retiredmartin

The pubs of Belvoir are always a delight after a walk noseying around Leicestershire’s  posh villages with funny names.  Croxton Kerrial (translation – twitchy windows) wasn’t that far from Melton Mowbray, but I wished for the safety of that metropolis while being sized up by the populace.

I think they thought I was a geese rustler.

Goodness they made a racket, I prefer scary cows. There’s a huge factory in the village where Mr & Mrs Goose are no doubt domesticated as urban pets, and that trade gives its name to a wonderful reborn pub.

Never judge a pub by its exterior.  What looks from the outside like a typical smartish gastropub turns out to be a little bit of Ancoats/Peckham/Newcastle Quayside craft, transported to the Belvoir.  Rather daringly, WhatPub suggests the sort of opening times only seen in Spoons, but sadly only coffee till 11.

I’m deficient in the social niceties, and while the chatty young landlord talked about the pub I may have been distracted by his back shelf, of which he was rightly proud.  The last pub in the area with this level of commitment to cask was the Marquis of Granby, which is quite a precedent to follow.

Evil keg

It wasn’t so much the beer range itself, as the enthusiasm of to promote good beer and local food, which isn’t always something you see.  Being a Leicester City fan has clearly helped them in the cheerful stakes.

I may bring Mrs RM back here in our campervan soon so she can work through the Beavertown cans, and probably whatever is in the bottle labelled Vardy.  For now the half of Oldershaw (NBSS 3.5) was good enough to confirm quality is keeping up with quantity.

A few miles away in Waltham on the Wolds, the Horseshoes had a rather more traditional coaching inn décor, to attract the gentlefolk. A trad beer range of Sharp’s, St Austell,Castle Rock and Morland suggest the pub knows it’s market.  I much enjoyed the naff pop they put on for my benefit.

Another very cheery place, although a bit quiet pre-lunch.  The only thing I can say against the Harvest Pale (NBSS 3.5) is that it was served in a D… B.. glass. It was the best Castle Rock I’ve had in months, proving again the pub, not the brewery, delivers the quality.

If you come here, the highpoint of the village is the tiny deli, the best place to get artery-clogging slabs of Long Clawson stilton, in the best smelling shop in the county.