The Peacock, Bakewell

Attractive old pub geared up for the tourist dollar with an emphasis on food. 3 Peak ales on - Swift Nick, Best Bitter and Chatsworth Gold. I had the Gold which was fine. It was a nice day so we sat in the large outdoor area and watched the market bustling with people. Worth popping in.

This is a nice looking building in local stone, but inside it was awful - what a let down. All the tables were set up for dining and were too close together, there were fake fires at either end of the room, neither of which seemed to be on though it was a cold day, and the smell of fried fish or scampi lingered in the air. There's a reproduction Wurlitzer juke box, but it had been programmed to play ghastly - and I mean really ghastly - Christmas music. Some internal walls had exposed stone, but there were sections where there appeared to be distressed wood panelling, which on closer inspection turned out to be wallpaper. On the bar were fake hand pumps serving reproduction beer - not really, but I bet they would if they could get away with it. Other people seemed to be enjoying themselves, to be fair, but I'm afraid this place really got up my nose, and I don't just mean the smell of fried fish or scampi. There were three beers from Peak Ales and one from Thornbridge; my half of Swift Nick was in decent condition, but I wouldn't come back here if it had the best beer in Bakewell.