December 2023. Coalville.
Well, who’d have thought it. A new GBG pub in Coalville. Sadly, it comes in the same year that the landlord of the Stamford and Warrington, sulphurous Pedi and all, leaves us for good.
The Rock Bar ? I was convinced this was the bikers pub that graced the Guide to Britain’s Roughest Pubs a decade ago, but no, this is a different sort of rock.
The rocky outcrops of Leicestershire’s National Forest that mined the black gold named after the town.
And here’s the actual rock (extract from).
It’s a bit like that giraffe 🦒 themed Bar near Kimberley, family cafe by day and bar from mid-afternoon.
All tables (mostly pews) taken at noon, so I didn’t want to hog that table for four.
But it took three of us to work out how I paid for the Bang the Elephant Stout and at the end of the transaction, concluded at the bar containing the chorizo sausage rolls, I felt we’d really bonded as a team.
Quite how I resisted the crafty keg help yourself wall is beyond me.
You buy a £10 token and then choose your preferred servings of mango daiquiri cider and the like, and find you’ve got 20p left 10 minutes later.
Blackpool Jane would love it. I thought the cask range was more impressive and the vanilla stout ends the Leicestershire chapter of GBG24 with a 4.5. Honestly.
A wonderful addition to the Guide, and to top it all off, head to the immaculate Gents.
retiredmartin 
Is that really self service for Humphrey’s Extra Stout and cider ?
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Yes it really is self service. Don’t ask me about licensing issues. We saw a similar machine dispensing interesting wine in Glossop a few years back. The £10 lasted 7 minutes.
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Just like BT Hotspot then
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So the machine dispenses a half pint for your money even though it looks like free flow rather than metered ?
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Fairly sure it’s metered dispense, Paul, though I didn’t use it myself (or see anyone else use it), just my experience from Glossop.
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Jamaican tonic wine in Glossop ?
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The ‘Rock’ is a beautiful piece of stone. Cant quite read the plaque above it to see what it says.
Self service seems an odd thing to do in the hospitality business where the interaction with the bar staff can be one of the highlights. I don’t even like those type of pubs where there are 50 keg lines poking out of the wall and the server has to turn their back on you.
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It says:
“The team at the Rock would like to thank Bardon Hill Quarry Aggregate Industries for the kind donation of this rock”
I do have some uses.
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I’ll be the judge of that.
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That was me btw but not the others
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“The others” was a great film.
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When I had dealings in that part of the world Cliffe Hill Quarry was the largest quarry in Europe. Operated by Tarmac group. There was also the locally owned Bardon Hill quarry. Also a few NCB pits as well I think. Maybe Markfield. Shop in Coalville used to do great home made wholemeal cobs
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Do you wear a big coat this time of year?
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Very big.
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Have you abandoned the smouldering jacket or whatever you call it then?
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