Quintessential British Village Pubs: Appleby Magna

You left me in Church Gresley after a fix of football for the first time in months, but I have been neglecting my Leicestershire readership recently.

The Norwegian hits are still coming on Lifeafterfootball and I am sure Birmingham City fan Tore Andre Flo has a lot to do with that.

Coalville and Whitwick are completed, barring any new additions, and Ashby De La Zouch only has a couple of boozers left to visit so, if I had a GBG style book of non GBG pubs, North West Leicestershire would be looking increasingly inked in.

Shepshed Pete always has a plan though and he suggested I look at those pubs that are in Leicestershire ‘but think they are in Derbyshire’

Castle Donington and Diseworth are just two of the examples of DE postcodes in Leicestershire that I’ve visited and I rolled up to a third on a Saturday afternoon in the guise of Appleby Magna.

This is one of these places tucked away of Junction 11 of the M42 (summer tour 2020) and is a well to do place with an impressive church and two boozers.

I’ve already visited The Black Horse – read it here – so it was time to check out another Derbyshire wannabee 588 – The Crown Inn DE12 7BB.

A sunny Saturday afternoon in August should be prime time so it was good to see about 40 punters in the beer garden, and it was a proper beer garden with a kids play area and lots of space.

Less punters inside, just a handful, but the weather was great so why not?

I had half a pint of Eagle IPA (Charles Wells) that was perfectly palatable but wouldn’t get in my top ten during this golden renaissance era for cask.

The beer garden was packed with people arriving and leaving all the time and it appeared to be the pub for locals and was thriving.

A pop up food offering was on the car park – Oregano Kitchen – and was being well utilised, and this appeared to be the quintessential North West Leicestershire village pub.

Decent enough beer, families, couples, lads, ladies who drink and pretty much everyone who lives in Appleby Magna and the surrounding hamlets looked likely to make an appearance at this boozer.

British village life in the shires is ticking over nicely irrespective of covid19 and this is the sort of local boozer Mrs BB would have felt very much at home in.

I hope this glorious summer never ends!