Nottingham is full of history and legend; and not only for Robin Hood but also legendary for its extensive range of pubs offering great selections of real ale. The Hunts CAMRA branch put this to the test on Saturday 5th May, and we're happy to report that this is no fable. Our group of real ale enthusiasts toured a good selection of pubs around Nottingham and as usual good memories were made. The following selection of photographs capture the day and hopefully the great mood.

Everyone thirsty from the train ride, had a long 5 minute wait outside the first pub on the tour whilst we waited from the midday bell to chime. Dead on midday the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem opened their doors and we all enjoyed our first ale of the day in the disputably oldest Inn in England, dating back to 1189AD. This beautiful ancient pub is built into stone caves with a charming, wonky interior, resident ghosts, plus food.

The second pub on the schedule was the Ye Olde Salutation Inn, but it wasn't quite ready to open up (luckily we make it back later). Therefore the tour took an impromptu stop at the Royal Children, where real ale was ready to be served and drunk.

The next stop on the tour was the Crafty Crow, with its wood-furnished tap house with bare bulbs, serving British craft beers, real ales and an eclectic menu. The crow illustrated beer glasses were a talking point in addition to the beer within, and the periodic table of beer found in the Gents certainly draw a few smiles.

Moving on into a part of Nottingham known as the Canning Circus, the Hand & Heart was the fourth pub of the tour. The so called real ale buffs' boozer, is a Victorian bar, with a cave at the back, and was a perfect venue for another ale.

Still in Canning Circus, the sun was blazing and The Sir John Borlase Warren had a fantastic beer terrace that was a real sun trap and an excellent spot to enjoy a beer. The great range of beer and excellent surroundings led to a flurry of photos in this pub which hopefully capture the great mood of everyone on the tour.

Swapping the schedule a little, Pub No. 6 on the tour was The Organ Grinder. This Red-brick pub with its wood-burning fire serves cask ales from the Blue Monkey Brewery. Also spouting a fab beer terrace, we ventured outside again to enjoyed the remaining sunshine.

Heading in for some shade, the next stop on the Tour of Nottingham pubs was The Falcon Inn, situated at the heart of Canning Circus. Boasting 8 hand-pulls on the bar, we had plenty to choose from in this cosy pub.

With the earlier schedule swap with The Organ Grinder, our visit to The Overdraught brought us back on track. With a host of craft beer and real ales on offer in this former Nottingham Bank, we settled in for another.

We're well into the tour, yet more pubs to visit. The cleverly named Room with a brew was out next stop. A cozy bar, with some opting to take the option of sitting at the bar to sample the ales.

Pub No. 10! A hidden gem of a place tucked away at the top of Hurts Yard. The Barrel Drop had a number of beers for us to try and a great display of old barrels to live up to its name; great talking points.

Following the cosy Barrel Drop, the very busting Bell Inn was our next stop. A late addition to the tour, this pub replaced the scheduled Vat and Fiddle for pub No. 11. Hopefully we'll make the Vat and Fiddle next time. Following a beer in The Bell Inn we found our selves back in the vicinity of the Ye Olde Salutation Inn, which was meant to be pub No. 2 on the tour. Not wanting to miss out, we headed in to this impressive historic building to have a beer and make it pub No. 12. Such a beautiful evening it still was, some decided to drink outside and enjoy some fresh air. Getting a little forgetful, or maybe a little merry, only 1 photo was taken in each of these pubs; I’m sure the photographer can be forgiven!?!

Lucky for us, pub No.13 and the penultimate of the tour was an impromptu stop at The Canal House. Not that we needed an additional stop, but this pub sounded so intriguing that the group agreed to stop by. And everyone was glad to; this impressive pub with access over the canal is a real gem. Just a word of warning, the All American Burger comes in a sweet Dounut... not to everyone’s liking! But the beer is good.

To finish this mamouth tour, our 14th stop was in the BeerHeadZ micropub located at Nottingham train station. With a good selection of beer for a small venue it was quite impressive, although very warm on this really sunny day. One in this micropub and it was ready to head back to Huntingdonshire. With a stop at Peterborough (not enough time for a cheeky half unfortunately) we got a last shot of some of the group.

A fantastic day was had by all, and I’m sure everyone would join in thanking our Social Secretary for the fabulous organisation. If you would like to join in on any of our future tours or events, please check out the Hunts Branch Diary and keep an eye out for the email notices to sign up.