Bull Hotel (Vaults Bar), Milton Keynes

There are two bars in the Bull Hotel – one is very much a typical hotel bar and seems to be frequently closed. Next door, the other side of an alleyway, is a bar known as The Vaults Bar. Whilst technically part of the hotel, it very much has it’s own pub identity, even to the extent that I wonder if it should have a separate entry on here. This review relates to the Vaults Bar. It’s a long, narrowish pub, divided in to three areas. The flooring is large flagstones, and much of the wall is covered in wood panelling and dotted in old black and white photos. There’s a traditional, curved wooden bar counter in the middle and this is where many of the locals seemed to congregate. In spite of being a more mature (middle aged) clientele, a number of them seemed unable to complete a sentence without using the f word. At the front was a large brick chimney which had a fire was burning away on a recent visit. A double sided chimney breast separates the middle bar from a small rear bar, although the fire here was not in use. This small room at the back houses a darts board, and as you go in an old sign on the wall proclaims that “you are now entering the British sector”. Seating is a mixture of tables and chairs, with many of the tables being made out of old beer barrels, and a wooden pew or two. There were a couple of plasma’s showing the football which seemed a little intrusive and out of character with the rest of the pub. There is some limited outside seating in the alleyway to the side of the pub, and this is where you enter the pub from as the front door is not in use. A sign on the doors states no dogs allowed, but as a mutt was the first thing I saw when I got in, clearly nobody takes too much notice of this. Beers on tap were Adnam’s Broadside and Bitter, Black Sheep, Bass and London Pride. Ciders were a very pleasant, (and rare for these parts) Old Rosie, along with the seemingly obligatory (for these parts) Strongbow.

I just read on Wikipedia that at one time(maybe still) there was a great rivalry between the Cock and the Bull pubs.So much so that the clienele would make up stories about the other establishment.Therefore creating the saying"a cock and bull story"is something you shouldn't believe.If it is not true,who cares!

Interesting to have both Cock snd Bull photos on this page! Ronald