Chesterfield’s Chatsworth Mile: The Real Ale Corner

If this is the future of boozers then I am happy moving with the times!

Quite often debate rages on pub/beer forums about what s a good pub, size of pub, location of pub, cask, keg, etc. etc. etc.

However, for me, the essential ingredient in any pub is the people…if you have a good core of regulars then, more often than not; the boozer will be a success with a good atmosphere.

331 – The Real Ale Corner S40 3AD fits the bill perfectly as I had a terrific hour here on a Saturday afternoon in Chesterfield and is at the end of the old fashioned ‘Brampton Mile.’

Eagle-eyed readers amongst you (Russ) will have noted I have missed out 330 on my pub list but, somewhere between numbers 1-329, I have missed one out and I don’t have the inclination to search through the whole blog and change it.

So, pub number 331 is a classic of its kind and was just good fun.  It’s a bottle shop where you can sit down and drink but the fact one of the boys wanted a photo pointing at signage

and then his pal photo bombed it…

…before the photo bomber bought both me and my drinking buddy a bottle of beer he described as “better than Titanic’s Plum Porter,” said a lot about this place.

I’ve not drunk in Chesterfield before and I didn’t realise quite what a gem the Chatsworth Road is in the Brampton area of town.

Not only does it possess a terrific amount of boozers, it also has the best named tile shop in Britain!

We reached the pub at about 1.30 on Saturday and immediately struck up a good conversation with the gaffer, who was from Ayr, and full of life.

(oh look, some beer)

The bloke at the bar with a top beard informed us of the intense Sheffield/Chesterfield rivalry and was just funny…

(and some more)

whilst the photo bomber was sitting with his better half in the window and we were discussing Sheffield bands from the past.

(Sheffield music and pub gurus)

Heaven 17, Human League, ABC and the Arctic Monkeys all got a mention before the jewel in the crown was the fact Then Jericho’s drummer was from Chesterfield…

We could have stopped in here for much longer than two drinks – the pint of New Deck (Blackjack) was top class too

and there was a bloke with a dog in a tracksuit in there on his blower and another couple who came in, went out and did some shopping, and then came back in again.

It really felt like an atmosphere and the barfly told us how they had been on a trip to Scotland with the gaffer for a night out and that is the sort of thing that only happens at pubs with locals.

A bloke with a labrador came in and asked in the style of Mark Williams’ “You ain’t seen me right” character from The Fast Show if “My Mrs is allowed in.”

This caused uproar and the gaffer allowed it and they strolled in together about five minutes later.  On paper this doesn’t seem hugely humorous but it caused a massive amount of laughter and when we told his better half about his plan to see if he could get her banned, she laughed and said she knew all about it!

A lot is made of opening hours, size of boozer and heritage but this place is an absolute gem and as it’s on the outskirts of the centre – opposite a big Morrisons  supermarket then you are more likely to attract a regular crowd and the selection of bottled beer is cracking.

I told the gaffer that the gaffer of the nearby Chesterfield alehouse (post to follow) congratulated him on winning a local CAMRA award he seemed happy enough and said something along the lines of “not bad for a former chemist!”

There’s clearly a bit of a lively scene going on in the town that spawned Then Jericho’s drummer and the healthy competition amongst boozers is delivering some classics.

(post shopping pint)

Well worth a visit just for the craic at the bar – the beer is a bonus. A friendly boozer full of warm, friendly people up for a giggle.  That’s a proper pub.