Pub of the Month
Location: Abergavenny

Auberge

We began our crawl at the amiable Coach and Horses - a well-decorated pub with oak beams and velvet seating.

There's a poolroom to the right and a beer garden at the back. Worth a visit just to take a dump in the candlelite bogs outside.

Next up on the right is the Great George - a very popular pub with friendly bar-staff and a midnight license.

The birds were game too - unfortunately they were in the attached restaurant: quail, pheasant and grouse. Alternatively, for the women, you can try the world-famous Abergavenny sausages.

Down the side-street, on the left, is the impressive Hen and Chicken - an old-fashioned pub in three sections, the kind of place frequented by Jack The Ripper. The locals add to the authenticity - tweed-jacked lecturers contemplating existentialism, drinking real ale, and listening to some hippy reciting poetry.

Further along is the Grasshopper cocktail-bar. This was the liveliest place so far, with the in-house D.J. booming out the tunes. The place was packed to the rafters with so many stunning looking women that our eyes were literally on stalks.

Heading back up the main street is the Coliseum. We had visions of chariot racing and nervous Christians at the bar - but unfortunately it's a Weatherspoons in the form of a large white-beamed barn.

Our last two pubs are further along the high street. On the left is the Britannia - a typical Scottish local from the blue end of Glasgow.

On the right is our Pub of the Month, the Auberge pub/club/winebar. The first thing we noticed was the tiny bouncers - always a good sign for a trouble-free night.

Inside there's a modern but sociable feel - bright decor, subdued lighting and sofas spread haphazardly around.

We surveyed the extensive wine-list but couldn't find any Lambrusco so we stuck to the pints. We finished up in the large, flag-stoned beer garden with BBQ hut.

All in all - highly recommended.

Pub Score: 8.5 leeks out of 10
Crawl Score: 8 leeks out of 10