I know for a fact that there are people who read this blog purely for the pictures of cheese and onion rolls in old pubs. This is for them.
A trip underneath the A52 to Long Eaton, a town that thinks it’s in Notts but is clearly in Derbyshire, judging by the cobs in York Chambers (top).
Regular readers will no doubt recall last year’s trip to Sawley, which might as well be Long Eaton. There’s still a healthy string of trad pubs along the B4540, interspersed with the fun pubs that don’t look much fun.
You’ll notice that I called it a cob in Sawley, a bap here, and probably tomorrow it’ll be a roll. Take your pick with the English language. In Canada it’s probably a muffin.
The Tourist Office in “L’Eaton“, as the kids call it, has plenty of material to work with.
There’s not much of a budget for street art, so they just nick random letters off shop fronts and see what happens.
A sturdy town, a bit like Hinckley before the glamour set in, with all the cheap shops you could ever want (and a Spoons).
York Chambers is yet another new entry in a changing pub scene, and a splendid pubby conversion of a long-standing café.
It still has the feel of a genteel café, aided by the Rennie Mackintosh stylings at the front.
“Lager isn’t sold here” it screams, but oddly Prosecco is. Discuss.
So with no Bud Light, I made do with an Ashover Font, which was just what you’d expect a micro in Derbyshire to sell, and as you’d expect it was superb (NBSS 3.5+).. Almost as good as the cob.
Only two things of note happened, though that’s two more than in some micros.
A chap came in and ordered a LARGE glass of Chardonnay. At 1pm. Only Mrs RM is allowed a large glass of wine at lunchtime.
And then the delivery van from Black Iris Brewery came looking for one of their barrels, eventually finding it in the cellar with the aid of the cheery owner.
OK, it’s not Fight Nite at Maidenhead Conservative Club.
On the long walk back to the station I was nearly run over, twice, by the fastest mobility scooters in the east Midlands.
Feeling shaken, I thought about taking refuge in “The Bass House“. It’s a con, folk. It doesn’t sell Bass.
retiredmartin 
Looks tremendous and some top pubs that way…it’s definitely a cheese cob…Bert the bloke who owns chequred flag in donington owns York chambers…looks worth a visit
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I meant to mention the connection. Worth a trip, though I imagine you’d find Pedi in more basic surroundings just as appealing. Did you blog.on Sawley recently ?
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A while ago at a very er unusual canslside boozer the steamboat!
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Had to laugh at this one: “Only two things of note happened, though that’s two more than in some micros.” I feel like you were tempted to use the word “most” rather than “some.” 😉
A place calling itself “the Bass House” and then not having Bass?! You’re being kind to say it’s a con– imprisonment’s too good for them, I say. 😉
This may be sacrilege, but I’ve got to say these photos of baps/cobs/rolls (whether by you or The Wench on Twitter) don’t have me imagining them as scrumptious delights. Are they better than they look?
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“Are they better than they look?”
Speaking as one born of English parents (but not born there myself) it might be a cultural thing. My brother lives in northern France; been there over 25 years now. We do the Skype thingy once a week, and every so often – usually in the summer – we mention how we’ve had a hankering for a cheese and onion roll and how bloody great it was. But for some reason we don’t make it a habit. No idea why not.
Cheers
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You need to use more imagination when considering the delights of rolls, Mark 😉
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I have to say I’ve seen more appetising-looking cheese cobs – that one isn’t really sufficiently crusty. Be very careful when discussing baps with The Wench 😮
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Crustier the better.
It’s a rare treat for me. As you note, ask for a cheese roll most places and you pay £5 for a plate of salad and crisps.
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Sorry, but ‘no lager…no likey’!
I might be in the wrong place for this…but…a pub that doesn’t serve lager won’t last long…however nice it is! (and it does look nice) Sure, it will survive for a while, but once the real ale brigade move on to newer pastures there’ll be no lager drinkers to keep the money rolling in. (I don’t think that the Prosecco drinkers will take up the slack, either!)
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Yes, it does seem to be deterring a large chunk of your potential clientele, especially considering that most groups of drinkers include people with a variety of tastes. It also has a whiff of snobbery, like foodie pubs proclaiming “we don’t serve chips”.
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Some people want pubs that only attract people like them. I want a pub with a bit of everything.
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“In Canada it’s probably a muffin.”
Nope. We save that for Egg (Mc)Muffins or regular English muffins with or without jam. 🙂
Depending on size we’d call that a Kaiser (bun).
“Hope there’s no-one in town called Zoe”
Heh 🙂
“No Bass”
Agree that’s an awful con job. Although, looking at the signage on the right, maybe they mean bass as in its music definition.
Cheers
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Micro looks cosier than some you have posted about recently. I echo previous comments – Why no Lager? Okay, I’l be a little snobbish and say I agree with the tactic of many places who do not sell mainstream pilsner variants (Fosters etc) and up the price to keep the doylems out. But No Lager? I don’t think so. It’s probably in the Micropub preservation society rules though?
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It’s the rules. Rules are for Fools, say I. Serving loads of identical pale ales but no lager is just weird. It’s not as if the drunks are going to go to your silly hobby pub rather than the Spoons anyway, is it ?
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But you can easily sell something like Kozel as an alternative to Carling and Fosters.
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Tennents gets rave reviews from the bloggerati these days !
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Exactly – there are lots of very nice pilsner beers from across Europe. All they need to do is ask Pivovar, but I suspect many of these ‘hobby pubs’, as Martin nicely terms it, won’t pay Pivovar prices. I’ve lost count of the number of brewers who tell me these sort of places are sourcing their beers on price alone.
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If you’re still meandering along the Notts/Derbys border – Bass available at the Red Lion, Kegworth.
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Thanks Steve. 20 years since I had Bass at the Red Lion, a terrific pub. The Cap & Stocking (still) serves Bass from the jug, apparently !
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In the ‘Rush Hour Crush’ section of the Metro the ‘Long Eaton Glamour Puss’ is infamous and has had many anonymous suitors. Maybe she’s Zoe? Not that I would wish to tarnish her reputation. Also, isn’t a meatless apple just an apple?
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That would be an ecumenical matter.
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er… “Meat Apples”?? “Meatless Apples”???
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Derby humour.
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Are you sure you haven’t found the local brothel having a January sale?
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Not like you to bring the tone down, I normally rely on Russ to do that.
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I am a bit late on this one due to a six week stay in the QMC nearly half of which was on the high dependensy unit.
I work in Long Eaton and i think it is a shit hole with a very poor choice of decent pubs,Long Eaton lost its Wetherspoons well over a year ago,it is still open and looks the same but run by Hawthorne.
I have nearly completed dry January through no choice of my own,as i have not had anything to eat or drink since the 11th December 2017,just tube fed at the moment.
I am now unable to speak ever again but feel lucky as the op saved my life,there is still a long way to go,but i will go with the flow and take whatever they chuck at me.
I doubt i will be doing any pub crawls until later this year.
I am enjoying catching up with your blog Martin.
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Great to hear from you Alan. Hope the NHS is taking good care of you. Sounds like you’re going through the ringer at the moment and our thoughts are with you.
Rather thought you’d have that view on Long Eaton, certainly not a classic town but I’ve had good beer that.
All the best Alan.
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Very sorry to hear that, Alan, although after your reports a couple of months ago we didn’t really know what to think. Let’s hope you will be able to get out and about again later in the year. It really puts into perspective whatever medical issues the rest of us are having to deal with.
I have a friend who moved to Long Eaton from London in 2016 due to her job being relocated. She’s not really a pubgoer, and I suspect rarely ventures into the town centre, but she thinks it’s quite nice and a lot less crime-ridden than where she used to live.
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