Cock Hotel, Telford

This is an old coaching inn which as the Holyhead Road street sign outside testifies is right on the old A5 which starts at Marble Arch and ends at Holyhead. Fittingly the route through some of Snowdonia's highest mountains and across the Menai Straits was engineered by Thomas Telford the Scotsman whose name the new town celebrates. This section of road is now the rather unglamorous B5061. Going through the door it is clear that it was meant more as a hotel than a pub with a staircase in front of you a room on the right that I assume is the Belgian Beer bar and the main bar on the left. I concentrated on this and found a typical ale-house style room with bare floorboards, not the overbearing trendiness that seems to be spreading from Islington & Hackney to every part of London but more solid and traditional with lots of hops hanging from above. The eight hand pumps on the bar had a cider, one unused, the regular Hobson's Mild & Bitter, Goff's White Knight, Six Bells Cloud Nine and Ludlow Black Christmas (rebadged Black Knight) & Stairway. The turned clip on the unavailable hand pump looked like it was a Goff's one being exactly the same size and shape, Goff's is a brewery that have been around for over twenty years now and this is the second GBG listed pub in this area that I've found with their beers. I've never found them to be anything other than ordinary and they are not local to here at all, so how come? I hope it doesn't all just come down to discounts as I know for a fact there are better brewers locally. I tried three of the beers on offer, Cloud Nine (£3.12), Black Christmas & Stairway (£3.38). All three were in fine condition, although the Cloud Nine was pedestrian compared to the two Ludlow offerings. The Hobson's Mild & Bitter are £2.49 and £2.79 here which makes the other prices seem a bit steep. Other than that and the Goff's question I enjoyed this pub and would gladly return.

A detached Georgian hotel and pub, once called the Cock Inn. It is actually fairly plain, but still oozes character - being in yellow brick with red paintwork - the most interesting features being the dormer window range and the neo-classic porched entrance. The interior has a couple of rooms, although you enter the hotel reception area and there is also a dining room at the back. The main pub rooms have two distinct feels. Off to the right is a smaller room that is a Belgian beer bar. It is in white, with red carpet and a cream and beam ceiling. Belgian signs adorn the walls and the bar sports taps for various continental lagers, as well as a fridge of bottles. We had to sit in here as the main room was so busy, and it had a nice family feel. The main room is in white and red, with a wood floot. There is burner fire at one end. The walls have old photos on them and there are some hanging jugs. The service was very good, and by a chappie in suit, shirt and tie. The clientele in this room was mature and it was very busy. There was is no TV or music, anywhere. Beer here had the usual tap stuff with the following handpulls; Kelham Island Pale Rider, Woods Shropshire Lass, Salopian Oracle, Morton's Monkey Hornsby, Hobsons Bitter and MILD (class) and a Rowton Dark Stout (also class). A great place - a must. I could spend days here.