Alexandra Inn, Penzance

One of the most welcoming of pubs we found in our week in Penzance and also one of the better selections of ales (5 in all - Betty Stoggs, Doom Bar, Bass, Courage Best and the excellent Heligan Honey). The interior isn’t particularly interesting décor wise, quite plain and unfussy with a few token shipwreck and lifeboat snippets on the walls and a rear section that contains a pool table. The charismatic locals will however keep you entertained with stories on anything from shipwrecks to smuggling, beers to boats and tin mines to tourists. On my visit a quick pint turned into a lengthy session that stretched beyond midnight so don’t expect to leave in a hurry. Ladies literally have to spend a penny to use the loos (there are old pennies on the bar which are needed to get in). Gents have no such problems. The pub is a hundred yards or so to the sea front but there is an attractive beer garden if you can’t venture that far to catch a few rays. The football and rugby grounds are both just around the corner so it can get busy on match days, certainly for the rugby but overall I found the Alex to be one of the more respectable and worthwhile of Penzance’s pubs to visit.