Since being tasked with the noble duty of visiting and reviewing a pub in Nottingham city centre every week for journalistic purposes, I have often been met with responses of envy.
The idea of being able to spend 30 minutes or so on shift each week visiting a pub seems mad to some – and I get it.
When I first came to Nottingham in 2023 as a baby-faced journalism student, I could only have dreamt of having a lecture on pub reviews.
And in the moments when my brain is at full capacity thanks to a combination of confusing council papers and chasing contacts over the phone all day, I, too, yearn for the brief window where I get to play reviewer each week.
Yet, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, I do stress to family and friends that I am there purely for research and, having been tasked with the series at the end of last October, the pubs are usually quiet when I pop down for the reviews.
I usually find myself having a pint at around 3.30pm on a mid-week afternoon and, given the time of year, I’m often one of only four or five people in the entire boozer.
Yet, that has now completely changed thanks to the warmer weather.
The sun is out in full force again and, predictably, that also means the majority of the British public is out too.
Nottingham really punches above its weight when it comes to beer gardens and it’s for that reason that I’ve focused my efforts on some pubs thus far and saved others for summer.
Well, we’re now close enough, which means The Castle became the latest pit stop on my quest to try every pub within a 10-minute walk of Nottingham railway station.
And when it comes to beer gardens in idyllic settings, you can’t get much better than The Castle, one of a handful of brilliant pubs on Castle Road overlooking – you guessed it – Nottingham Castle.
I’d previously visited neighbouring pub Fothergills, which is run by the same company and under the same roof of the historic Grade-II listed Mortimer House building, one of legendary architect Watson Fothergill’s finest works.
It was absolutely packed outside The Castle on this Friday afternoon -Credit:The Nottingham Post
I was more than impressed with Fothergills – which even has the seal of approval from ex-Forest manager Sean Dyche – so I was keen to see how The Castle fared.
It’s a Friday afternoon when, joined by fellow Nottingham Post reporter Joel and Local Democracy Reporter Joe, I visit The Castle, and we find the pub absolutely packed.
No doubt thanks to that day’s brilliant weather, which we were eagerly awaiting with the office windows wide open.
The pub, which overlooks the Robin Hood statue and the hill towards the castle itself, always seems to quickly get rammed on sunny days like this.
Yet, it was unusually busy on this Friday afternoon, something we later discovered was due to the annual beer festival which was taking place at the castle – the actual one, not the pub.
Regardless, with a huge crowd of people sprawling past the beer garden and stood on the path, it created an atmosphere which felt unique to Nottingham and reminded me of London.
Inside – which is just as historic and scenic as the front – we find a main bar complete with your standard lagers, a few real ales, a few ciders and of course, Guinness.
That lineup wouldn’t be disappointing at all by itself, but imagine our surprise when, hidden further back behind the bar, we spot another with eight craft beers – a number of which were from local breweries.
A few were clear Nottingham staples which you’d find at other pubs, whilst some we’d never personally seen anywhere else.
Wanting to try a bit of everything – whilst also being sensible enough to remember the visit for this review – we go for two ‘paddles’.
It’s a wooden board holding three one-thirds of a pint of separate beers, and they are £7 each – a fair price when considering how much an individual pint is these days.
We went for two one-thirds of Crushing Blows, a 4.2 per cent hazy, juicy pale ale made only minutes down the road by local brewers Neon Raptor in Sneinton Market.
We also tried two one-thirds of the zesty 5.5 per cent Say What You See, also made locally in Derbyshire by Shiny Brewery.
Both went down a treat, with the Say What You See having a much sharper taste whilst Crushing Blows had the perfect level of sweetness for this sunny weather.
The pub, located in an iconic Grade-II listed building, looks just as good inside -Credit:Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post
Completing the paddles, we also chose a couple of one-thirds of the 4 per cent Hell Rat lager, which comes from a bit further afield at Ossett Brewery, in Yorkshire.
Not one of the beers disappointed, and by ordering the paddles, it meant we could try a hefty bit of the pub’s brilliant craft selection without spending a fortune.
We stood and had our drinks outside in the brilliant beer garden, which only seemed to get busier and busier despite the sun somewhat faltering further into the afternoon.
With the sun shining over the castle and the Robin Hood statue, it made for the perfect setting on an afternoon like this one – and not many pubs can boast a similar view.
In terms of food, there’s a solid menu of British pub favourites which appear to be somewhat zhuzhed up. That includes fish and chips, mushroom and lentil lasagne, steak and ale pie, and a spiced lamb shawarma.
When I visited neighbouring pub Fothergills, I wrote that it was ‘a cut above’ your average boozer, having a somewhat premium feel compared to the local.
The Castle had a similar feel and this is reflected in the price of food at both pubs, with most main dishes coming in between the £14 to £19 mark.
Both pubs also have beautiful and historic interiors which should not be overlooked – the building is Grade-II listed after all. But, let’s be honest, few boozers can boast a view as great as The Castle’s, making its beer garden truly special.
It’s not hard to see why its constantly chock-a-block and it won’t be long before I return again. If the weather keeps up, just be prepared to stand.
Previous visits on my quest to review every pub within 10 minutes of the railway station:
The Navigation Inn: This canalside pub’s beer garden is packed in the summer. But don’t overlook the inside as it’s just as good
The Cross Keys: Trends have come and gone, but this good-old-fashioned city boozer has kept its charm 100 years later.
Barley Twist: Blink and you’ll miss it, but wedged in-between Greggs and a chippy, I found one of the city’s greatest pubs.
The Shamrock Social: The city’s newest Irish pub had promised ‘creamy pours’ and ‘great craic’ for months. I think it’s fair to say it delivered.
Hopkinson: Perhaps this quirky pub a stone’s throw away from the station is the only place in the city you can have a pint next to Marilyn Monroe.
Winter Wonderland: I began to sympathise with the Grinch whilst drinking a flat pint out of a plastic cup, but I’ll obviously be back in December.
Fothergills: A beautiful building with a great range of choices, this isn’t one for a casual pint after work, but for special occasions.
O’Neill’s: Past the Guinness posters and lucky charm-green paint, the pub felt more like a Wetherspoon, rather than anywhere I’d visited in Dublin the week prior.
Fellows, Morton and Clayton: Located directly next to the huge Canalhouse pub, this boozer often gets overlooked but after my visit I wished I’d gone sooner.
Vat and Fiddle: This cosy pub is perfect for winter and makes you feel as though you’re sat in the countryside, rather than by the NET tramline.
Brew Tavern: Expecting to find busy commuters, I met friendly regulars at this intimate local boozer that happens to be on the corner of a railway station.
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