The Canton Mile

So, there's this pub crawl called the Canton Mile. It's close by us. We had to do it. So, one wet August afternoon, off we set. This is our record of that afternoon.

RULES

1. one drink in each pub

2. half pints only

3. stick to bitter (it's mid-strength) or soda water

4. enjoy ourselves

http://www.cardiffpubs.co.uk/Region.php?Region=Canton

PUB 1

Ty-Pwll Coch

Nice pub. A Worthy pub (we think - brewery) Black painted floor. There was part of a wedding party in the beer garden, and the kids were playing pool. The staff would join the regulars at the bar for a drink. There was a tortoiseshell cat sitting in a window upstairs from the pub watching the street in the rain.

PUB 2

The Victoria Park

Brains pub. Busy (we discovered that we had done this on Day 1 of the Football Championship, and the Bluebirds were playing at home. Ninian Park is in Canton), with only 1 staff member behind the bar. Crowd was pretty eclectic.

PUB 3

The Clive

Belhaven Best. Aussie-style beer garden (would be great on a nice day). Absolutely huge pub. Order got stuffed up.

PUB 4

The Maltings

Worthington. Everyone was drinking lager, and the bitter was stale. Very hot, and a really bad vibe. 80's wine bar gone bad. Couldn't wait to get out.

PUB 5

The Insole

Brains pub. Packed with football folks. Older looking pub, and looks as though it would be really comfy to go to on a non-football afternoon.

PUB 6

The Corporation

John Smiths. Really young floor staff, and they were really quick to tidy up after the crowds left to go to Ninian Park. The TV was really loud, but the crowd were good and cheerful.

PUB 7

The Canton

Brains. Freshly painted, and the watercolours on the walls seemed to be originals rather than prints. Very nice touch. Directly over the road from The Corporation – how convenient!

PUB 8

The Old Butcher's Arms

Brains. We sat in the lounge bar with the older customers, and watched one of the barmaids ringing through bets for customers, along with the Men's gymnastics at the Olympics. On our way out we discovered a side area with leather lounges, and which looked new and a bit clubby. Must give that a try some time....

PUB 9

The Goscombe

Wye Valley Bitter. We saw a kid in the rain (it was cold) with an ice-cream. Dammit – it's summer after all! There were huge double front doors, and it all looked fairly new. Matt reckons the beer is a good session beer.

PUB 10

The Canton Cross

Didn't write down what we drank. Odd mix of patrons, and the staff wore pink shirts. Not unpleasant, but Kathy reckons 'meh'.

PUB 11

The Ivor Davies

Not to be confused with the Australian musician, Iva Davies! A Weatherspoons pub, and we drank Bishop's Finger. Lots of different beers on tap. Has a beer garden which would be a sun trap. Were here as the football crowd came in after Cardiff won 2-1.

PUB 12

The Admiral Napier

Brains. Full of football supporters, and the vibe was edgy – eeep! Give it another go on a non-match day. Not much else to say about this one, but another one we couldn't get out of quick enough!

PUB 13

The Forresters

Unlucky 13, all we can think of about this Brains pub is eeeeep! Get us out of here! Again, because of the football crowd.

PUB 14

Robin's Bar

[we didn't get a photo of this one]

Brains. Matt had heard bad things about this pub, but it was OK, and the crowd were pretty good and fun. And there was something about pissing off the Severn Bridge....?

After all that, we stopped – we'd had a good day, so don't spoil it was our maxim. We gave the Kings Castle a wide berth, as we'd been there before and didn't like it, and there's apparently another one or 2 we missed as well.

Highly recommended!