Cheshire Cheese, Buxton

Admitting from the start that my first impression of this place was right down at zero because the functionary at the door demanded both manual form completion as well as the NHS Test and Trace app that I had already done while she was watching. Anyway, apart from that annoyance, this is a perfect decent, old-school Titanic Brewery alehouse, but in these difficult times, why make things difficult for those customers making an effort to visit your business? PS - My pint of Steerage (£3.30, and one of eight beers on offer) was excellent, but I'm still knocking a couple of points off my score.

Nice, old school Boozer - Tied to the Titanic Brewery and in the Good Beer Guide 2021. Plenty of staff on, now they are open indoors. Near full range of the Titanic set on - the Anchor was my preferred out of that and the Steerage. A very clean traditional bitter. Good staff, nice punters - a very pleasant experience.

Visited yesterday. Currently outdoor seating only, and you enter via the car park to the right hand side of the pub. You are greeted at the beer garden and allocated a table. You are prompted to scan the QR code if you have the app, otherwise your details are taken the old fashioned way. Table service was efficient and the lady serving me knew exactly what was on cask when I asked, without having to go and check. To my delight they had the Titanic Plum Porter Grand Reserve on cask, at a very reasonable £2.25 for half a pint. The grassed beer garden consists of at least 16 tables, with a large circus tent type thing covering 6 of those. My first pub visit of 2021 and it felt like a slice of normality!

Much busier on Saturday night, this is obviously a popular thriving pub, which is great to see. A handful of free tables meant we were able to enjoy a drink in comfort. It looked like a live band was due on later in the evening.

Visited today. 10 hand pulls at the bar, one of which was off at the time of my arrival. Five Titanic beers were on (White Star, Plum Porter, Raspberry Wheat, Iceberg and Captain Smith's) plus four guests. It's a large pub, quite dimly lit to give a cosy feel, but there is a nice circular bit protruding from the front of the building almost like a separate small snug which lets in a lot of light. This had an old fireplace and the room itself felt more traditional than the rest of the pub. I spotted a chalk board in the other half of the pub listing the real ales. Titanic Steerage was being pulled through and was on by the time I had finished my drink and returned my glass. I went for the Captain Smith's at £1.80 for a half / £3.60 a pint. A decent bitter in good condition. Quiet at lunch time although they do seem to do food. Well worth a visit, and I daresay I will be back.