I don't want to hear about good pubs, there are thousands.Â
Let's hear about your really shit pubs and more specifically on a biking slantÂ
My starter for 10. The Grouse and Claret at Rowsley.
I've been going there for years - occasionally with the Mrs if we want some bang average pub grub (Wheatsheaf at Baslow is a mirror image Marstons pub, but manages it slightly better).
Anyway, most of the time I go there it's towards the end of a ride - summery day, nice garden at the back, it's decent.Â
Went in today, got unceremoniously hoofed out of the garden - we don't allow bikes in here, they are a trip hazard. To compound matters, they have ditched the tables out front for some shit San Miguel deckchairs that no one will use. Spoke to a few other mtb'ers that were sat round the side of the pub on the two available tables overlooking the car park who had also been denied access to the beer garden.Â
The blue rinse brigade are their target audience, but a bit crap that given the location they don't now accommodate cyclists.Â
Name and shameÂ
That's very short sighted, you'd expect pubs these days would be trying to attract every customer possible.Â
Not biking related, but we got asked to leave out local 'Spoons a few months ago because of the dog. I know they don't allow them inside, fair enough, but we were on some tables in a wide alleyway down the side of the building, not even the main garden. And he wasn't bothering people who had bacon butties, which is genuinely surprising.Â
Sam Smith’s pubs.Â
All of them.
The Royal in Ross has a great position at the top of the town looking over the Wye. It had a major refurbishment a few years ago with the highlight being a big expansion to the outside area making the most of those views. We'd roll off the local hill, ride through the cheeky back gate straight into the garden.Â
Beer was pretty good, bikes were safe, fab place for a post ride pint on warm days. Then during Covid they closed the cheeky gate, so the only option was to wheel the bikes through reception (it's also a small hotel) and through the crowded bar to get outside. And they made it clear they really didn't want you to do that.
Their loss, there's two great pubs to sit outside in Ross, including a new one by the river. I mean I kind of get it for Covid when they had all those restrictions, but afterwards? Anyway not been there for nearly five years now, and can't see me going back.Â
Sam Smith’s pubs.Â
All of them.
Ha. It's been such a long time I've been in a Sam Smith place because of all their stupid rules, I'd forgotten about them.Â
For the fully bonkers story of Sam Smith's pubs, this is worth a read
I went to our local for the 1st time this year, and probably only the about the fifth alcoholic drink I've had this year. I had 3 pints of what, at the time, was quite a pleasant substance. I've now woken up to realise that the bastards have poisoned me with something highly toxic.🤢
Greene King pubs. Well not the pubs per se, but the gopping, godawful "beer" they have the cheek to serveÂ
Went on a weekend riding around Minehead about a year ago. Group of us stayed in an independent Hostel, all very nice.
As a group (9 of us) we popped into town for a pint and after a bit of a wander around went into the Queen's Head as they had a good selection from Exmoor Ales. Seemed relatively pleasant inside.
Every single pint tasted like someone had pissed in it (apart from the one person drinking lager, I guess his fizzy water tasted fine) Genuinely disgusting! About 5 of us tried to get out drinks changed and were refused, and at this point an insanely loud karaoke started up, it felt like some kind of pub purgatory 😆
We left pretty quick!
