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Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, Nottingham
Nottingham
NG1 6AD
Pub Type
Greene KingReviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Steve C left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
I paid a long overdue trip to Ye Olde Trip on a recent Wednesday evening when it was reasonably quiet so I got to have a good look around what is apparently the oldest pub in the land. This is Greene King pub so obviously their Olde Trip was going to be on the bar alongside IPA. One of the other six hand pumps was reverse clipped which left Theakston’s Old Peculiar, Little Star Brewery’s Shipstones Original, Beermats Brewing’s Matte Black, Brewster’s Brewery’s Decadence and Welbeck Abbey’s Portland Black as the cask options. Premium keg is also available, and ironically England’s “oldest” pub is now card payments only. The staff were surprisingly friendly for a Greene King pub, let alone such a tourist hotspot.
There are at least two bars and lots of different seating areas including some upstairs that have been carved into the rock. I took a picture of the suit of armour, but I stopped short of buying a T-shirt. I think the highlight of my visit was meeting Lee, who would be world champion of Hook the Horn if there was such a thing. This game is basically a hoop on a length of string hanging from the ceiling and the aim is to swing it onto a hook on the wall. A great atmosphere was being generated as Lee challenged the tourists who passed through the small back bar to snag the hook. Not expecting much from my visit I actually left pleasantly surprised because my pint was decent, the service was welcoming, there was a good atmosphere, and it wasn’t too busy.
On 4th August 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5254 recommendations about 5222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Must visit pub for those into their pub history and quirky locations. Loads of information available about its claim to be the oldest pub in the land. Certainly feels like it when you are sat in a cave excavation with moody lights and its smells like a fusty old cellar.
Quiet on a Thursday night. A Nottingham brewery Legend seemed the locale thing to do.
On 23rd October 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Visiting on a Saturday afternoon is probably not recommended, but at least the warm, sunny weather meant that a fair number of people were sitting outside - in fact, by the time we came to join them it was standing room only out there. Given the popularity of the place, it was no surprise there was a queue for the bar and even when we followed the suggestion of moving around the corner to the hitherto empty bar extension, it still took 10 minutes to get served. There was a good selection of non-Greene King beers, mostly (if not all) local, which is to be applauded. Greene King get quite a bit of abuse, mostly because of their size and the concomitant industrial quality of their beers, but there are now a number of their pubs with a progressive beer policy. I went for the Nottingham Centurion, a 4.9% dark mild, while my companions went for the Welbeck Abbey Portland Black, with which I was already familiar; both beers were in very good condition. For a good look around the pub, on the other hand, I think I shall return on a wintery Tuesday afternoon.
On 6th May 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3746 recommendations about 3483 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
A large modern Wetherspoons like pu.... Well, maybe not. As its well reviewed here I'll give it a go. Multi-roomed with cave-like areas to sit, a dining room up some steps by the bar, a 'haunted snug' to the rear of the servery and a small outside bit to the right of the servery. 9 handpumps that I saw with Welbeck Abbey, Derventio and some other brewery on today.
On 27th April 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
It seems that just about anybody who is anyone has visited this pub and reviewed it, so I thought I might as well have a go as well. Whether or not it really is the country’s oldest pub, as it claims, is anyone’s guess, but it most definitely is old. Built into the side of the hill, it has several different nooks, crannies and small drinking areas surrounding the servery. There are a couple of banks of pumps that I saw, so one has to make the effort to push past the throng in front of the first bar (that’s the way it was during my recent early evening visit) to see what ales are on at the back of the bar. Although it’s a Greene King house their ales didn’t dominate. We had pints of Shipstone’s Gold Star blond, which was a decent enough drop.
It must be over ten years since my previous visit, and I’m glad to say that it doesn’t seem to have changed one bit. It’s a pub full of character, and a must for any pub enthusiast visiting Nottingham. But for that reason it’s very popular and does get very busy. But it’s worth the effort nonetheless.
On 6th December 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alex Conway left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
A Nottingham institution and by far and away the best Geene King pub I have ever visited. The pub is carved into the caves of castle rock and is a wonderful tourist attraction. As you can imagine with theirr label “oldest inn in England" it does see its fair share of tourists but with credit to Greene king they have not taken advantage with their prices, keeping them very reasonable for the area and ensuring that locals still frequent that gives a nice mix of regulars and visitors.
A reason why I think I like this place so much is because though it is Greene king their brand and products are sparkly promoted giving the feel of a genuine free house with usually only one of their beers available such as IPA (although hardy and Hansons beers do usually feature as a homage to the pub formerly being owned by Kimberly, some could argue this means a few of GK beers are on offer). On my latest visit NO Green king beers were on offer instead there was a stellar choice of beers from the likes of Theakston’s (old perculier) Nottingham (Foundry mild) Oakham (infernio) as well as several others all from local breweries. My pint of Shipstons original was was in lovely condition and reasonable at £3.3 and I got a CAMRA discount on top of that. This pub really does tick all the boxes, good selection good quality, reasonable prices and an amazing atmosphere, truly a unique gem of a pub and one to visit for any Nottingham tourist.
On 15th January 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 457 recommendations about 457 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Rydings left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Called here many times had a bad visit girl behind the bar hada face like a slapped a--e did not want to be there growled at us pulled to very bad pints of old trip Will call back like we always do when in this city
On 4th July 2014
- rating: 1
[User has posted 948 recommendations about 917 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
A pub that has rooms all over the place with some cut into the rock. As well as Greene King beers there was a selection of good local beers.A bit of a tourist trap.
On 19th June 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
I agree this is a pub I think needs viewing. I seem to find I only go these days if I am with someone who hasn't been before. We went soon after they opened and had a good walk round the various nooks and crannies before settling down with a beer. We had Milestone Old English and Greene King Moreland Old Golden Hen. They were just ok beers really, not outstanding. Food looks interesting if a bit pricey. Feels more of a tourist attraction than a bar, which I suppose it is.
On 12th April 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
The Pub in Nottingham That Everyone Knows was always going to feature on my visit to the city and came burdened with a certain level of expectation (and tourists, like me). Claiming to be the oldest pub in Britain - along with a dozen others of course - this one has the ‘built into the rock by the castle’ factor which gives it claims a bit of geological credence. Many others below have had a bash at describing the place better than I, so I’ll hit the bullet points instead of adding superfluous flowery prose:
*multi-roomed, lots of little cave spaces to hide away in with your beer but cramped as a consequence
* ring on the horn game but often can’t be played as tables in the way
* no TV, no background music
* cursed galleon/pregnancy chair rubbish
* converted bar upstairs now sells tourist tat
* small bar downstairs means you’re in for a wait most days
* restaurant upstairs further reducing capacity
* suit of armour
* tapestry depicting Nottingham history
The pub, having been acquired by Greene King after their takeover of Hardy & Hansons, now contains a chunk of their beers (including their remix of H&H Olde Trip) alongside beers from the local Nottingham brewery, five in total on my visit (though sometimes there are more). The two Notts beers I had were in good shape and tasty enough, reasonably priced given I was expecting getting on for £4 a pop. The small courtyard area out the front looked like a good summer’s lounger, being in the shadow of the castle.
This is one of those pubs you must do at least once. There's so much character even if its fame makes for a slow and uncomfortable visit for large periods of the week. As with any tourist destination, be clever about when you visit and there’s much to enjoy here.
On 18th November 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]