The Castle, EC1

Traditional-looking pub on a curving corner close by Farringdon station, with a high-ceilinged bar at the front, a rear lounge / dining area up three steps at the back and signage indicating an upstairs bar too. Not a lot of furniture around the counter, so quite a lot of vertical drinking going on in the late afternoon. Efficient staff, though. Not a bad selection from three of the four handpumps in operation, dispensing Hogs Back TEA, Redemption Trinity and the seasonal Thornbridge Wild Holly (£4.50).

One exiting Farringdon station, you can't fail to notice this pub with its grand curved facade and attractive green banded leaded windows. Inside, an unusual fan-shaped main bar area dominates the layout, with the servery located along the right hand wall. The bar has a decent dark wood counter with a contrasting lighter wood bar back topped with casks and other typical pub items. The room is bare boarded throughout and awash with high stool seating serving some big sturdy tables, although there were also some lovely looking padded benches down the left hand wall that must have been pretty comfy given that they were all fully accounted for. The ceiling has a dark lincrusta effect whilst walls are wood panelled and adorned with an enormous portrait of George IV and an equally impressive Bass mirror. Sat in here on a sunny day, the stained glass looked terrific and it was worth battling the high temperatures within to enjoy this sight than standing on the pavement with the usual group of city overspill drinkers. A couple of steps to the rear lead you into a snug with bare boarded floor, lincrusta and bare brick walls and a few pews and standard chairs serving four tables. Strings of fairy lights hang from the end wall but were not turned on and nor was the TV set in the far corner. Some old paintings and more leaded windows rounded out the decor and a staircase to the right leads up to an unexplored first floor lounge. Music played quietly throughout my visit but as is the case during the post-work hours, the hum of conversation overpowered it most of the time. There were three ales to choose from - Fullers London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar and Moorhouse Stray Cat. The latter was £4.45 for a pint, so I was very careful to ensure I got a full measure, which didn't go down well with the mardy barmaid who'd served me a woefully short effort. As it happens, it was a pretty good drink and the only complaint would be that it warmed up very quickly as a result of the pub being unbearably hot on an unusually warm Autumn evening. I've walked past this pub countless times and always enjoyed their old pub sign which had an image of a Castle on one side and a cock-fight on the other (now sadly replaced), but I never thought to give it a try. I have to say that whilst it suffers from some of the drawbacks of this kind of stripped out historic London pub, it did still score well in terms of comfort and beer quality and if waiting for a train here again, I'd gladly pop back.

A prominent pub right by Farringdon station, inside there is a square room with a dark boarded floor, green and amber Charrington's leaded windows, a black painted Lincrusta ceiling and papered lower walls, exposed brickwork on the wall opposite the bar The bar is on a side wall with high copper topped tables directly in front, butchers' block versions in the front windows but thankfully regular style elsewhere. There is a small snug-like room to the rear which offers privacy as long as you can put up with fairy lights. A nice airy feel, some of the front windows fold back, low level music while the tennis was available to view on mute. An old painting has a description beneath explaining that after Royal Patronage and a financially embarrassed king, the pub became a dual licensed house and pawnbrokers. There were four on, Pride, Doom Bar, Old Dairy Cattle Shed Ale and Salopian Hop Twister (£4.45) dear but not unusual in this part of the world. I liked it here, nice drop of ale and a convivial feel.

Quite a commanding pub on a curve which still features its green banded stained glass Charrington's windows. My first and last visit here was about 15 years ago so I can't really remember it, but I do remember that then as now, it's rammed on weekday evenings, especially Fridays. It's also something of a rarity around here in that it's open at weekends. The interior is fairly conventional and bare boarded; muted music played. Beers on: Fuller's London Pride, Sharp's Atlantic and Gloom Bore and Ubu's Purity at £4.50 a pint which is a bit steep. This pub is better than you'd expect and is handy as hardly anything else around here is open on a Saturday let alone a Sunday - worth a visit.