The Horse and Groom, Holbeach

I spend a lot of time in the Fenland and have to admit that decent pubs are pretty thin on the ground. However this is a pleasing exception and, by a distance, the best pub in Holbeach. The beer range isn't very dramatic (most recently Greene King IPA Gold, Old Speckled Hen and Adnams Southwold Bitter) but the quality is good. The place is bustling, spic and span and with friendly bar-staff. The bar morphs from a kind of lounge through the bar area to a pool-room area, and the citizens of Holbeach (across the age ranges) seem to like it.

7 Apr 2013 21:21

Admiral Wells, Peterborough

Strangely no reviews (other than RedRosterRocker) since the horror story from Angel153 - I have used this pub rarely but over 20 years and tend to believe that the events of July 2009 are now far enough in the past to have been a serious lapse but one from which the pub has moved on. For myself, I tend to look in after work in the Holme or Ramsey St Mary's area and find the beer quality exemplary, if showing a rather limited variety of styles. Big TV screens but helpful bar staff, actually quite friendly locals and a menu that looks pretty unadventurous but also not at all expensive. My overall judgement would be that the Admiral Wells is a good enough pub to have served its sentence after Angel153's horrible evening of July 2009 and deserves a second chance. Certainly if you're visiting the Great Fen, give it a try.

7 Apr 2013 21:08

The Flying Pig, Cambridge

I think (and hope) the future of this pub is secure. Certainly all my recent visits (admittedly always in the couple of hours after the end of work) have found it bustling with a young to middle-aged clientèle. It may come across as somewhat contrived - rather dark and lit mainly be candles on the tables - but actually it seems to work. People talking away, sampling a range of 5-6 beers including some slightly uncommon beers drawn mainly from local brewers. It does stand out as an isolated older building amongst new development but that is part of the charm. This pub is maybe not quite of the standard of the cluster of establishments near Mill Road (Live & Let Live, Cambridge Blue, Kingston Arms, Devonshire Arms & increasingly the Alexandra) but this is a well above-average pub and a good option for a before or after-show beer at the Junction (just across the bridge to the south)

7 Apr 2013 20:45