Uncle Nedley's

Cambridge Pub Roll

The love wheelchair users have for the English pub is a complicated affair, frequently unrequited. Pubs, particularly in rural areas, are often in old buildings never designed, or modified, for wheelchair access. While impossibly handsome from the outside, just getting in the door may prove a formidable task. This is a short guide to Cambridge pubs from the point of view of a middle-aged, strong and moderately agile male paraplegic. A two inch rise is usually not a barrier, but a four inch step is out of the question without help or a handy rail or pulling point. These are all places entered without help, and the town has many more that would be quite possible with a hoist or push from someone else.

"Every punter likes his pint" I always say, or at least will always say from now on. This sceptred isle has acheived fame for many things, but one which excites both fame and sometimes puzzlement is that which Thomas Pynchon terms "the dense warm, unaerated product known on this island as beer." You either like the local article or don't, and there is not much middle ground, although there is room to move in the latter category.

Beer enthusiasts know as soon as they can manage more than a gulp or two of fermented barley beverage (FBB from here on) that there are basically only two types of beer in the world, and they erect their boundary fence of separation over the action of two different types of yeast. Once again, as in so many other human endeavors, it is the things that happen at a unicellular level that matter.

For the hopeless Germanic and Bohemian types, there are bottom fermenting yeasts, who like their winters cold to work their magic. With good hops they make the famous lagers of the world, often known as "pilsners" from the town of Pils, now in the Czech republic, that produced one of their early varieties. They come in a range of offerings, from the dark, roasted malt, Munchener types to sharp, clear, hoppy northern German styles. Inevitably distinguished by their clarity and smoothness, they have become the beer that has conquered the world. Until recently, with the US microbrewery revolution in the last twenty years, it was hard to get anything but a pilsner style beer, also known as a "lager" for one element of its conditioning, in the US.

The second type uses top fermenting yeasts, and these are usually called ales, although there are plenty of "beers" of this type around the world that don't have "ale" anywhere in their title. Britain remains partisan ale country, for top fermenting yeasts work their best at warmer temperatures and don't need a nasty, brutish winter of cooling to come out well. Maybe they will inherit our new globally warmed planet.

The varieties of English ale are staggering, with sometimes unfortunate names, at least for auslanders. You have your bitters, your mild bitters, your golden ales, your old ales, your brown ales (at least a descriptive title), India pale ales, porters and stouts. Clarity is usually never one of their virtues and some ignorant peasant types have been known to sqint at their beer glasses in a freshly poured pint and mutter something about "pond scum" when introducing themselves to a proper English ale for the first time. Like moving to a new neighborhood, you need to give the old timers an interval of adjustment, and then they seem like old friends, or at least most of them. Some will stare you off until you give up and go away, or buy a farmhouse nearby and change nationality.

A word about my entirely subjective ratings: just like your high school English class compositions, the pubs get graded on both style and content. Content, naturally, is their main reason for being, their beer, which even in mediocre establishments tends to be better than in the US. Contrary to folk legend (and Mr. Pynchon's pithy quote above) the draft beer is not served "warm" but neither is it cold. Think cellar temperature. The tap handle pulled all the way down is the sign for the best beer - straight up is not so great. I mention the food when I have sampled it, which is not often.

Lousy Beer OK Beer Excellent Beer!

Second grade is accessibilty, and I have tried to indicate ease of entrance with the pitch I have had to thow my wheelchair into to get in (or in some cases out of) a pub. Many of the pubs have beer gardens that are quite easy to roll into, but if there is at least one obstacle to getting to the bar, I will mark them down for access. In most cases I don't know whether the toilets are accessible. Sometimes there is a lip AND a tough door to manuever, which obviously increases the level of difficulty. Anything more than one step may require some help, unless you are more athletic than I, who have never been able to handle two steps up solo.

Easy Entrance One Step In Tough Entry

The complicated British set of relationships that govern pub ownership, production of beer brands, and how that affects what is served, is a concept that I have found entirely elusive. I know that certain brands (Greene King in particular) are apt to dominate, and their presence is very apparent in Cambridge. Greene King is not everyone's favorite, particularly among small brewery enthusiasts who rightly or wrongly feel that the big guys are squeezing out smaller, regional players (they have bought out some smaller brands with not always splendid results) but they still are brewing ale rather than lager. I find their main brews unimpressive, and prefer their Abbot Ale over their other products.

Those whose entry into a pub is uncompromised by any mobility impairment will find the much more extensive Cambridge Pub Guide a great boon. Lucky you, there are many more choices available.

*Smoking in public areas went away completely in July 2007, which changed pub environments considerably. Some of these pubs may take several generations to clear their smoking heritage from memory or sense-perception however, if this is one of your concerns.

Address all enquiries to:

Roland Nedley H. Wortswallow Fielden III
A5 Fawcett Court
6 Charles Babbage Rd.
Cambridge, CAMS
CB3 0FZ

City Center
The Pickerel	30 Magdalene St Cambridge CB3 0AF (01223) 355068
Self-identified as the oldest pub in Cambridge and judging by the condition of the building that claim is certainly plausible. One of those duck-your-head-to-get-in pubs with low ceilings, sagging floors and massive warped beams holding everything up. Busy, noisy, smoky (one non-smoking area which is almost useless, and off limits to wheelchairs, like all but the front room and the back garden.) The large, stuffed, slightly bogus looking pickerel over the mantle piece is perhaps symptomatic of the pubs' irreverential stance towards life.Brews are unusual, besides the usual line-up of Euro-lagers there is Old Peculiar, which happens to be dark and singularly aptly named, and Nelson's Revenge. Hand pumps a nice touch. This one is a step down to get in, which perhaps means you ought not to overindulge before leaving. (Most other pubs with steps are down to the street, so you can always hurl yourself out, aided by gravity, in any condition of inebriation. This one requires you retain some degree of strength and dexterity to leave.

The Slug and Lettuce	34-35 Green Street Cambridge CB2 3JU (01223) 306051
This is a chain with an emphasis on food and is a great spot for eating lunch when downtown. A disappointing standard fare of beers; they serve no real ales at all. The are one of the few "roll right in" places in town, with some quiet areas in the back. Fairly trendy in the evening.

The Mitre	17 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UF (01223) 358403
18th century building, fairly roomy inside, with dark wood, extensive menu. A Greene King affair, with usual european lagers also on tap. Busy at times, especially on days when everyone goes to the river just down the street. Lots of students, tourists, and just about everyone at one time or another.

The Eagle	8 Benet St Cambridge CB2 3QN (01223) 505020
According to local legend, this is where Watson and Crick used to retire to talk shop after a long day in the science labs of the university, then located just 50 yards away down Free School's Lane. It is right in the center of town, a frisbee throw from Kings College. The oldest building in town, an old Anglo-Saxon church named St. Bene't is across the street. One relatively easy step up from the street, it is a busy place, with room after room, an outdoor seating area, and multi-levels. Food portions are gigantic and reasonably priced, so it makes a fine eating and drinking pub if you are smack in the city center and require sustenance.

Champion of the Thames	68 King St Cambridge CB1 1LN (01223) 352043
Small, usually packed affair, with dark, smoke stained wood that has been there forever. Greene King, but hand pumps. Extraordinary mix of folks from university profs to students and local workers, a friendly neighborhood feel to it, even as it is a five minute trot from the town center.

The Anchor	Silver St Cambridge CB3 9EL (01223) 353554
Fantastic location right by the river, where you can look out over the greens of upriver and the mill ponds of years past. A multi level arangement, not so great for wheelchairs. You can get in easily enough, but you will need someone to get to the tap or order some food for you, since there is only one and a half rooms you can actually roll into.
It also has some fame as a haunt of "Syd" Barret, a townsman who developed a reputation in the late 60's rock band Pink Floyd. Uninspiring food and adequate beer, the Anchor's location is its greatest asset.
The Granta	Newnham Rd Cambridge CB3 9EY (01223) 367382
The Granta is a Greene King pub right off the river, with outdoor tables overlooking a punt rental business. It is endless amusement to watch cocky young bucks stop by to squire their dates up the river on a punt, their confidence vanishing as their first pole push almost plummets them into the water. Punting is harder than it looks. The beer garden (the front one, not the ones out back) is an easy roll in, but the tap, and food (in fact everything else) is up a flight of stairs. Nice spot on a sunny day, but impossible on a lousy one.

The Fountain Inn	12 Regent St Cambridge CB2 1DB (01223) 366540
Busy place right on Regent Street, nice mix of customers. One short step in and the whole place is fairly navigable, including the back rooms which are a little quieter. Normal mix of beers.

The Castle	37 St. Andrews St Cambridge CB2 3AU (01223) 506200
Upscale pub on Regent St. not far from the bus station. Never apparently very busy (never seen it overflowing) this is a Greene King pub with standard european lagers as well (Staropromen, Kronenburg, Stella Artois, Fosters). Got a small lip on the entrance, otherwise in the top five of easy-to-get-into pubs in the city.

The Avery	69-73 Regent Street Cambridge CB2 1AB (01223) 323405
A large, two level affair (cannot tell you about upstairs but you probably have a good view over the nearby green, Parker's Pieces.) Another Greene King pub, with acceptable alternatives. This one seems to cater to more cocktails and non-beery alternatives. TVs abound, with lots of sports on. Wheelchair users must use the Regent St. entrance, which is buried on a little turn out from the main road and easy to miss. The entrance off of Parker's Piece is inviting but the two steps up make it unusable.

The Regent King	91 Regent Street Cambridge CB2 1AW (01223) 505030
Another Greene King pub, with the main entrance on Regent Street but a garden out back (much nicer on a warm day) with a view out on the green. Old style, peaceable, smoky. No way in on the Regent street side, and the back way to the taps involves a pretty hefty haul up a tall step (I remember grabbing onto something to help pull myself up.) Best if you have a friend to give a boost or alternatively sit outside and send them in for provisions.

City South
Live and Let Live	40 Mawson Rd Cambridge CB1 2EA (01223) 460261
This one is a gem of a local neighborhood pub. Rough around the edges, nothing fancy inside except a fabulous selection of mostly local beers. I saw Everards Tiger, Daffy's Elixir, as well as others at last visit. Traditional alternatives are kept to a minimum (Guiness and Stella if memory serves.) Friendly staff and locals, friday nights get busy quickly. Shared a table with a couple who sidled over when they heard an American accent. He taught music at Columbia in New York for 15 years. Nice flavor all around. Off Mill St, home to halal stores and all manner of ethnic foodstores and restaurants, including the Golden Curry Indian restaurant, probably the best, relatively easy to get into Indian restaurant in Cambridge (one step.)

City North
The Castle Inn	38 Castle St Cambridge CB3 0AJ (01223) 353194
A good one. Superb beer, from the Adnams brewery in Southwold on the East Anglian coast. The regular Bitter packs a punch, while the Explorer is astringent and probably good in hot weather. Their Broadside however, is really special and worth a try. If I were partial to the "prismatic luminescence" school of wine description as applied to beer, I would go on about its dark, coppery colour, its honey, apricot tones and pleasant after-taste, but I am not and I won't. If I were to take up rum-running as a hobby or occupation, I would figure out a way to smuggle it into the US.
The place has got a dozen different small rooms, really a labyrinth, most of them difficult if not impossible in a chair. One step up from the street and a tricky door to manuever but quite possible solo. Cheerful staff and at least one room that is no-smoking. Nice mix of folks, some university, some locals, all friendly.
The Carlton	Carlton Way Cambridge CB4 2DG (01223) 335717
This is a wonderful neighborhood pub, a bit off the beaten path in Chesterton, devoted to real good ale. They pick from a range of brews so choices are often different, but always, always good. Recently they had a remarkable and unusual ale from Cornwall, Sharp's Eden Ale. The front entrances are all up a few steps but off to the left there is a one step, fairly tricky hop. The outside beer garden is the place to be in good weather, and they are happy to deliver your request out there. Knowlegable, hardworking family & staff, a habitat for a wide range of regulars. Kid friendly, especially outside. Worth a detour.

		© Wortswallow Productions, 2007 fielden@sfsu.edu

Uncle Nedley's

Cambridge Pub Roll

City Center

City South

City North