Wellingborough Crawl 21st June 2014

I have gone through Wellingborough too many times to say while going to London on train from Nottingham and back.
So i thought i would give the town a try and see what pubs it had to offer.
The train journey was only about an hour from Nottingham and the fare was the same if booked on the day,no cheaper fares for pre booking,this meant i could choose a really nice Saturday when the weather would be nice.
The 21st of June 2014 fitted the bill to a tee.
I was on a train from Nottingham just after 9am and in Wellingborough and off the station just after 10am for a nice early start,the station is sited on the East side of the town so the only way to walk was West and into the town centre.
I took a punt and walked just South of the station to see if a pub would be open,i was in luck as the the Crown was open and it was only 10.10am.

1: The Crown

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A large pub set on a corner plot.
There were two separate rooms inside,i went in the room to the right,which was quite a smart room with carpets and comfy banquet seating and normal tables and chairs.
I found out the reason why the pub was open so early was to show England play New Zealand at rugby,England got a good thrashing.
There were five real ales on the bar,i had a drink of St Austell Trelawny which was a bit too warm,probably the first pulled that day.
The other room also looked quite nice and there was a nice secure garden to the rear.
A good start to the day apart from the rugby score.

I now had to walk into the town centre which was not too far and find other pubs open or go into the Wetherspoons.
It did not take long to find another pub that was open before 11am.

2: The Horseshoe Inn

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

I liked the look of this pub from the outside,a decent looking town pub and just the sort i love going in.
It was just as nice inside being bare boarded and having comfy bench seating seating and some comfy looking chairs to the front near the windows,i had to sit there and watch the world go by,the rear area is larger and had a pool table and darts board.
There were two real ales on,i had a drink of Wychwood Full Brazillion which went down well.
I really liked this pub,one i could stay in for a session.

A short walk uphill and i passed the Hind Hotel that was not yet open,on the other side of the road and slightly further up the hill and i found my next pub.

3: The Red Well

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
I thought this was a decent looking Wetherspoons from the outside,with a long frontage and lots of flowers above the pubs name.
Once inside the bar faced in a pretty narrow room that extended slightly to the rear on each side,there were 10 pumps on the bar but the choice for me was limited to just two beers,the other beers were the Wetherspoons regulars Gk IPA and Doom Bar and the likes,plus four of those pump clips you see in Spoons with a flag on it and loads of writing,i never try those type beers,i had a drink of Lees Game on,which was a decent drink.
It was quite busy on my Saturday morning visit with very civilised drinkers.

A short walk further uphill and round a corner to my right and i was in what looked like the middle of Wellingborough and a few pubs to choose from.

4: The Cuttting Room

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent sized pub on a corner plot.
There was a large single room inside with the bar running down the left side,the right side had a raised area.
The pub still sported its Smith & Jones signage,i was not sure if was still being run by that company as it was in trouble.
There were two real ales on,i had a drink of  Courage Best which was a decent drink and cheap.
The pub was fairly busy and looked like it had seen better days.

I had one pub to do that was a good walk to the North East of the centre area,but i had noticed a pub on the way which was a short walk from the Cutting Room.

5: The Cannon

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A basic two roomed pub.
The bar faced in what was a pretty basic bare boarded room,there was a pool table to the rear right and a secret garden accessed from a raised area to the right,the seating was normal tables and chairs.
There were four unclipped pumps on the bar,so i had to have a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap,which was crap.
A pretty sad pub that had a few locals in on my Saturday dinner visit.

I now had to do a good walk to get to my next pub which was well away from the middle.
This is the type of walk i have to do when trying to do every pub in a town.

6: The Locomotive

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking pub that had two separate room inside,the front room was the smaller and L shaped with the bar facing,this room was busy with locals,the room to the rear was larger and had a bar billiard table and Northants skittes.
I had a drink in the front room as it seemed more lively.
There was a good choice of real ales on the bar,six in all,i had a drink of J. Church Gold Testament which was a very nice drink.
A very nice pub and worth the fifteen minute walk there.

It was another fifteen minute walk back to get to the middle of Wellingborough to do a few of the pubs that were close to each other.

7: The Rising Sun

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A strange pub in that you have to ring a door bell next to the door to gain entry,i rang it and was let in straight away.
I went into the room to the right which was smallish and quite comfortable and cosy,there was a larger room to the rear which was up a couple of steps,the room to the left was out of use due to a private party later in the day.
There were three real ales on,i had a drink of Harts Josh's IPA which was a very nice drink.
The room i was in was busy with older drinkers,the background music was decent and the food was simple and cheap.
I quite enjoyed my visit to this pub.

After a short walk and passing the Gloucester and Raffs which were both still closed i came to my next pub.

8: Fiddlers Elbow

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
I thought this looked like a decent enough pub from the outside,but once inside it was a very poor pub that was almost devoid of any character,crap seating and no real ales on,i had a drink of Worthington Cream crap flow,or something like that,anyway it was crap.
A very poor pub on my Saturday dinner visit,but live bands are advertised,so it may get better when they are playing.

I decided to have a bit of a walk round the middle of Wellingborough to see what pubs i could find open.
It was not long before i found one.

9: Fox and Hounds

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A very nice looking pub that is close to the middle of Wellingborough.
The pub was even better inside with a single opened out room that had a low beamed ceiling,comfy bench seating and carpeted giving it a very cosy feel,there was also a pool table and darts board.
There were two real ales on and both from Wadworth brewery,i had a drink of Wadworth Henrys IPA which went down very well.
I really took to this pub.
I have since found out that it has closed down and going to be turned into housing,a great shame.

A short walk from the Fox and Hounds and i found another pub.

10: Queens Head
 

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
An unaltered pub inside and it still had its old Manns signage on the hanging pub sign.
There were three separate rooms inside with beamed ceilings and carpeted,the seating was comfy bench seating and chairs.
There were four real ales on,i had a drink of Black Sheep bitter which was a very nice drink.
My only gripe with this pub was the modern type music playing which really did not suit the pub one bit.

11: Kingfisher

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

There are steps to get into the main room which is fairly large and square shaped,the bar is to the rear and up one more step and most unusually there is a bench seat in the middle of the room which faces the bar.
There is a pool table and DJ rig,it all looked a bit worn and tired to me.
There were no real ales on,i had the settle for a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap which was crap just like the pub.


I now decided to walk down the High Street passing some pubs i would do later in the day as was now going to walk to the South and see what pubs i could get done on a walk round the area.
I did pop into a pub on the way down there to quench my thirst.

12: Ye Golden Lion

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A really nice looking pub from the outside.
There were two separate rooms inside,i had a drink in the room to the left which had a beamed ceiling and a stone floor,the room to the right was being used for a kids birthday party.
There were three real ales on,i had a drink of St Austell Tribute which went down well.
Very busy on my Saturday afternoon visit.

I was now heading South and along a busy road,after about a ten minute walk i found my next pub.

13: Dog & Duck

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A large old looking roadside pub that had its front door taken out of action,this really bugs me and you see it far too often these days,so i had to walk round to enter from the right side. 
There was an L shaped room inside that looked quite small compared to the size of the pub,the room was carpeted and had normal tables and chairs,it seemed more like an hotel bar than pub.
There were two real ales on,i had a drink of Wychwood Full Brazillion which was a decent thirst quencher on a hot day.
I did find a costa coffee outlet in the rear area of the pub,but not sure what they are doing with the rest of it.
Not my sort of pub at all.

I was now walking to the very Southern edge of Wellingborough.

14: The Miller

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A pretty bland looking pub now it has a modern brick built extension added to its frontage.
The pub had a single roughly L shaped room which was carpeted and quite comfortable.
There were two real ales on,i had a drink of Hart No 9 which went down very well,so worth the walk.

I now had to walk back North but up another road to get to my next pub,there were a couple more pubs hidden away in estates that i did not have time to find.

15: Royal Oak

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

An estate type pub that is situated well away from the middle of Wellingborough.
There was a single opened out room that was T shaped,there was comfy bench seating and a pool table.
There were no real ales on,i had a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap which was a crap drink.
The pub was busy with locals which is good to see in these types of pubs,i also had a good chat with some of the locals who told me about some pubs in the area that had closed down,this helped me quite a bit.

I now decided to head North and straight back into the middle of Wellingborough to do the last few pubs on my crawl.

16: Hind Hotel

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A large and decent looking pub with golden hind above its entrance.
There is a small bar room to the right that you can enter from the front or a separate entrance to the right.
The room is fairly small and split level,with some of the tables set aside for diners.
There were no real ales on,i had to settle for a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap,this was a pretty poor drink.
The TV was showing music videos at a very loud volume.
A very sad pub to have a drink in.
But this seems to be the norm in most towns i visit,the largest hotel and pub always seem to now be the worst in town.

A short walk to the West and i found a decent pub.

17: Coach & Horses

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A really nice looking pub from the outside with lots of ivy on its right side and flower baskets.
The pub was just as nice inside,there is a single L shaped room with the bar facing,the floor is bare boarded and the seating was banquette type and normal tables and chairs,the ceiling is beamed and there were loads of pump clips on it.
There was a very good choice of real ales on,i had a drink of Nene Valley OZP which was a very nice drink.

Now my major gripe about this pubs customers.
This is a big real  pub so attracts what i call beer geeks who always tend to hog the bar,yes they were there with their beards hanging over their pints.
This is what really pissed me off,i ordered my half but noticed the landlady pouring a pint,so i quicky said "i only wanted an half and you can tip it into a half " beer geeks turn round and start sneering at me as though i am some sort of idiot who does no know what he is doing,i was very tempted to hit the big twat with an even bigger beard but luckily i did not.
This is what puts me off these types of pubs.

I now had to decide to stay in the middle of Wellingborough or do a quick walk North to get another pub done on its Northern edge.
My urge to do the more out of the way pubs got the better of me,so it was a good walk to my next pub.

18: Ock 'N' Dough

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A new build pub on the Northern edge of Wellingborough.
This is a Greene King tied house that is branded as an Hungry Horse pub.
There was the usual large room inside that was carpeted and had a mix of seating types.
There were three real ales on,i had a drink of Greene King IPA which was a decent enough drink.
The pub was very busy on my Saturday afternoon visit with people having meals,families having meals and a decent amount of drinkers.
I think these pub serve a purpose and i have no problem in going in them.

It was another walk back into town with no pubs to do along the way.

19:  Raffs Bar

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

I took a photo of this pub when all was quiet at dinnertime,by the time i got round to doing it,it was very different with loads of young people outside and just as busy inside.
There is a smallish single square shaped room with the bar on the right side,the seating was limited to some bench seating to the front and a few bar stools,there was a stage to the rear which was in the process of being set up for a live band,the music playing was very loud rock music which the young rockers loved.
There were no real ales on,which was no surprise,i had a drink of John Smiths Extra Cold Crap which was really crap.
I felt a bit on the old side having a drink here with so many in being under 20.

I only had two more pubs to do in Wellingborough and these were back street pubs on the way back to the train station.

20: The Volunteer

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A large street corner pub that is just off the town centre.
The room had been opened out but was divided by a wall,there was a pool table and bar billiards table which i like to see,the seating was comfy bench type.
Sadly there were no real ales on,i had drink of Worthington Cream Crap which was crap.
I quite liked this locals pub,just a shame about the beer.

I now had to walk well into the back streets to get to my last pub of the crawl.

21: Ranelagh Arms

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This looked like a really well kept pub from the outside.
Once inside the pub had two separate rooms,the bar room to the right was empty,so i went into the larger lounge to the left which was very busy with a good mix of drinkers.
The pub is a Charles Wells tied house,so i was well pleased,what happened to all of their tied houses that used to be in Wellingborough !
There were two real ales on,i had a drink of Charles Wells Eagle Bitter which went down very well.
There was decent background music playing at a decent volume.
I really took to this pub.

It was a fairly short walk back to the train station.
I had done most of Wellingboroughs pub stock,i missed two estate pubs to the South and a couple of pubs in the town centre that never opened while i was there.
A great day out in nice warm weather doing loads of pubs,what more could you ask for.