The Bhurtpore Inn, Nantwich

First class country pub with a huge selection of real ale all in excellent condition. If you are not driving, the only real option for getting here is the train to Wrenbury from either Crewe or Shrewsbury. It is a request stop so you have to tell the guard that you want to get off and when you leave, you have to flag the train down. Trains are about every 2 hours and the walking time is 15 minutes over the fields and down country roads. The pub it well looked after and obviously does a roaring trade in food as a good percentage of the tables are set up restaurant style. the young barman was very knowledgable about his product and delighted in telling us that we had arrived 2 weeks early and had missed the 130 brew beer festival happening in July. The pub has a large beer garden at the back with picnic style benches and umbrellas. The toilets are in great shape, very clean and smell free. If you are on a session in Shrewsbury, this place is well worth the effort to visit, despite the transport issues. If you miss the train back, it's not really an issue is it?

Official site of The Bhurtpore Inn, contains menus and beer details - www.bhurtpore.co.uk

Official site of The Bhurtpore Inn, contains menus and beer details - www.bhurtpore.co.uk

Visited in September 2009 Splendidly traditional village pub in the village of Aston, a few miles away from Nantwich in the Cheshire countryside. It's a much larger pub than it looks from the outside. There's a dedicated restaurant area at the side on the left and there are clearly extensions at the back creating additional distinct areas. Bhurtpore ( or Bharatpur ) is a city in Northern India. I won't bore you with the history as to how the pub came by this name - you can find this out for yourself from the pub's own excellent website or a leaflet available in the pub itself. Suffice it to say that the pub is not short of related memorabilia such as photos of the Iron Fort and the Palace at Bhurtpore together with framed pictures of the key players involved. As you approach the pub, you notice that the tall pub sign appears to be outside the house next door to the pub, which is presumably because the pub is just by a bend in the road and you could easily drive past. The pub is traditionally furnished and comfortable. One of the rooms towards the back has a large snooker table, a fruit machine and a TV which, according to a notice at the side, is "for sports and current affairs, definitely not soaps". There's a large car park and outside grassy garden at the back. The pub is a real ale drinker's paradise. On the day of my visit 11 real ales were available, nearly exclusively from Northern micros - Derby Brewery, Allgates, Manchester's Marble Brewery, Summer Wine Brewery ( Holmfirth ), Blackwater, Ossett, Salopian, Weetwood, Titanic and Acorn. Prices ranged from £ 2.55p to £ 3.00p according to strength. Marble Brewery's Dobber at 5.9% was the most expensive at £ 3. I thought the Allgates Mild at Heart was a rather bland tasting mild, but all the other beers sampled were enjoyable and in perfect nick. The pub has been in the GBG for a number of years now and has been South Cheshire CAMRA's pub of the year for 4 consecutive years. It's also won awards for its food. The pub is holding its Second Novemberfest Beer Festival between 10-15 November 2009 and its advertising flyer tells us that around 65 real ales will be available. Finally, how do you get to the pub?. Yes, it's a challenge - but one worth taking on. There's no bus service to the village of Aston. The nearest station is Wrenbury ( a request stop on the Shrewsbury/Crewe line ) - from there it's about 15 mins walk along country lanes. The train service is infrequent. I think this pub is well worth making the effort to get to - but do check train times and pub opening hours carefully.