Elgoods Crawl 22nd May 2010

This was a pub crawl done in car,it was a birthday treat from my brother who drove me to some of Elgoods tied estate.
I had already done some Elgoods tied houses while doing other pub crawls and had made my own way to their home town of Wisbech to see the brewery and do the tied houses that were still open in the town,this crawl will no doubt appear on a later post at some point.
I had to plan the crawl to do pubs that were not open all day first and then do the all day openers.

It was a 9am start when my brother picked me up and then the drive down to Elgoods territory.
Luckily our first pub opened at 11am so a nice early start to the crawl.

Leverington

1: Rising Sun

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A standard looking pub,but it was an Elgoods tied house,so i was well pleased,our first Elgoods pub of the day.
There were two separate rooms inside with a bar room that was decent enough and the other room seemed more like a dining room.
There were two hand pumps on the bar,i had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which went down well after the long car ride down here.

A short car ride and we passed some pubs that were not Elgoods tied houses and we were in the next village.

Wisbech St Mary

2: The Wheel Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A really nice looking pub that was quite smart inside and also busy on our Saturday dinnertime visit.
I had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which was on top form.
I really liked this pub,one i would have liked to stay in for longer.

Another short car ride and we was in another village that is quite small.

Tholomas Drove 

3:  The Chequers

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A really nice looking pub in an equally nice looking village.
The pub had a single opened out room that had different areas and was really nice.
I had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which went down very well.
Three Elgoods tied houses done,this was probably the best of the day.

My brother then did a bit of a drive skirting Wisbech to get to the East side of the town and into Norfolk for our next two pubs which were in the same village.

Tilney St Lawrence

4: The Buck Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A pretty standard looking pub that was just the same inside with a couple of rooms that looked like they had seen better days,i had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which was average.

There was one more Elgoods tied house to do in Tilney St Lawrence.

5: Coach & Horses

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking roadside pub that is on the old main road to Kings Lynn.
The pub had two separate rooms inside,we went into the left room which seemed to be more of a dining room that was empty on our Saturday dinnertime visit,we could sit anywhere in the room.
I had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which was a decent drink.

Another drive and we was back in Cambridgshire and to the North of Wisbech.

West Walton

6: King of Hearts

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking pub in a nice looking village and close to the village church.
Once inside the pub was a bit of a dissapointment,the room was decent enough,but the two hand pumps were out of use,the landlord said "there's no call for it here" well i was,i had to settle for a half of Elgoods keg bitter,not sure what it is called,but it was a poor drink.

We skirted Wisbech again to get to the South of it to get to the next few Elgoods tied houses.

Friday Bridge

7: Chequers Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A really nice looking pub that is in the middle of the really nice looking village of Friday Bridge.
The bar faced us on entry and the room looked a bit different with lots of different types of tables and chairs,there was a separate dining room as well.
There were two Elgoods real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which was a very nice drink.
Another Elgoods pub that i would be happy to stay in for longer.

We had a drive through the Fenlands to get to our next pub.

Upwell

8: Globe Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A pretty basic Elgoods tied house that was very busy with drinkers on our Saturday afternoon visit.
There was the usual Elgoods beers on the bar,the Cambridge Bitter went down well.
We had a good chat with the friendly landlord who knew a lot about the Elgoods tied Estate,so he saved us some time in looking for closed pubs,he was also a Nottingham Forest fan which went down well with me and my brother.
A proper drinkers pub,just the sort i like doing.

A short drive further South from Upwell and we was in the next village to do another Elgoods tied house.

Three Holes

9: Red Hart Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A large roadside pub in the small village of Three Holes.
The pub had two large separate rooms,we went in the room to the right which was a large lounge,the bar room to the left seemed unused.
There was one real ale on which was Elgoods Cambridge Bitter,this was a decent enough drink.
The landlord said this was the pubs busiest day with it being a Saturday afternoon,it was empty,he also said he was leaving the pub and going down to Kent.
I did not hold out much hope for this pubs future on this visit.
It is now sadly closed down.

We were driving further South to get to our next Elgoods tied house,and unsure which county we were in as we seemed to going into Norfolk then back into Cambridgeshire and back again.

Christchurch

10: Dun Cow

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A nice looking pub in a very rural area of Cambridgeshire.
The pub was very nice and comfortable inside and also quite busy with locals drinking,no sign of food on our Saturday afternoon visit.
I had a very nice drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter.

We were now heading North and went back through Upwell to get to the next village with an Elgoods tied house.

Emneth

11: Queens Head

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking pub that is in the middle of Emneth.
Once inside it was a pretty ordinary pub,i had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge bitter,which was a decent drink.

My brother now drove up to Wisbech so i could pick up my last Elgoods pub that i had not done in the town due to it being in the process of a change of manager to run it when i went to Wisbech on another pub crawl.

Wisbech

12: Five Bells

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

Situated on a busy street in the middle of Wisbech.
I could hear the loud music before i went into the pub,my brother made the wise choice not to go in here and get a bag of chips,once inside there was a single room which was dimly lit and had lots of flashing lights,it was also empty,i asked for a half of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter,but was told it was off,so i had to settle for a half of Guinness.
I thought this was a pub in crisis.
The chips tasted better than the Guinness.

It was a decent drive to the West of Wisbech to get to the next village.

Murrow

13: Bell Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A standard looking pub which had a village hall attached to its right side.
We went into the left side which looked more like a proper pub,but was nothing special.
I had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter which was a decent enough drink.

It was a short drive North to our penultimate pub.

Parson Drove

14: Swan Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A nice Elgoods tied house that was very comfortable inside,i had a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter,which was a very nice drink.
A pub i could well settle in for a few drinks.

It was a drive North and into Lincolnshire for our last Elgoods pub of the day.

Gedney Hill

15: Red Lion

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking pub from the outside and fairly comfortable inside,but the big let down was the lack of any real ales,i had to settle for a drink of Guinness which was no replacement for a drink of Elgoods Cambridge Bitter.

A great day out and in really nice warm weather.
Fifteen Elgoods tied houses done and now over three quarters of their tied estate done.