The Leopard, Doncaster

The ‘wrong side’ of the thundering A road via a set of traffic lights that seem designed to be a hindrance to pedestrians (I elected to tap into my inner Horace Goes Skiing and race through the gaps). It’s a magnificent looking place with a lovely tiled exterior. The more modern interior is set-out over two rooms with different cask in each, check the board for a full listing. Decor and music a little bit too contemporary for my tastes but comfy enough. My choice of Barnsley Bitter was fine (NBSS 3), served-up by a friendly and chatty landlord. GBG listed and handy for the station.

A return visit to the Leopard for the first time in over 12 years on Wednesday afternoon. The exterior tiling is certainly quite eye-catching. Once inside. there are a couple of rooms. To the left is a bar with a pool table and TV screens showing sport. The second room to the right is more of a lounge. There was also an outdoor drinking area, taking over the car park. The real ale range has improved significantly since my last visit, with 5 ales available on our visit - Little Critters Sleepy Badger, Blue Bee Hillfoot, Abbeydale Pardonery & Swifty & Ossett Alter Ego. There was no real cider that I could see. It was quiet for our midweek afternoon visit, despite this being the designated away fans' pub for the football match in town that evening. Beers didn't seem in the best condition, but at least a CAMRA discount made them a little more palateable.

A two room pub close to the railway station and just down from The Railway pub which hadn’t opened when I arrived in Donny one lunchtime. The right hand bar is more lounge like while the left hand room is more of a Public Bar and is an odd shape - a bit T shaped. Three pulls in each bar but there are different beers in each, smaller Yorkshire breweries seem well represented. Usual T-Bar favourites. The public has multiple screens, a pool table and Sterling board walls which are decorated with stencils of sports people. 10% Camra discount.

Fine-looking pub retaining separate rooms for the main bar and quieter lounge, with green tiled front and side facades displaying the Warwicks and Richardsons Ltd Newark Ales and Stouts origins. However, the refurbished semi-traditional interior is definitely less interesting. Still, it offers a reasonable selection of real ales from the various handpumps, including Dark Star Hophead, Sharps Sea Fury and a pair from Acorn: Barnsley Bitter and Old Moor porter (£3.40).