A SEARCH FOR ABBOT IN ELY

April 2025. Ely.

Weekly trips down to Waterbeach to see Dad in his care home,

finding a cosy place to park up the campervan and give Tumble, Ginger Tom and Buzzy Bee a break from the monotony of Sheffield life.

Buzzy Bee had spent (we think) two decades hidden in the back of Mum’s cupboard till we cleared it out this Spring, and we can but hope they haven’t brought a touch of honey to the beer on Sunday night.

Ely is a great place to park up; a safe, quiet night and some solid cask to enjoy.

It’s a city that has grown rapidly these last two decades, adding a posh Gail’s bakery to the independent shops.

I fancied a pint of Abbot pre-Chinese takeaway,

but the Lamb had ditched the Greene King flagship in favour of Landlord, a sign of the times.

So I headed past the cathedral, now unencumbered by scaffolding,

and stopped only to note the imminent arrival of Ann of Cleves,

surely a woman with tales to tell.

As is Prince Albert, the most consistent of Ely’s GBG entries,

as those awards show.

A mixed crowd on Sunday night; lads and lasses and straggling diners.

Blokes standing at the bar finally part to let me survey the wickets (ugh); buut where’s my Abbot ?

Nowhere to be seen. I start with an IPA, it should be good here for a fiver,

but while immaculately presented (3.5) it’s as dull as ever. That, folks, is the difference between scoring the pub and the beer.

I’m enjoying the pub, and stay for an Old Brown Mouse from up the road (3.5).

but sitting outside the public bar means I’m on the edge of things, though I do enjoy the couple declaring “It was DIVINE” at the end of their meal.

And then, just as I’m contemplating my Chinese takeaway order from Fortune Garden at the foot of Cathedral hill, I spy the ancient Abbot pump, hidden behind the charity box. I’d love to tell you that was a 4, but it wasn’t.

Unlike the Crispy Beef and Singapore Rice.

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

15 thoughts on “A SEARCH FOR ABBOT IN ELY”

    1. …looking more closely at your photo, the Abbot is on the far left , exactly where it was when I was at the Albert three years ago, but a bar hog is making the pump clip difficult to see.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. This is fascinating. I have 3 shots, in the first the Abbot clip is completely obscured by a Glen Moray whisky box, in the second by a pile of what look like water glasses, and from my seat in the dining room by a charity box.

        I only persisted when I saw the Abbot listed on the beer board (£5.90 !). I really didn’t want a 3rd pint.

        Like

      1. The Leeds was on when we went last year, seems to be a regular. Since the Mild disappeared I tend to go for the keg Juice Rocket.
        (The Real) Mark

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I go through periods of drinking quite a bit of Leeds Pale, which is now brewed by Kirkstall Brewery. I saw it on the bar in the Kirkstall Brewery Tap after the Rhinos game last weekend, a first for me, but it was dull and uninteresting. I asked the bar manager if it was near the bottom of the barrel; he checked and said there was plenty left. Well, I said, it’s dull, unclear and lifeless. Would you like something else, he said. I’ll try the Kirkstall Pale instead, I said. It was the best pint of their Pale that I’ve had – all singing, all dancing, all soon gone, and I had time for a half of their West Coast IPA too. He didn’t turn the pump clip round on the slightly murky Leeds Pale, though.

        Liked by 2 people

      6. Perhaps it’s more to do with what sort of complaint it is. Mine was that I know how good the beer can be, and I know how well the beers are usually kept in the Tap, and this beer was just not up to scratch. It was a bank holiday weekend and perhaps they hoped to be able to sell most of the rest without complaint.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. The Abbot was drinking so well in the Prince Albert last autumn that that I shouldn’t have moved on, but that was months before Will said about having two pints in each pub.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Andy Holmes Cancel reply