The Grog & Gruel, Fort William

This is the local Camra area's pub of the year for 2012, and you can see why with its nine hand pumps arrayed invitingly on the bar. One was serving cider (though the offered taster to a customer who asked if they served Magners didn't appear to hit the spot) and there were seven ales available among the others: all from Scottish breweries. A collection of former pump clips is neatly and proudly displayed, alongside a rather grotesque pig's head, apparently made of papier-mache. (The pig features in the pub's logo and is repeated in a number of other decorations.) The pub is a lengthy, deep and narrow affair, featuring a lot of wood: floor, bar, screens, pillars, not to mention tables and chairs, and a wood burning stove (not lit, though I could have made a case for it being so). The right hand wall, opposite the bar, has been adorned with small stones, arrayed to simulate a dry stone wall. I had a very enjoyable Orkney Black Gold, and my only regret was that I had another 25 miles to cycle so didn't dare stay for another.