Crown & Anchor Vaults, Bishops Castle

The Crown & Anchor Vaults was the last of the 4 pubs I was visiting in Bishop's Castle to open on my midweek visit. So, I'd save it until last. Despite only opening at 4pm, it was already fairly busy by around 4:15. But the barmaid was quite efficient and dealing well with the influx of patrons. The central bar has seating all around and there is an outdoor area at the rear. There are bare floorboards and vinyl records on the ceiling. A strategically placed pot plan enforced a one-way system. Toilets were quite unique. You step down to a corridor with 2 or 3 cubicles for women, 1 next to it for men. There's not then a lot to prevent any wandering ladies from walking into the gents' urinals! Live music seems to be very popular here. Ludlow Gold was the real ale and they also had the local Long Mynd Cider. A very basic pub. But I quite liked it.

Won't forget my first visit to the Vaults. Its the kind of place you hope to stumble into at 10pm on a Saturday night. Top class band were on - creating a real good feel. The place was rammed solid and the two bar girls did a cracking job of keeping everyone watered. Only one real ale on but the Ludlow Gold was better than you would expect from this kind of establishment. Great night and I learned that dogs on leads do not need to be an impediment to doing an Irish Jig. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2ySHZxX

A popular venue for the locals, where you will find live music and DJ's most weekends. The interior is modern with a central bar area which has access to a cellar below. The walls were roughly plastered and the floors were boarded. Original timber supports around the bar area and ceiling beams were also good features to the infrastructure of the building. Three pumps at one end of the bar, with two in use, serving Ludlow Gold and Six Bells Cloud Nine. The Ludlow Gold was the most popular beer on our Saturday night visit. So much so that the barmaid had to put another barrel on, when it came to my round.

A very friendly pub when I tried it out on a Saturday afternoon. It is done out in a style like a Western Saloon. Excellent pint of Monty's Desert Rats and Ludlow Gold. Good game of pool and an excellent Juke Box. Great 80s tracks! However, as we left, Slipknot came on! However, a good, characterful pub that was very different to the other Bishop's Castle pubs.