Pomfret Arms, Northampton

The Pomfret Arms has long been closed so the recent reopening is to be welcomed. It's just far enough out of town to feel like a local but is close to both the Malt Shovel and White Hart making a trip to this side of town well worthwhile. The pub has been well described so I'll only add that the two lit fires and friendly welcome make this a cosy and comfortable place to be. It's clearly frequented by regulars which also boosts the atmosphere and at around 8 the lights were dimmed and candles lit on each table. Not to everyone's taste but it adds again to the atmosphere. As mentioned, the Cotton End Brewery now brews here with the six handpumps offering Cotton End Goldings Pale, Aramis and Standard Isn't it? alongside Hart Family Brewers House Beer. I'd guess that the latter is a regular with the rest changing with demand. Everything that we tried was in good shape and whistled down. An excellent addition to Cotton End and makes this side of town very attractive to the ale drinker.

Reopened after a long closure this is the home of the Cotton End brewery.It's a traditional town centre boozer but with some pleasant design features.The front bar with flag stone floor has a fireplace to both sides ,cleverly lit by an array of fairy lights running around mirrors above.There is bench seating below each front window,while the island bar also serves a much larger rear room which in turn leads to a good sized outside beer terrace. The pub has a community feel with quiz nights and children welcome until 7pm and a very friendly welcome from the barstaff ,who include the brewer.I can forgive a faint smell of puke on entering as a result .On my visit there were three Cotton End ales on offer plus Hart brewed House Beer.I enjoyed both Aramis and Goldings Pale and felt that this pub is well worth visiting for both a chance to sample their good ale and enjoy drinking in a proper pub atmosphere.Not to be missed if crawling the town searching for decent real ale.

A white-painted building with dark bottle-green windows, a colour that is repeated internally to good effect. The floor is bare boards and there are fireplaces at either end of the one long room, in contrasting styles, one on a stone chimney-breast and the other brick. There's a Northamptonshire skittles table to the left in front of the bar. On the bar are six hand pumps, and these were offering beers from Phipps (Diamond Ale), Great Oakley (Wot's Occuring) and Hart of Wellingborough (3 and 9). There's real cider from boxed polypins. The soundtrack to all this was an eclectic one of blues, R&B and soul. Well worth a stroll out of town for this one.