Crown Inn, Telford

The Crown forms the apex of the "Oakengates Golden Triangle", the Station and Old Fighting Cocks are just the other side of the road. It was quiet compared to the other two on my early Saturday afternoon visit. It's been well described below and I stopped in the front room which has just the six hand pumps oblivious of the fact that the ones on the other side of the bar had several more beers on. One of the six had a cider and with one unused there was Deuchar's IPA, Tring Mansion Mild, Joules Old Number Six and Phoenix Arizona. I was happy to go for the Old Number Six (£3.00), my favourite from that brewery and it was in excellent condition. This seemed like an excellent ale house and I wish I had taken a look at the other beers.

A few changes at the Crown since the last reviews , it has had a bit of a make-over , the pillar that held the beer list blackboard has gone making the bar longer and givig a more open feel , the flooring looks to have been cleaned up as well. Still numerous handpulls split between the front and back bars and now a large selection of continental beers detailed by laminated sheets above the bar with full descriptions . The beer quality appears to have improved somewhat my Hobsons Stout was spot on .

An old style front bar with traditional tables, chairs, and settles on a quarry tile and brown board floor giving a late Victorian feel, although there is obvious evidence of multiple, but usually well done, remodellings over the years. The tongue and groove counter has 6 pulls with a couple of Hobsons, cider and local ales, a decrepit blackboard lists the choices and the pump clip collection shows what’s been on before. Décor is the normal bottle collection, old photos, maps and a framed story of the pub, the notice board informs us that a certain member of staff is due to provide his annual smile. There’s a friendly atmosphere with happy locals in a good mix of ages. To one side is a central room in painted brick, obviously a converted outside yard as the cellar flaps are still there, it was being used as a family room. Beyond is another bar with a further 8 pumps, and a Great Western Railway logoed dartboard. The pub is dog friendly, has free wi-fi and hosts comedy and curry nights. I can see its attraction to the local CAMRA branch.

This is a terraced pub with a beer patio at the back. Other than it being painted in a garish yellow, which has covered over any architectural detail, this is an unremarkable looking pub - even the windows are new. So many pubs flatter to decieve from the outside, this works the other way around. The interior has a couple of rooms and also uses a former yard space as a further area. The front room is the main room, which is in red and cream, with a small fireplace and is populated by general bar tables, chairs and stools. There are bottle collections and railways pictures around the room. The small back lounge is access via the former yard area, an area that has paintings for sale and some games and books - this area is in cream. The lounge has a TV (sport on) and soft general music. It too is in cream with a red tile floor. There is a fireplace and a drat board, with a beer mat/pump clip collection and yet more bottles. The service was great and the clietele maturer. Beer; well usual tap stuff with Leffe. These beers were on in Dec - but have been back since when there was a beer festival on and a pile more (both i had were great); Hobsons Bitter and MILD (very good)Lymestone Pudding Stone, Notts Brewery's Robin Hood Ale, Titanic Iceberg, Mighty Oak White Christmas and Worsthorne Some Like It Blonde. A class pub, and another, like its neighbours, that you could stay all day in - always look forward to going here.

Great pub, great beer, great atmosphere. The live entertainment is great as well with music and bingo nights. They recent started doing a monthly comedy night too and that has had some brillant comedians. Well worth checking out.