The Carpenters Arms, Dunstable

Official site of The Carpenters Arms - www.thecarpentersarmsharlington.com

Official site of The Carpenters Arms - www.thecarpentersarmsharlington.com

On main road, beamed pub with brick bar, trad pub carpet, ok

A classic country village, likely multi-roomed in a former life, now opened up meaning you can do a complete circuit internally. There's a bare-boarded bar with seating to the left, a partial wall then splits the room in two and there are more tables and chairs to the right, the room curving around to the left to an area with a pool table and a small bar counter limited to keg fonts. This had a nice weeknight ambience during my visit with a handful of people eating and just catching up over a drink or two. A nice touch is framed stories of men from Harlington involved in World War I (including a former landlord) along with their photographs, badges and medals: there is also a separate list of every landlord since 1796 which are both interesting historical titbits. The current landlord was in good form too, and offered to top up my rather heady half of Purity UBU without question(GK IPA, Woodforde's Wherry and Thwaites Wainwright were also available). If you're visiting after dark, beware the front door...