Emerging from the newly opened sterile budget hotel blocks in a strange town you might be very pleased and surprised to find traditional furniture shop J.H. Cooper and a pub like the Corner House on your doorstep.

There are loads of gigs at the Corner House, according to local music folklore all bands play the venue twice, once on the way up and once on the way down…… If you are lucky you can catch some excellent musical nights, though in my experience it can be difficult to track down exactly what is on and when. Not a problem last Saturday, it was free entry to see two highly regarded Cambridge bands (Psychic Lemon and The British IBM)

The stage is at one end of the pub, a bit like the knocked-through front rooms in seventies semis. There is also a smaller public bar with pool table and large TV, not usually on. Outside there are ‘two beer gardens’, these comprise a covered back area and then a more exposed decking section.

It is not an obvious real ale pub but at the front of the cluttered bar there are some delights, Robinson’s Brewery ‘Dizzy Blonde’, a 3.8% amber ale was a very drinkable choice. It was £3.70, not cheap but more than compensated for by the quality of the free music. Books on the mantlepiece, an armchair just inside the back door, all nice touches that add to the comfortable feel.

It always seems a very casual and laid-back place, with a core of locals and a varying cast of band members and their supporters passing through. Long may it continue!