The Wig & Pen, Northampton

Official site of Wig & Pen - www.thewigandpennorthampton.com

Attractive old building with an extension to the rear, and rather larger than the narrow frontage would suggest. The low ceilinged are inside the door leads to a 'L'-shaped bar with more headroom further back. Traditional furniture and decor. Silent news on large TV screens, and background music at a sensible volume. Covered patio beer garden. Excellent choice from 11 beers and two ciders on handpump, and my pint of Langton Inclined Plane (£3.60 less 10% Camra discount) was in fine form. Well worth a visit.

Official site of Wig & Pen - www.thewigandpennorthampton.com

A really good looking pub. A narrow frontage leads to a much deeper than expected interior. There are lots of features including old beams, stained glass, a massive brick fireplace and an impressive clock. There's also a smart outside area. Cricket was being shown quietly in the pub. There are 13 handpumps, 3 had Greene King products on them, 3 had real ciders, one was off and the rest had a good selection of guest ales on them. My pint was in excellent condition and there's also a 10% CAMRA discount. One of my favourite pubs in Northampton.

The Wig and Pen has long been my favourite of Northampton's town centre pubs and it remains so in its current ownership. The pub itself has a narrow frontage and is quite easy to miss. Inside it's long and narrow in an inverted L shape with a large covered smoking area at the back. We visited on a Saturday afternoon when the England - South Africa rugby international was being shown on the various screens around the pub, including in the outside area. Consequently it was very busy and is likely to be so whenever there are internationals or Saints matches being shown. Nonetheless, we managed to get a seat and something of a view and the service, despite the number of people, was quick, friendly and efficient and the atmosphere generally was very light hearted and jovial. In spite of the result. The food menu looked good and all the meals we saw being served were very tempting. There was a card on the bar offering a bucket of warm seafood, including lobster, crab claws and cockles for £19.95 or £29.95 for two. Not cheap but very tempting and it smelt extremely good. A wide selection of beer was listed on the blackboard behind the bar: Old Speckled Hen, GK IPA and London Pride as the national selections with the rest being: Thwaites Nutty Black, Hoggleys Northamptonshire Gold, Abbeydale Big Amy, Daily Bread and L'Age d'Or, Franklins Grumpy Guvnor and Elgoods Black Eagle. Everything we tried was in good shape and that's a fair range to have a go at. The Wig and Pen has always been a comfortable and friendly pub and with its current policy of providing a wide ale range it's especially appealing.