Pub of the Month
Location: Talybont on Usk

Click here for larger image of The Star Inn

This month we avoided the hustle and bustle of town and city life. Instead, we got drunk in the village of Talybont on Usk.

First up is The Usk Hotel - one of the four pubs in Talybont. Very posh indeed - almost like a country mansion, with a large Champagne garden at the rear.

However, they do have Brains S.A for the more common folk, like us. Oh, and the staff were posh but dead friendly, fair play.

Next up is The Travellers Rest. The place is more of a restaurant than a pub, really. It possesses an eye-catching canopied facade and intimate candle-lit tables. The fine seafood and local fayre on offer make it the ideal place to take the mistress without the wife finding out.

A few hundred yards away is the busy old coaching inn, The White Hart. There's a round bar, log fire, pool table and good food available in the separate restaurant section. The naval pictures on view seem to suggest that sailors sank a pint or six here at one time or another - probably repenting on the Pub's church-style pews, afterwards.

A walk through The Hart's beer garden, along the canal, takes us to The Star Inn, our Pub of the Month. Run by friendly landlady, Joan, this is real ale heaven, with the best selection on offer in the land. The ale's are rotated between the twelve different pumps, amounting to a choice of over one hundred per annum.

The pub itself has a homely feel, with subdued lighting and a Tudor-style interior. As well as the staples of pool table and bar meals, Wednesday has live music and Monday is quiz night. The large beer garden is right next to The River Usk and is crowded during the summer months. So remember to get there early and beat the rush.

Pub Score: 9 leeks out of 10
Crawl Score: 7.5 leeks out of 10 (would have had more but there just wasn't enough of them - villages, eh).