Having been in far too many pubs recently that have been frequented by those GBG pub ticking types I thought I’d best up the ante and find a boozer that might, just might, have eluded them thus far.
(pub lamp – especially for Brad!)
With Mrs BB indulging in a gin slinging session with a gaggle of mates celebrating her birthday I had one of my ankle biters with me and thought I need a pub with a beer garden to unwind.
Central Derby is not overladen with vast expansive beer gardens but one exception to the rule is a boozer that was on its knees five years ago but has been given a huge kiss of life.
274 – The Bell & Castle DE1 1TG is on the edge of the city centre on Burton Road…
there it is just opposite Lara Croft Way!
It is also slap bang opposite a new Aldi supermarket in an area of town that isn’t amazingly well stocked with pubs but it is great to see this one thriving.
It was shut in 2012 after previously being owned by both Offilers and Bass until it was taken over by, I presume a family in 2013, and is now a cracker of a place.
Apparently it was converted from ex-mill cottages and has been there in this current guise for over 200 years so it’s got a fair bit of history attached to it.
It’s also got a beer garden…
with one of the most ‘unique’ statues in Britain staring at you as you take a seat!
I’m not sure who it is but he is an imposing sort of feller and is certainly eye-catching!
This had the feel of a family boozer in the city centre as there were tables for eating, drinking areas, kids with their parents and blokes drinking on their own but, they all appeared to know the landlady and were all greeted like friends. It wasn’t packed at just after midday on a Friday but there were around a dozen people inside which, ‘spoons aside, is a good effort.
Mind you, the greeting for my daughter and I was equally warm and an eclectic soundtrack in the background meant it was the sort of place you could have stayed in for a quite some while.
(Toy dog being asked his age at the bar…)
There are homely nick nacks everywhere and it has that nicely cluttered feel that all classic boozers have got…
but it was clean and had plenty of TLC showered on it.
A very nice drop of Epiphany (Littleover) did the trick for me…
and ordering at the bar with the sun shining and The Who’s “My Generation” on in the background is almost pub heaven!
A little bit off the beaten track in the town centre but well worth a visit as it serves good beer, has a warm atmosphere and a proper pub beer garden.
Just shows what you can achieve. The only way forward for me is to take on a free house and be the master of your own destiny. Sadly a lot of people can’t afford/don’t know how to pull the finances together and have to go with the apparently cheaper option of a Pubco lease which is actually the more expensive option because a lot of people get spanked. And then the pub shuts and becomes flats! Having said all that I wouldn’t take on a standard pub neither, it would be a small retail unit for me and turn it into a chameleon bar, less costs, more turnover per sq foot and little initial outlay.
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That all sounds like a cracking plan. I’m in with you…apart from the fact you want to sell chameleons, beer is the way forward.
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Agree with Richard, and family-friendly ale houses a bit of a rarity in.cities.
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Good old proper Irish pub feel to it although no idea who owns it? I guess the Kilkenny on the signage suggests it might be though!
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Definitely Irish. The same folks own O’Dwyers Bar in Derby:
http://www.odwyersbar.co.uk/bellandcastle.html
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Cheers Russ
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“The Bell & Castle DE1 1TG is on the edge of the city centre on Burton Road…”
That’s a bloody big pub.
“there it is just opposite Lara Croft Way!”
Back when I was single she could’ve raided my tomb any day. 🙂
“It’s also got a beer garden…”
Love the mismatched seating. 🙂
“with one of the most ‘unique’ statues in Britain staring at you as you take a seat!”
My wild ass guess would be Gulliver.
“There are homely nick nacks everywhere and it has that nicely cluttered feel that all classic boozers have got…”
That does provide that certain atmosphere.
“has a warm atmosphere and a proper pub beer garden.”
It figures the Bell and Castle would have a bouncy castle in the garden. 🙂
Cheers
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I can always rely on you Russ to take it downmarket!!! Good spot on the O Dwyers bar in Derby too and that will get you a bonus point. Mind you one was just lost for the Lara Croft tomb gag so you’re breaking even here. I reckon Gulliver could be a good shout as it looks nothing like the BFG! A pub well worth visiting IMHO.
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Hang on. I’m taking it dowmarket and you’re the one using BFG*.
* If that stands for what I think it does. 😉
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Big friendly giant…this is a family blog 😀😉👍
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LOL, good one! 🙂
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😀😉😎💪👊🍻
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The statue was originally for the Zanzibar nightclub (now a Cosmo all you can eat). It sat above the entrance failing to give the faux charm of something different.
Bell and castle is definitely a good spot though and a great beer garden
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Cheers Steve…great local knowledge!! I agree, it’s got a good beer garden and decent beer on. Cheers
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