Volunteers Arms, Musselburgh

Three of us visited this pub last Sunday night after travelling up from Manchester and spending a day at the races. A taxi driver told us that nobody ever called it The Volunteer Arms - it was always known as Staggs Bar. It was in a quiet part of town which suited us as the High Street had quite a few drunks staggering about following the races. My mates were on the Magners, but I was spoilt for choice with 5 real ales to choose from. I tried the Thornbridge Kipling and the Fyne Ales Avalanche. Both were in superb condition. We sat in the back room which was fairly quiet. The main room busied up as the evening went on, but the atmosphere was lively rather than rowdy. There seemed to be a good mix of people in, all enjoying a good drink. The Landlord helped carry the drinks through to the back room which was a nice touch. The main door was locked around 9.30pm - I presume to keep undesirables out- but there was a steady flow of customers coming and going through the side door until closing time. All in all a top boozer and highly recommended to any real ale fan visiting Musselburgh.

29 Sep 2011 23:41