The Carpenters Arms – Pubs Are Open!

“If this place bites the dust then the pub world has ended as we know it!” was what I wrote way back in December in my last pub blog post.

Talking about the Derby Inn – read here – I reckoned that if this cracking boozer, selling 660 pints of Bass per month, near to Burton Albion FC shut its doors forever, then the pub world really was facing an apocalypse.

Well it’s gone forever and is due to become a house, however, the pub world isn’t ready to call it a day just yet.  Having been bashed from pillar to post with closures, regulations, changing goalposts and all kinds of nonsense, the sun was shining on April 12 as the cloud lifted.

Of course, if you don’t have an outdoor space then you can’t open, so it’s hardly fanfare time just yet, but the atmosphere at 611 – The Carpenters Arms DE7 4PP in Dale Abbey on a Monday afternoon was palpable.

Arguably the best pub frontage since The Old Eyre Arms in Hassop there were Sixteen punters in at just after 1:15pm with smiling faces, a mixture of couples, families, cyclists and the usual array of #pubmen.

And why wouldn’t you be happy?  It’s been the best part of six months since I last visited a boozer…mind you not much has changed in the interim as Birmingham City have sacked another manager and are in the bottom six although, unbelievably, it looks like they will survive without going to the last game of the season.

Fans unhappy with this apparent dull end to the campaign can draw solace from the fact that half the ground is unable to open due to disrepair when fans are back in so at least there is some drama.

Whilst I’m fully aware this blog is likely to attract zero readers after such a long hibernation I have of course thought of my fellow bloggers with this pub of choice.

The Carpenters Arms was  built by the Hollingworths in 1771 and overlooks some excellent countryside near to Spondon and Ockbrook.

However, I can confirm Martin will be able to visit from his Sheffield palace, as campervans can stop overnight in the field behind the car park before visiting fellow northerner Garden Hermit at Hermit’s Cave in Dale Abbey.

And Birmingham City references might well tempt new kid on the block Mark, with his niche pub blog about Tamworth boozers.

I rolled up to the hatch to zap my track and trace and had a choice of Abbot or BG Sips (Blue Monkey), which the bloke behind me recommended.

He was right, as it was spot on and tasted so good after such a long time of cans and bottles…I sat down to read my paper and good on Tesco for taking out this advert…

.a good atmosphere was to be had and a magician on a bicycle turned up as he managed to change his water bottle (below) into a pint of beer!

Pub banter was flowing, food was also being eaten and there was enough going to suggest that maybe the great British public do actually like their hostelries after all. 

Just to confirm normality is returning, even the crisp van turned up for deliveries!

Who’d have thought it – a pub that is safe, adhering to the rules and people enjoying themselves whilst drinking alcohol.