Wellington Arms, Bedford

This is a street corner local that has become a destination pub for lovers of real ale,and just in case you are in any doubt there is an external sign saying " No Fosters,No Stella,No Carling,No Crap".All 14 handpumps were dispensing on my Thursday lunchtime trip offering 12 ales and two ciders.There are few house B&T brews,my Black Dragon Mild (£3) was in great nick ,together with a wide a choice of microbrewery output too extensive for me to record here.Suffice to say ,this place is like a permanent beer festival. The internal decor is simple and open plan with bare boarded floors,traditional tables and chairs and an L shaped bar.A vast collection of pump clips ,breweriana,and CAMRA awards cover the walls.Two stand alone fridges offer more beer delicacies.The trip to the gents includes walking over the trap door to the cellar with a wide enough gap to make you wonder just how strong the locking mechanism might be. This is an old school boozer with no muzak,so the choice language between the barman and customers might deter the WI from having their Christmas bash in here,and anyway there's no food on offer,but I liked the simple pleasure of drinking in a great ale house.I wouldn't pass through Bedford without paying a visit here,and probably staying quite a while.

For the real ale drinker just walking into this place gives you the wow factor that young kids would get when first encountering Santa's grotto or a funfair. I think I counted 14 handpumps 3 of which were cider/perry. The choice was probably biased towards Banks & Taylor but as their ales are generally not available round my way I had plenty of new ones to choose from. In addition to the draught beers there are two stand up fridges in the pub with various bottled ciders and some offerings from Belgium and the Continent. Many pubs have displays of pump clips but I cannot recall one as impressive and abundant as this one. Along with a plethora of brewery ephemera (try saying that after a few) and a low ceiling the pub takes on something of a mythical grotto look in the evening. The locals were friendly and welcoming, it gets busy after games when the local rugby team are at home. In short a fantastic pub that anyone with a liking for real pubs and real ale should try to visit.