Coventry – 18/02/2012 With Vicki, Rich and Jim

Coventry – 18/02/2012 With Vicki, Rich, Jim plus Marcus and Fred for a while too.

1). Inspire – A bottled beer bar in an old spire. It is obviously a lovely building and I liked the bar being so small as it felt cosy. We sat outside as we were a big group and despite it being winter the heater provided enough warmth. It is quite expensive but had a great selection of beers – mostly Belgium but lots of ales too. We all like this bar so a good. 8/10.

2) Whitefriars Ale House – A lovely old timber building with listed features in it. Had about 9 ales to choose from and we all enjoyed our choices. It also had a friendly feel despite being locally at the time we visited. Also a real fire which always gets an extra point. To me this is everything what an ale pub should be, brilliant. 9/10.

3). The Gatehouse Tavern – Quite a sport pub really with lots of tvs. It had a couple of ales on and the staff were very friendly. Nothing special about it to me though. 6/10.

4). Town Wall Tavern – Nothing to look at and noting special inside. Went for the only guest ale and it was a stout so had to go back a Hobgoblin! Should have asked for a try before you buy. Staff weren't very friendly and I wouldn't return. 5/10.

5). The Windmill – Quite a nice building with different rooms, low ceilings and wooden features. A couple of ales on tap. Felt a bit grubby or studenty though. 6/10.

6). The Squirrel – More of a bar really but it was en-route to the station! It did have a couple of ales on and was perfectly fine.   6/10.

Another good ale trail and I will return to Coventry again.

Nottingham 28/01/2012

Nottingham with Anna, Jase, Kate, Charlie and Lisa.

1). Bunkers Hill. It was quiet but had good ale selection. Gutted as they did three 1/3 pints with cheese tasting tray which I didn't know about until after I had ordered my beer! It was nice but not special. 6/10

2). Canal House. Great beers selection and a lovely pub. Good atmosphere and a nice building. Really liked this place. 9/10

3). Olde Trip to Jerusalem. The oldest pub in Nottingham. A pub in caves, very busy but had good ales. Some of us loved it, I think it is ok. 7.5/10

4). Keans Head. Good beers and nice food. Good atmosphere but not the best building. Enjoyable 7.5/10

5). Cross Keys. Felt a bit like a posher Wetherspoons. Good beers though and nice feel. 6.5/10.

6). Salutation Inn. Rock pub so the music was loud. meant that it wasn't that enjoyable. Did have lots of ales though, 5/10.

7). The Orange Tree. Felt very studenty and no ales. Did have an organic lager! It was fine. 6/10.

8). The Blue Bell. A late night venue - the only reason to come here. No ales and a bit of a dive! 5/10

Chester 19/11/2011

Chester with Mum and Dad.

1). Pied Bull. Again for sentimental reasons enjoyed this pub. Lots of ales and a nice cosy winter atmosphere. 7/10

2). Brewery Tap. Great recent addition to Chester. Lots of locally brewed ale and a lovely stone building. Very enjoyable. 7/10

3). Harkers. Another good ale pub which was nicely busy and we all had a good drink. Not as good as the other two though. 6.5/10

Lewes 17/09/2011

Lewes with Mum, Dad and Pete.

1). The Snowdrop. A bit of the way but worth every step. A lovely pub and would definitely return. It had a canal theme with good ales and a friendly atmosphere. Hard to beat. 8/10

2). Pelham Arms. A Badger Brewery pub so was on my must visit list. I was disappointed unfortunately. They didn't have my favourite Blandford Fly and my dad had a pint of Tangle Foot which was dodgy in our opinion. It was a pleasant enough though  and my drink was lovely. 6/10.

3). Lewes Arms. A Fullers pub with interesting Whiskey bottle selection which kept us amused. I liked this place. 7/10

4). Lansdown. Not a bad place, a reasonable pub with a couple of ales on. Nothing remarkable though. 6/10

Birmingham 03/09/2011

Birmingham with Vicki but joined by Claire and Kathy too.

1). Red Lion - Erdington. Lovely building on the outside. A locals pub but they made us feel welcome and had two ales on. 5/10

2). Old Crown. Dates from 1368 apparently. Didn't really like this one though although it is a nice building. No ales however. 6/10

3). The Anchor. A great ale pub with lots on tap. Didn't have the atmosphere however on this visit. 5/10

4). The Lamp Tavern. Cracking little pub with lovely owners and great beer. Really enjoyed it and would love to return. 8/10 

5). The Old Fox. Better than expected and did have a couple of ales on. 6/10

Kentish Town, London 20/08/2011

Kentish Town with Jane, Becky, Kathy, Catherine.

1) Oxford. Big pub/bar but excellent beer selection. Not pubby enough for me though. 6/10

2). Lion and Unicorn. Very gastro pub which the girls loved but irritating vain bar staff. Nice though and good beer selection. 7/10 (the girls would have given it more!)

3). Pineapple. My favourite of the day. Really liked this place. Great atmosphere, beer selection and felt cosy. 7.5/10

4). Assembly House Quite a nice bar with good a selection of beers not ales though. Good arm chairs and we had a fun drink here. 7/10

Looking back on these scores I think I might have been influenced and therefore they might be skewed!

Hastings 16/08/2011

Hastings with my mum and dad.

1). Stags Head. A very nice pub but not very busy and we had a slight mishap which tarnishes our memory but it is a nice pub. 7/10

2). Jenny Lind. Good ale selection and occasionally has bands on. Has a nice outside bit too. 7/10

3). FIFO. Small pub but they have their own brewery which is quite impressive. Atmosphere wasn't great though but I liked the beer and the booths! 6.5/10

4). Smugglers. Funny pub, quirky in an old style. Quite enjoyed it though. 6.5/10

5). Clique Port Arms.  Looks cute from the outside but the atmosphere was a bit cold. More upmarket. 6/10.

Leamington Spa 2/7/2011

Leamington Spa with Pete and Vicki

1). The Clarendon. Our favourite pub/bar in Leamington at the moment. Quality ales and a nice environment. On this occasion a solid 7/10.

2). The Somerville. It was a lovely day so we sat in the beer garden. Everards pub so nice ale and friendly staff. 7/10.

3). The New Inn. Again we sat outside and it was pretty busy with a reasonable ale selection. 7.5/10.

4). The Talbot. Aways has a couple of good ales and is a very local type pub. 6/10.

5). Jug and Jester. Probably one of the better Wetherspoons as it has a nice outside bit and obviously a great beer selection. For this reason and on this day it scores surprisingly high at 7/10.

Harrogate and Leeds 11/6/11

Harrogate and Leeds with my sister.

1). Old Bell Inn. Good beer selection and nice pub. Oldie worldie feel.  8/10

2). Coach and Horses. Nice staff and atmosphere. 7/10.

3). Swan on Stray. Posher pub but friendly. 6.5/10

4). Winter Gardens. Standard Wetherspoon pub. 6/10

5). Hales. Another old style pub with a good atmosphere. 7.5/10

6). City Inn (Mint). In Leeds now, posh bar but had a lovely view of the city. Had bottled ale! 7/10

7). North Bar. My relatives favourite bar in Leeds, although I am not overly impressed - Sorry! More like a cafe! Great beer selection though and a good atmosphere. 7/10

Chester 27/5/11

Chester Crawl with Mum and Dad.

1).Pied Bull.  My favourite pub in earlier years! Good ale pub with nice old building - haunted! 7/10

2). Oddfellows. Not an ale pub but a posh bar. Nice outside bit though which we enjoyed. For that reason 7/10

3). The Falcon. Black and White building Sam Smiths pub. Nice in the day, not so good at night as it is a bit scruffy. It does have a good feel in the day though. 6.5/10

4). Pitcher and Piano. Obviously a chain bar but me and mum had a free cocktail! 5/10

5). Bird in Hand. Later on we went to the Bird in Hand. A good local ale pub but still on that day only a 6.5 /10