Derby

The Derby evening excursion allowed 3 hours in Derby and covered 4 pubs. The first pleasant surprise was that you can get to and from Derby on the train for only £3 in the evenings and, with a willing wife to take us to and pick us up from the local station, all our transport problems were solved.
Anyway, as to the pubs (The Dolphin, The Silk Mill, The Brewery Tap and The Brunswick), they were varied, interesting, staffed by friendly helpful people and provided good beer and ambience. They were also arranged along a convenient route from the north end of town back towards the station, with 5/10 minute walks between.
The 'highlight' of the evening (in terms of novel experience) was sharing two platters of ale with cheese. The Brewery Tap (the old Royal Standard but re-named since being taken over by the Derby Brewing Co.) offers 5 x one-third pints of beer + a bowl of cheese cubes for £6.10. Seemingly a good way to sample a range of beers and have some nibbles too. Possibly a good thing but it was a strange thing to be sharing ten small glasses of beer with 4 other blokes. In the next pub, we were all quite happy to return to having our own pints.


All in all, another excellent night out for the HDDC!