The Six Halts, Chesterfield

I'm not a big fan of these Generous George pubs, and when I saw how many people were here today, the quietest of the UK's bank holiday Mondays, I nearly gave up on my plan to pop in for a swift half. My resolve was tested again when I saw an actual queue at the bar; I almost took a quick photo of the pump clips and walked out. There were two beers on, Ringwood Fortyniner and Marstons Pedigree, with two more beers from the Marstons stable conditioning in the cellar. In the end I think I was only in the queue for about five minutes, though one person seemed to be ordering enough food for the feeding of the five thousand. (Another couple of loaves and a basket of fish for table 37 please.) Once served, I took my half of 49er for a little wander around - there didn't seem much point sitting down. There's a pool table, and plenty of children's play furniture, and probably about 30 cars in the car park. As I was leaving, a minibus turned up with an under-9s football team, all squealing excitedly about there being a bouncy castle. I was almost as excited about how good the beer was - an easy NBSS 3.5, and if I'd paid it more attention I might have got it up to a slightly dodgy 4. In the end, relieved at not having to come back again on a quieter day, but glad that I'd made the acquaintance of that very good beer.

Official site of The Six Halts - www.sixhaltspubclaycross.com

Official site of The Six Halts - www.sixhaltspubclaycross.com