Nottingham Forest
Nottingham is a brilliant drinking town. True, in recent years it has perhaps suffered a little from the development of circuit-drinking and the growth of bars to serve its large student population, but there are still plenty of great pubs to visit. It would be possible to come to Nottingham a number of times and undertake entirely different crawls. There really is too much to do in one day.
As there's such a lot to get round, this guide has been split into sections by area. Given that the two league grounds in Nottingham are so close together, pretty much all of this guide would also hold true for any future visit to Meadow Lane. Well, you never know.
Around town you'll get lots of Hardys and Hansons (AKA Kimberley) beers. Nothing wrong with that. They've always struck me as a traditional sort of brewery, and as standard they offer a most drinkable bitter and a stronger brew called Olde Trip. The dark mild is good but less common, although you'll find it in some pubs around Nottingham, and they do a good range of seasonal beers. Look out too for Castle Rock, the local brewery, which is now owned by the Tynemill pub group. Tynemill is a pioneering company that for once has got things right and concentrates on running a range of pubs which are all allowed to have their own identity and which sell good ale. Radical idea, eh? Some of the best of the pubs mentioned below - the Forest Tavern, Lincolnshire Poacher, Stratford Haven, Vat and Fiddle and the Victoria at Beeston - are Tynemill pubs. Castle Rock beers, meanwhile, are uniformly excellent, and include a dark mild and a stout and two splendid bitters, Gold and Hemlock.
By the station
If you're coming by train and you're pushed for time, there are pubs of varying quality close by the station.
The Queen's Hotel on Arkwright Street, just on your left as you exit, was once an excellent traditional street corner boozer. In the past it was friendly, beer was good and they had table football. Alas, on recent visits it had become a beer-free zone, and when we passed by on the way back from Mansfield in January 2004, it was all boarded up. So best forget about that.
Not to worry, as one of the city's finest pubs is nearby. Off Sheriffs Way from the same corner is the Vat and Fiddle on Queensbridge Road. Until a few years ago this was known as the Tom Hoskins, so don't let the stupid name put you off. This is a pub that only seems to get better and better. They sell a fine selection of beers on sale here, including a full range from the Castle Rock brewery next door and expertly chosen guests. Mild is always on. But one day I am going to loiter here and do damage to their tremendous selection of rare whiskies. Also on offer are a good choice of Belgian bottles and cheap chunky rolls. Highly recommended, and they have a reputation for welcoming non-yob football supporters.
By the other side of the station on the corner of Carrington Road and Station Road is the Bentinck Hotel. This offers rudimentary accommodation (having stopped there, I wouldn't recommend it) and the pub bit is an insalubrious place, but it did sell real beers such as Marston's. Next to this on Carrington Road, which leads up to the centre, is the Cosy Teapot Café, which sold a good cheap breakfast (including a vegetarian version) - if you can tolerate their collection of amusing novelty teapots.
Getting to the ground(s) from the station
If you're looking to get to the ground from here, it's approximately south of the station, perhaps a twenty minute walk away down London Road, which runs from behind the station, and then over Trent Bridge. The two grounds face each other on opposite sides of the Trent. As with Meadow Lane, it's possible to get most of the way along the canal path that runs alongside London Road. Essentially, from the front of the station it's left (south) for the ground and right (north) for the best pubs.
Canalside
Along the stretch of the canal that runs by the railway station there are a couple of waterside pubs, although these are not up to the high standard of other parts of the city. It is round here that you tend to get student bars.
The Navigation, by the stretch of canal west of the station on Wilford Street, used to be an essential stop, but it then fell into the hands of some post-Wetherspoon's chain intent on capitalising on the redevelopment of the waterside, so sadly this once great Banks's house can no longer be recommended. It spent some time as, and may still be called, the Lace and Locket (or is it the other way round?), and on last visit proved to be just about the only pub in the world that sells Banks's bitter but not the far higher selling and superior Banks's mild. It was empty on the last Saturday night that I called in, so the change of direction was obviously going well.
Another canalside pub is Fellows, Morton and Clayton on Canal Street. They brew their own beer, but it's not particularly thrilling stuff. You may, however, find some interesting guest beers.
City centre
Onwards to a true classic. Turn right out of the station down Carrington Road, past the Bentinck, then left down Canal Street. Resist Fellows, Morton and Clayton. Keep going onto Castle Boulevard, shirking Wilford Street and the Locket and Lace to your left. Instead turn right onto Castle Road, then left into the excellently named Brewhouse Yard. There, you will find one pub that absolutely no visit to Nottingham is complete without: Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. This is one of the world's great pubs. If these directions are really too much, simply follow the signs to Nottingham Castle and then look below; the pub's rooms are literally carved out of the rock on which the castle stands. Said to date back to the time of the crusades - a pub has been here since 1189 - this is one of a number of pubs claiming to be Britain's oldest. Nearby knights would gather here prior to their departure to the holy land to slaughter in the name of god, hence the name. For once, that 'ye olde' is no affectation. The Trip is an institution, and an obvious call, thick with tourists in the summer, but good nonetheless. Of course, no pub, however interesting, could be considered worthy of such a glowing recommendation if the beer was crap. Thankfully, this longstanding CAMRA Good Beer Guide entry sells excellent Hardys and Hansons beers, including bitter and mild. On last visit (January 2004) they had four Hardys and Hansons beers available, and the mild was excellent. You can also eat here. They specialise in giant Yorkshire puddings filled with sausages or meat and veg, or for vegetarians, just the veg. This is undoubtedly the sort of thing you want to be eating on a matchday.
Nearby, on the rather inevitably named Maid Marian Way, off the junction with Castle Boulevard and Canal Street, you have the Salutation Inn. This is another old and rather bare, wood-beamed and stone-flagged pub. Can't remember what I was drinking, but it was good, and they had an interesting range.
Slap bang in the centre (from the station go straight down Carrington Street and walk through the Broad Marsh shopping centre to get to the centre of the city) on the Angel Row side of the Old Market Square, stands the Bell Inn. Again, this is a classic house. It's a vast, multi-roomed, stone flagged, Fifteenth Century pub in which it's entirely possible to get lost. It wouldn't be a good place to meet someone, unless you had plenty of time to find them. I understand it too now sells Hardys and Hansons - previously Black Sheep and Jennings beers were available from its several bars. You can also get something to eat here. The only thing you need be wary of is the morris dancers who sometimes frequent this hostelry. If they look like they're about to start dancing, get out quickly.
Also in the vicinity of the town centre, just north from the Old Market Square up Market Street by the Royal Concert Hall and Theatre Royal, is Langtry's on South Sherwood Street. It was a Hogshead-style pub of reasonable quality when I last called in.
There's also, next to the concert hall, a pub with the obviously appealing name of the Turf Tavern, on Upper Parliament Street. This is a basic, one-roomed boozer, nothing extraordinary, but handy. I seem to recall drinking Cain's dark mild in here, which can't be bad.
If you persist up South Sherwood Street, you're heading towards Mansfield Road, and there's nothing wrong with so doing. More of that in a minute.
At the east side of the centre there once was an essential stop in the form of the Bunkers Hill Inn, on Hockley. This was a large, dark, and drab pub, which sold a bewildering choice of beers, absolutely none of which I had ever heard of. They seemed to specialise in stocking ultra obscure beers from ultra small breweries. As such, it was a beer bore's paradise, offering purist thrills. Alas, it then changed hands, and became absolutely ordinary. The diversion is no longer required. But I miss it.
Mansfield Road
And so to Mansfield Road, which is another excellent drinking area. North of the centre, you could walk it from the station, but if you're in a hurry, take a cab. Taxis are usually in good supply outside the station.
On this stretch, some way up, you'll find what is in my book the absolute jewel in Nottingham's crown, and one of my personal favourites: the Lincolnshire Poacher. This is a sublime pub. Suffice to say it sells beers from one of our finest breweries, Bateman's, along with Castle Rock and excellent guests. There's almost too much choice. The Poacher is a little chunk of Lincolnshire that has somehow become stranded in another county. It's an old-fashioned pub, and the interior is pleasant and woody, home to a collection of old cigarette advertising signs. Oh yes, it's friendly and they sell good value basic food too, so really what more do you want?
Also on Mansfield Road, further up, you'll find the Forest Tavern. This is something of a café bar, but don't worry, the beer is excellent, even if the atmosphere is a bit studenty and the food a mite poncy. If you go for Belgian beers you'll be happy here, as they specialise in them and the list covers most bases. Definitely worth a look, although not if you call during the day, as it may not open until the evening. I think they have a late licence, though.
There are other reasonable pubs up and down the road. Down a little from the Poacher the Nag's Head has been a decent stop in the past, while further down from there the Golden Fleece is a friendly, pleasant pub selling some decent beer. At the bottom you have the Peacock Hotel, which I have an idea I've been in but can remember nothing about, unfortunately.
On the next street west from Mansfield Road is North Sherwood Street, and the Hole in the Wall. This was a smart and well-kept - if rather quiet on a Saturday lunchtime - pub, which stocked a good range of beers. Interesting jukebox too, and I imagine it gets busier in the evenings.
This part of town has a sizeable student population, as the number of fast food places on Mansfield Road bears out. You should be able to grab something bad for you at any time of the day around here, and if your idea of fun is rummaging around second hand record shops, you're in luck.
Much further up Mansfield Road past all this lot is the Chestnut Tree in Sherwood. Called in once; big, modern pub with standard beer. Such are the perils of completism.
Alfreton Road
Yet another option is to go west from the centre, around Alfreton Road. On your way up, on Wellington Circus off Derby Road, the Limelight Bar might tempt you. The beer's good enough, but be warned that the bar is part of the Nottinghamshire Playhouse complex, and theatre bars are never that good, are they? In January 2000 they infuriated me with exceptionally slow service, and I'm never at my best amongst a middle class crowd keen to show the world how clever they are. I go to the theatre a lot - I've just never seen the need to act like a big show off while slurping down a half time freshener.
Further up are other pubs. The Red Lion was basic, friendly and sold a good pint, while the oddly monikered Beaver Tap was earthy and very much a locals' haunt, although there was nothing wrong with my pint of Belvoir Star. Belvoir is a brewery that was set up by staff from the mercilessly closed Shipstone brewery of Nottingham, and the Beaver is their brewery tap, which seems a good enough reason for a visit.
O'Rourkes on Raleigh Street, off Alfreton Road, was a genuine Irish pub, but provided regrettably crap beer on a 1999 visit.
Adjacent to Raleigh Street, and also off Alfreton Road, is Portland Road, where surprisingly enough you'll find the Portland Arms. Decent, basic Hardys and Hansons pub, as I recall.
One other memory, from our January 2000 trip to Notts County, was of buying chips covered with the hottest chilli sauce known to man from a kebab house on Alfreton Road. My mouth, amongst other things, was still on fire the next day.
Basford
If you're feeling in the mood for something fairly off the wall and time is on your side, you may want to take a cab out to the Horse and Groom, way out of town on Radford Road in Basford. Yes, we did it once. I don't think we realised how far out it was. Still, it was a top pub selling lots of guest beers, and the welcome was friendly. Poignantly, it was once the Shipstone brewery pub, a missed beer of which Nottingham was proud, and the impressive red brick former brewery stands behind.
Beeston
Again, if you have time to spare, you could catch a local train one stop to Beeston, where there is an first rate pub right next to the bottom end of the station. It's called the Victoria and it's a big, imposing, appropriately Victorian pub with friendly staff, a cracking selection of beers and an excellent menu. I recommend it highly. Beers included Castle Rock amongst others and the menu included vegetarian options but no chips. The landlord doesn't like the smell of frying fat, although he obviously doesn't have a problem with garlic, as they sold garlic bread of extraordinary potency. This pub was so good it picked up several votes for man of the match when we lost 5-0 to Forest. Have a couple and get the train back to Nottingham afterwards - just don't make the mistake of wandering up to see what the rest of Beeston is like, as it isn't worth the diversion.
The Commercial Inn, for example, on Wollaton Road, proved to be a basic, locals' pub, nothing special, selling an unremarkable pint of Hardys and Hansons bitter.
Pubs close to the ground
Pubs near the ground might be best avoided. As it happens, I've always tended to do my drinking in the above excellent places, so I'm not terribly familiar with what's on offer near the two grounds. But I did once go to a couple of pubs near County's ground on Meadow Lane.
The Magpies was a decent basic boozer, selling a reasonable pint of Home Bitter, which I don't think they make any more. It was generally reckoned to be impossible to get into when County are playing, but Forest fans also drink here before their games, and they had both County and Forest shirts on the wall.
A second pub I visited once by the simple expedient of walking past the Notts County away end - it was that kind of season - was the Trent Navigation (there are many pubs in Nottingham called the Navigation or variations upon it). I recall a roughish beer den, but as the only people in there were those who didn't mind missing the kick-off, it was hard to judge properly. I had a pint of something, although I would not know whether it still sells beer.
Another possibility past the City Ground is the Stratford Haven on Stratford Road in West Bridgford. This was a long and fairly large pub, tucked in behind Trent Bridge cricket ground, whose young and affluent crowd was quickly swamped by a mass of happy Forest supporters when we lost 5-0 that night in October 2000. Okay, so we'd beaten the queue by leaving the game early, but there was a spell after the match when it was virtually impossible to get anywhere near the bar. On that occasion, although busy, it was friendly enough, and the beer was excellent, with a fine range of guests, including a mild.
The sad part
Of course, all games between Burnley and Nottingham Forest are coloured by the tragic killing of a Forest supporter in Burnley in 2002. It consequently falls on Burnley supporters attending the game to behave with decorum and self-discipline. There are also, it has to be said, potential security issues for visiting Clarets. Now I've have always found both Forest and County supporters to be a friendly bunch, I have always had a good time in their city apart from usually the game and I have always found the above mentioned pubs to be perfectly welcoming. I was impressed by the lack of hostility on our first visit there following the killing. Even so, I'd advise no colours, discretion and sticking to small groups.
Sad to have to end on this note. It's only drinking, it's only football, and it's only a day out, isn't it?
Firmo
Last visited: April 2003
Last updated: March 2004
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