The Bear, Alderwasley

 

When five customers turn up at an almost empty pub bar you might, at least, expect someone to take your order. But in our case, after waiting several minutes, we had to ask the barman to serve us. Feeling thoroughly unwelcome, despite the cosy stove and well-worn furniture and fittings, we were next shocked to be charged £3.50 per pint for perfectly ordinary, if satisfactory, beers. This price is near our all-time record for Derbyshire, and it was hard to see any justification for it. Perhaps they are only interested in catering for diners - in which case see recent reviews of the food on Tripadvisor!

Needless to say we didn't stay for a second round, but spent the rest of the evening in a decent pub - the Royal Oak in Wirksworth ....

Alexandra Hotel, Derby

Just along from the railway station and passing the temptations of the Brunswick, we popped into the Alex and were suitably impressed. Allegedly the birthplace of Derby CAMRA, the beers are listed on the wall and colour-coded for style. The high-ceilinged rooms give the pub a grand feeling and the seating was adequate without too many concessions to comfort. The beer was good and, since we all chose a pint from the Castle Rock Brewery, we're half-way now towards a free pint - always an incentive to return!

The Exeter Arms, Derby

What an outstanding pub! A warm welcoming, solicitous and knowledgeable bar staff and a good range of beers, seating and rooms all contributed to a lovely couple of pints in this rather out of the way pub. Dancing Duck beers featured strongly but there was also Pedigree and maybe others I've overlooked. The bartendress couldn't have been more helpful, advising on beers, delivering them with a smile and being prepared to change a pint drawn from the end of the barrel. An exceptionally good pub.