Peal O' Bells, Wrexham

Community local which felt a bit rougher than other pubs we visited on our crawl of North East Wales. Bar staff were friendly, but some of the customers were quite interesting and a sign in the gents toilets stating "Please p*ss in the urinals!!!!!" might give you a sense of the clientele. However, the pub was gearing up to the Grand National on our Saturday afternoon visit. With around 20 minutes to go before the start, it was realised that not all of the horses in the sweepstake had been sold, presenting some frantic last-minute selling opportunities! Big screens could be found dotted around for people to watch the event. On the bar, a couple of real ales were on - Landlord & Abbot. I ordered a pack of extra spicy crisps to go with my drink. The barmaid was eager to know my opinion of them. We found this to be a friendly place with a few characters. But Holt appears to be quite a large village. So, it is likely to attract all sorts.

A pleasant village pub just over the bridge separating England and Wales. This pub is on the Welsh side. Traditional country style pub which has been opened out into 3 areas. The servery is L-shaped with 4 handpulls in two banks of two. Wooden beamed and white painted brick make up the decor. Beer garden to rear. Pleasant and friendly. Beers were Tim Taylor, Salopian, Wainwright and their own brand beer called Brixton Dogger.

Official site of the Peal O' Bells, contains menus, real ale list and beer festival details - www.pealobells.co.uk