July 2026. Chesterfield.
An aimless afternoon in Chesterfield, and there’s nothing wrong with aimless. Those two pints in the Rutland Arms and Royal Oak saw a town in rude health, and once it gets that museum open this year it’ll warrant a revisit.
The pubs around the market looked particularly lovely with their hanging baskets;
it’s a shame the Sun ditched the cask, it’s a stunner.
The Chesterfield Ale House isn’t a stunner, and that big step up from the seating area to the bar always catches me out.
But it has had superb beer on two previous visits,
though this time I decide to actually try some of this new-fangled low ABV stuff, rather than just alerting Blackpool Jane to it.
One of the best can selections anywhere, and the Attic Lucid* is (genuinely) as good a UK n/a option as I’ve had, though Mrs RM would have seen through it.
On previous visits I’ve noticed the intelligent, dry conversation, and this remains a less boisterous place than the Royal Oak or the Waikiki Beach bar, though you do get “Roxanne” and “Too Much Too Young“.
And that was it for the afternoon, a pretty pathetic effort when even the tourist pub crawl takes in eight (8) of them.
What’s the “Good PUB Guide“, by the by ?
Nope, that spire is definitely wonky, you know.
At the station, I suucumb to the sensational Cawa Bakery almond croissant with chocolate. You should, too.
retiredmartin 
Straight after declaring (quietly to myself), “That’s it, we’re having our next family holiday in Newcastle”, my head’s been turned.
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Local museums and interesting churches are a hard sell (fod knows, I’ve tried), as are real ale pubs surprisingly, but almond croissants are like catnip.
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The thing about pubs is, there’s always something happening. Or about to happen. Even in that posh foodie pub in Keyston off the A14 with BRAPA.
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