Loughborough & North Leicestershire CAMRA

Christmas Trip to Ashby & Melbourne

On a cold day, 2nd December 2023, the Loughborough CAMRA Christmas trip should have been to Stone, Staffordshire, however for second year running the trip was postponed due to railway strikes. Our Plan B option was a trip to Ashby de la Zouch and Melbourne (Derbyshire). Eight members set off from Loughborough on the 129 Diamond bus (Midland Classic) to Ashby. On arrival there was a large Christmas market in the town centre and it was very busy.

We wondered if we made the right choice however we needn't have worried as we started with a breakfast in The Shoulder of Mutton a Wetherspoons pub with multiple drinking areas before visiting the Tap at number 76 at the other end of the town centre. The pub is one of the oldest buildings in Ashby and was a medieval farm house, in recent years it was a café before becoming a micropub for the Tollgate Brewery with an excellent selection of beers. Some members even managed to survey The Plough before we got the number 9 Airport Diamond bus to Melbourne.

The town centre was quiet compared to Ashby and we started our visit in the Bank of Beers micropub (formerly The Chip and Pin which was Derbyshire’s first micro pub converted from a Bank).

The pub has been refurbished and is now more spacious and under new ownership of Leatherbritches. 4 real ales were on offer; 2 from Leatherbritches and 2 guest beers. Craft Beers and ciders were also available.

Next was a short walk to the Spirit Vaults opposite to Melbourne Hall and St Michael and St Mary’s Church entrance. The church is a grade one listed building and dates back to 1133 and is one of the finest Norman churches. Just a short walk from here you can visit the picturesque lake.

The Spirit Vaults is a smartly decorated, 2 room Microbrewery, located in the pub now run by Morgan Brewmaster Brewery (set up by owners of the former Shardlow Brewery). Three real ales were on offer from Morgan Brewmaster ;Vaults Gold 4.2%; Vaults Dark, a rich roasted malty ale and Reverend, an amber ale. Three guest beers were also available. There is a separate restaurant at the pub and rooms available.

The next pub on our list was Harper’s in the centre of Melbourne. Unfortunately we hit the pub at the wrong time on a late Saturday afternoon which was very busy. They sell beers from the Little Brewing Company (which is a Microbrewery at The Boot pub, Repton, Derbyshire). We have an excuse for a return visit to sample the beers here.

We then visited The White Swan, one of the oldest pubs in Melbourne, dating back to 1684. The pub has a small lounge on the right and larger bar area  on the left. The beers on offer were draught Bass and Timothy Taylor Landlord which were both excellent.

It was then time for the number 9 Diamond bus for the short journey  to the East Midlands Airport where we changed for the Skylink bus (towards Leicester) for the short journey to Kegworth. We visited the Red Lion, a multiroomed pub and, as always, there was a nice choice of real ales, 4 regular and 4 guest beers. After an hour there it was time for our return journey to Loughborough on the Skylink bus.

Dave Roche

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