Glossop

A trip further afield, into Derbyshire, for a Thursday and after completing my non-pub-related business I climbed up the long hill to the cluster of pubs which I think is in Old Glossop.  The weather was glorious, bright sunshine and blue sky, and nowhere near as chilly as the 1 Centigrade reported at Manchester Airport this morning had led me to expect.

I started in the Good Beer Guide listed Queens:

A very pleasant interior partially knocked through, and there's a restaurant upstairs as well.  There were seven handpumps on the counter and I was torn between two favourites, Thornbridge Jaipur and Oakham Citra, the latter won, and it was excellent.

A steady trickle of trade at one on a Thursday kept the staff occupied, some dining but mostly drinking.  A small group of what looked like pub crawlers came in, I tried to listen in for tips on where to go next but I couldn't hear!

I eyed up the architecture; some matchboarding, and the leaded glass windows suggest a 1930s or 1950s refurbishment perhaps.  The fake ceiling beams have been painted over or boarded over.  So, no architectural gem but who cares, it's a great pub.

Of the other two pubs here, I wanted to try the Bull's Head because I've not done it before but it was closed for refurbishment, I think:

So I resorted to the Wheatsheaf, last visited in 2011, instead:

From the three handpumps I selected something from the local (about 200 yards away) Howard Town brewery.  My first thought was that it was a bit naff, but further swigs showed I was completely wrong, it was just a touch thin after the gorgeous Citra, and I was soon bedded in and enjoying it.

No other customers while I was here, how do they keep going, with two staff?

Back down the hill to the town centre and in to the GBG-listed Star Inn:

A comfortable plain multi-room pub with only one counter, and there was no-one behind it so I had plenty of time to dither over my choice from the five on offer.  Oakham Citra again, or how about the local Howard Town Dark Peak at 6%?  The landlord returned, apologising, from sorting a delivery and I selected the Dark.  It was absolutely superb; beer of the day, beer of the month, maybe beer of the year!  A real hefty flavoursome winter warmer.

The conversation between the landlord and two regulars was all about beer.  When it turned to Milton Brewery I was able to butt in as it's local to my birthplace.