While visiting my younger daughter who lives in Northampton a few weeks ago we decided to enjoy some of the lovely sunshine at her local pub, The Rose & Claret located in Camp Hill. The pub has recently been taken over by a new landlord who has made some big changes already, one of which was to install a bouncy castle at the side of the pub to appeal to families which I thought was a nice touch.

The pub itself is quite large inside and all on one level so completely accessible to everyone, children are allowed in but if I were a seven year old I know I'd much rather be messing around on the bouncy castle than sitting inside!

They have a widescreen TV on the wall which at the time of our visit was showing Sky Sports News as it was football day, one thing which annoyed my son in law was the fact that the outside of the Rose & Claret has posters and boards stating that they show the live football matches on Sky Sports only this isn't actually the case as the landlord has yet to arrange the permission to show the football. As it was Benny Hill was showing, which was a major annoyance for me as I cannot stand the man although the regulars in the pub seemed to be falling about laughing!

I thought the prices of drinks were very reasonable for the area, my daughter and I both drank lager and lime which my son in law had a pint of lager and the cost was much less than I had anticipated. The pub sells all of the main brands of spirits and lager, including a couple of the special 'cold' varieties which were chilled to perfection and very welcome on such a sunny day. There is also a good range of soft drinks and alcopops which again are reasonably priced.

While they don't serve food in the Rose & Claret there were a stack of rolls behind the bar, during the weekend I sampled both a roast beef and tuna mayo roll and they were both very fresh and absolutely delicious. They are made from a sliced French stick and around seven inches long, which is much bigger than the rolls they sell in my local and the fillings were of much better quality too. A roll is £1.50 which is an absolute bargain in these days of even a basic pub sandwich costing around £4!

They have regular poker evenings in the Rose & Claret and there is also a clean and well maintained pool table in the back room, which is apparently very popular in the evenings so remember to pop your coin on the table so you get your turn.

I enjoyed the atmosphere in the Rose & Claret, it seemed to be mainly older people inside while families with children used the outside seating where they could watch the kiddies on the bouncy castle and let them run around on the grass.

Recommended for a leisurely drink, although the lack of food would be a downfall for many.