Roving Row’s Review

Row and Bro visit two of Yaxley’s pubs...

The Duck and Drake is one of three pubs operating in the village after the Lancaster Club recently closed. Landlord Colin provided us with an informed overview on the pub, which he has run for the past six and a half years. No regular food service at present – although over the summer he rented his kitchen out which provided a successful takeaway barbecue service.

We enjoyed samples of Grainstore Witch’s Brew, beautifully clear in the glass. Also on tap that day were Timothy Taylor Landlord and Grainstore Ten Fifty. Ales are regularly changed ; some, like Listers IPA and Tailwagger,sell out very quickly. Talking of ‘Tailwaggers’ the resident guard dog, Daisy, a Shih Tzu/Yorkie cross, aka a “Shorky,” gave us a cautious welcome, but soon settled down when she realised we were friendly.

Sourcing ale for the Duck and Drake comes from far afield. Colin told us one customer had introduced him to the Welsh Gwynt y Ddraig brewery who supply Black Dragon cider, which also sells well. On down Main Street to The Three Horseshoes, which was resplendent with Remembrance Day ribbons and poppies. Its sister pub is the Woolpack in Stanground, both run by Dave Nightingale. His staff were accommodating and friendly and filled us in on beers available, which are changed regularly. We sampled Timothy Taylor Landlord and Boltmaker, both delicious, accompanied by a snack of hot and filling cheesy chips, served promptly, overlooking the tidy, spacious and well-equipped beer garden.

The pub has a good CAMRA following, including members of the Crib Club, which is one of several groups who meet there each week. The pub had a warm community feel about it and there seems to be plenty going on, reflected by the notice board’s upcoming events.

Time to set off for home, via Holme(!). We wended our way past ancient hedges and dark peat fields, lined with feathery reeds and bullrush heads, escorted from above by soaring Red Kites.

We sat and supped, enjoying beautiful views over Yaxley Fen through the lounge window.

Row and Gareth

A Train Trip From Peterborough To Belper and Beyond!

On Thursday 2nd September a party of real ale drinkers from Peterborough set off for a trip to Belper and its surrounding villages. There is a Peterborough to Belper Off Peak Return ticket, which costs £30 or £19.90 for Railcard holders. We travelled via Nottingham and Derby, and on the Matlock train to Belper.

A short walk from Belper station is the Railway, run as a Lincoln Green pub. It opens at 11am and has half a dozen Lincoln Green real ales and some guests with most of us trying Archer 4.7% American Pale Ale and Tuck 4.7% Porter. An eight minute walk took us to the Devonshire, which was selling at least six real ales including two from Dancing Duck. Then a walk back across town to the Angels Micro Pub (not open Mon to Wed), a tucked away micropub with up to eight real ales from microbreweries.

We all wanted to visit the Holly Bush, Makeney, for its nationally rated historic interior, which is situated a few miles south of Belper. The Trent Barton Sixes buses run between Belper and Derby and they have a Group ticket costing £16 for up to 5 people.

We alighted at the King William, Milford, on the A6 (not open until 5pm) and walked eight minutes up the hill to the Holly Bush. The highlight here is the amazing snug created by two full height partition walls of which there are only a dozen remaining examples in the UK. There are seven real ales on sale including Marston’s Pedigree, poured from the cask into a jug and then from the jug into your glass – something once common but now only surviving in half a dozen pubs in the country. A very special pub, highly recommended.

On the train we inspected four menus – George’s Fish and Chip restaurant, Belper and three pub ones and all agreed the Spotted Cow in nearby Holbrook looked the best, so taxis were arranged to take nine of us from Makeney. The Spotted Cow is a community owned pub with a small cafe and village post office as well as the pub. The range of real ales was Hartington IPA and five changing real ales from microbreweries. The Ham, Eggs & Chips was very popular among our party costing £9.50 with thick chunks of ham, hand cut chips etc.

From the Spotted Cow we walked about ten minutes to the Dead Poets Inn, Holbrook. Refurbished back to an old style interior in 1990 it is well worth a visit. Now owned by Everards as a Project William pub it is run by the Brunswick Inn, Derby with at least one of their real ales and another six from microbreweries.