oneflewover said:
Damn traitors! When Fuel group bought it, me and doggy made the manager promise that he'd keep it as a traditional-style pub (and there were all sorts of rumours flying around about what he was going to do with it - name changes, Fuel-style decor and so on) with at least one guest ale!
I'll have to go in and have words! 
I did think about including the Spring Bank Tavern on my initial list but left it off. Perhaps I shouldn't, 'cos last time I was in there (which'll be sometime last year, I think) it was still doing a good pint and it's an interesting old place, even if it did get a bit townie on a weekend. Sounds as if that's the market they're aiming for now, sadly, so another good pub will bite the dust, like the old Punch Hotel, on Victoria Square. That was a shabby old dive but it could have been made into a great pub - if someone hadn't bought it, ripped out all the old decor and turned it into a bad imitation of one of the townie bars down George Street.
It's a shame Beverley Road's gone that way, with places like the Mainbrace and the Haworth Arms going all studenty and tacky (although The Bull and The Rose are both amusingly old-school). Spring Bank's so far kept its identity a bit better, and even if places like The Hole In The Wall and The Editorial aren't all that amazing as pubs, they do a great pint. The Spring Bank pub crawl is still a great evening out.
