This entry is designed to be the drinkers' guide to the village of Little Eaton, around three miles north of Derby. The entry also includes some information on the deceased pub of the village.

The New Inn

The New Inn, on New Inn Lane, is at the southern end of the village. It is one of the Marston's Tavern Tables chain of pubs, meaning that, for practical purposes, it is a restaurant pretending to be a pub. The pub is of medium size, with the majority of the building given over to a restaurant split over three levels, separated by small steps. Two areas are non-smoking, the third, rather pretentiously named 'The Darwin Lounge', is smoking. Following the bar around to the left will lead you to the gents' toilets and a small drinking area with three circular tables.

Staying with the bar, the choice of bitter is limited to Marston's Pedigree and Banks's Creamflow, unpleasant nitro-keg masquerading as real ale. The lager is Heineken, while the usual alco-pops can be found in the fridge.

The best thing about the pub is the photographs decorating the walls. The pictures show the village cricket teams from the 1900s to the present day, along with images of the village from the same period onwards.

If you are looking for a decent drink in a good atmosphere, this is not the place to chose.

The Queen's Head

Ahh, now this is more like it. Situated on the main road through the village, The Queen's Head is the village local. Until Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne, the pub was known as The King's Head, but changed its name as a mark of respect shortly after her coronation. The pub is split into a lounge and bar area; the lounge is frequented by the over 40s, and is the quieter side. The bar is used by the youths and contains the jukebox, pool table and dart board. There is also a small television, on which rugby and football matches are shown.

Both sides of the pub are decorated with old photographs and advertisements from the 1940s for such products as Bovril¹, Guinness and soap. The photographs are again of the village's history, but here they tend to focus on old football teams.

The choice of beer here is wider, but still not to everyone's taste. The pub is an Kimberly pub, so on draught there is Kimberly Classic, while on keg you have the choice of Kimberly Bitter or Kimberly Mild. Kimberly is not the most popular beer in the world, but this Researcher has found it to a be a taste which, once acquired, is very pleasing. A popular drink in the pub is a 'mix' - half a pint of Mild and half a pint of Classic in the same glass. Revolting as it sounds, the drink is actually very nice, and certainly a darn sight more appealing than the mild on its own. Lager is again Heineken, with a selection of bottled beers and the aforementioned alco-pops in the fridge.

The Bell and Harp

The last pub still left in the village, the Bell and Harp is a small pub on the far North outskirts of the village. The interior of the pub is very basic - no fancy wall decorations here! The stone floor and walls which used to be white, but which have become a tobacco stained orange may not be the most salubrious of surrounding, but venture to the bar and some of the best kept Pedigree and Marston's Ordinary in the county await you. Indeed, since Marston's was taken over by Wolverhampton and Dudley, the Bell and Harp is one of the very few pubs still selling Ordinary.

As with The Queen's Head, the games on offer are pool and darts, but this time no jukebox or television - this is a very traditional pub, with a clientele that would reel in horror should either object ever cross the threshold.

The Anchor

The Anchor is one of those pubs that is no more. It used to be located on the main road (the same road as The Queen's Head), opposite the turning to Morley Lane, which leads to Drum Hill. The building still stands, but is now a house and the only indication of its past is a stained glass picture of an anchor in one of the corner windows. The pub closed sometime in the 19th Century.