Pub of the Month
Location: Treforest (the home of Glamorgan University)

Otley Arms

Treforest was the scene of this month's crawl, and our first pub was the Otley Arms.

Doesn't look the best from the outside, but don't let first appearances put you off. Inside, to the right, there's an arched lounge and diner, occupied by a lively mixed crowd. The wooden bar had a good selection of reasonably priced drinks, including several guest ales.

The pub possesses a small mid-section, with another bar, plus a sport section at the back with two TV's and a decent pool table. Basically, a tidy local with some really smart birds - highly recommended.

There was a panic however, when the giant barman chased us down the road after we left. (We thought our mate, John Morgan, had been stealing locals' pints again). Fortunately, he just wanted to return our camera that we'd left in the pub.

Heading up the main street, past the station, we reached the Rickards. Inside, there's an old fashioned bar to the left, and a livelier student-section to the right. We spent most of our stay in the student area. Here, the ceiling is covered with loads of national flags - reflecting the diverse nationalities of the nearby University (nice touch mun).

At the back, in a sickeningly green dungeon/tunnel, is the pool table (where we thrashed all and sundry at doubles). We also saw a special card advertised that can be purchased for a tenner, it provides a whopping 15% discount on drink and food prices at various pubs in the area - what a bargain!

Turning left, up the hill and over the bridge, we came upon the inventively named Bridge Inn. Despite the awful pink exterior, the pub itself wasn't too bad. Very much a local - with small TV's, pool table and a dancing madman for entertainment. Although the toilets were nothing to write home about, we have to say that the condoms were a bargain at 2 for a pound.

Our next pub, on the right of the hill, was the gaudy green and red brick exterior of the Forrest. The right-hand section was a cafe-bar student haunt, with metal tables and chairs, bright colours, juke box, pool tables and bandits - you know what we mean.

In contrast, was the wood panelled lounge to the left - with dartboard and top-notch sports screen. Outside was a beer garden, with fine views of the A470 and beyond.

Finally, we trekked back down the hill to the Knott Inn - a disco pub with a 12am weekend license. The place is a big open expanse with a semi-circular upstairs balcony overlooking the wooden dancefloor. There's a great sound system belting out varied music, some decent '2 for1' offers at the bar, and Carex soap in the bogs.

As the night goes on it becomes packed with students, and is clearly the main pulling place in the town. Definitely recommended.

Despite the impressive Knott Inn, the best pub was the Otley. Maintaining a 'local feel' in the middle of studentville is a difficult task - but this pub manages it well. And we got our camera back too.

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