strapline “Can I tempt you?” – errr, no, not unless you get some decent drinks to put in there you can’t.