Oakeley Arms Hotel, Blaenau Ffestiniog

Unusual and attractive building set in a great location and with its own bus stop, at which the T22 calls regularly. Operates primarily as a restaurant but there's a neat bar area with a tidy wood panelled bar and a garden with great views across the valley. The whole place is quite characterful, with several areas in all. Friendly young barman and a nice atmosphere. Two cask, both from Brains; my Bread of Heaven was a little on the stale side unfortunately (NBSS 2) and the Rev James tasted aspirator-y to me (NBSS 2.5); they really need to drop to one that they can shift. There’s also a house lager of uncertain provenance, nobody seemed to know from whence it came. If the cask had been better I’d have been calling this a minor classic. But it wasn’t, so I’m not – which is a shame. 6.5