The Little Plough, Doncaster

The Plough is a two roomed pub with a bar area at the front and a seating area to the right rear. I visited on a recent Friday night when the pub was comfortably busy with a local crowd. There was some low background music playing and the television was showing muted ‘I’m a celebrity get….’. The bar is stocked with standard draught and I counted three hand pumps, but I was too plastered to remember what they were drawing. Out the back is a covered smoking area. I thought that this place was decent enough and if I ever find myself in Doncaster again I’ll have no problem returning.

Paid a visit here due to its position as a CAMRA-listed heritage pub, with minimal alterations since a 1934 refurbishment. So there’s plenty of interesting items here over the two rooms (front bar room and rear smoke room) - tiled fireplaces, colourful leaded glass windows, original call bells and other period pieces. Toilets are an outdoors affair and, for the gents at least, are also primitive. Three ales on the bar - Copper Dragon Best, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Thwaites Torch Light - and my Thwaites was in excellent condition as well as gratifyingly cheap. The barman, however, left a bit to be desired, quite a lazy so-and-so. The clientèle and general ambience is very much that of a ‘boozer’, enhanced by the dart board and horse racing theme. Handy for the station, there’s enough here to warrant a visit for any pub enthusiast and the quality beer is an added bonus. Whilst the ambience of the Corner Pin was far more my style, I’d recommend taking a 15 minute beer break in here regardless.

This is a satisfyingly traditional two room pub close to Doncaster’s rail and bus stations. The layout comprises a small bar room at the front, a narrow lounge to the rear and a connecting corridor along the right hand side of the building. The interior has apparently remained virtually unchanged since the last alterations were made back in 1934. The carpeted bar public bar has comfortable banquette seating and some unusual tables with storage compartments built into them. Two smart tiled fireplaces on the left hand wall hint at a previous room layout whilst the leaded glasswork and lovely bar counter are testament to the pub’s heritage. Beer bottles are on display on a high shelf behind the bar and various bits of brewerania can be spotted throughout whilst the walls are decorated with a number of ploughing related photos and pictures. A TV was on in one corner with the sound turned down very low whilst music played over the top. A dartboard is hung in an odd corner position which means you would have to throw diagonally across the room if you wanted to use it. I didn’t get a good look in the lounge bar, but from my brief glimpse it seemed like a smart carpeted room with banquette seating and another nice fireplace. There is a small, scruffy courtyard out the back leading to the outdoor toilets which, for the gents at least, comprises a wall to pee against and not much else – the Philharmonic it ain’t. There are three handpulls which were dispensing York Terrier (£2.70), Moorhouse Pride of Pendle and Acorn Barnsley Bitter. I gave the Terrier a try and thought it was in excellent condition and I would have gladly stopped for another pint had my train home not been due to depart. The locals seemed like a friendly bunch and were happy to chat away with whoever came through the door. I only stopped off here for a quick pint whilst waiting for my connecting train, but I’m glad I did as I thought it was a really nice, welcoming traditional pub that you don’t always find in town centres. There are a few other pubs I’m keen to visit in Doncaster, but I would be happy to drop one of them in order to revisit this place the next time I’m in town.