George & Dragon, Belper

A very pleasant double fronted pub opened out inside of course but still with charm. The entrance portico leads into the main bar area with an L shaped counter, three pulls on the front face and a further four on the longer side face. Beers from Little (average), Whim, Bass and Falstaff. New stone flooring but a lot of old tongue and groove remains. It has a sitting space each side of the door and a bigger space behind with a raised offshoot to its right housing a dart board. At the back is a garden. Furniture is a mix of old pews and newer armchairs at iron based tables. There are interesting maps in the corridor leading to the toilets.

Cosy L-shaped pub on the main road through town. This place has a quarry stone floored interior based around the L-shaped servery with runs along the wall opposite the entrance before turning 90 degrees to run down the right-hand side. The front part of the pub is a pleasant space with a large window bay to the left that looked like a nice, bright space to grab a seat, and a fireplace with a modern stove inside to the right, pumping out plenty of heat on a cold Winter’s afternoon. The fireplace also boasts an impressive George and Dragon image, cast in metal above the large stone lintel. The pub has a vaguely traditional feel, thanks to some exposed stone walls and a few bits of half height panelling, although the bar has a fairly modern looking bar back, and a pleasant dark wood counter, broken at the corner by a large stone section of wall. High shelves around the room are stocked with old bottles, books, spirit miniatures and the like, whilst the walls have been decorated with local photos, small display cabinets full of random nick-nacks, and a few brewery mirrors. The room opens out to the rear right, into something approximating a Public Bar space, complete with additional seating and a large screen showing Sky Sports News with the sound up. Five ales were on the go when I visited – Woodforde Volt, Draught Bass, Falstaff 3 Face, Abbeydale Absolution and Thornbridge Roisin. The staff were a friendly bunch and one of them served me a good pint of the Volt. There were plenty of customers coming and going throughout my visit, many of whom were sampling the ales, and this helped ensure a good atmosphere. I thought this place had a good mix between comfy seating areas and a more down to earth rear space, which helped it appeal to a wider customer base than some of the other pubs I saw around town. The beer was good and the staff were welcoming, so I’d definitely add this to future crawls around town.

Former coaching inn that has a narrow bar at the front, which opens into a more spacious room at the rear. The interior is nicely appointed, if not a bit on the dark side. Bass is a regular beer here. On our visit, the 4 guests were Whim Flower Power, Peakstones Rock Bridge Pale, Castle Rock Cosmic Dancer & Black Hole No Escape. We too made the mistake of trying the door knob on the wrong side of the door!

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Facebook page of George & Dragon - www.facebook.com