The Waterguard

Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay [map]

Back down the Bay then, this time for a visit to the curious environs of The Waterguard, with its Victorian frontage and contemporary, concrete-and-glass, erm, backage.

It's Cardiff's only pub operated by the Samuel Smith Old Brewery, which means there's none of your Foster's, Heineken or other reassuringly familiar thirst-quenchers on tap. Instead it's all Double Four and Taddy Lager, which tends to throw people a bit when they enter a Sam Smith's for the first time.

Still, the good news is that their assorted beers are pretty inexpensive (Double Four weighs in at £2.74 a pint). The bad news is that they are prone to sucker-punching you with the most horrendous hangovers.

Everything's very spick and span (notwithstanding the smell of vomit on the way in - someone had clearly been going for it the night before). Unfortunately, it's got all the ambience of a dentist's waiting room.

It's sometimes difficult to work out what The Photographer's motives are when he provides shots such as this, knowing full well that I then have to attempt to craft an engaging caption for it. Frankly, "Two-seater sofa adjacent to table with some leaflets on," just isn't going to cut it, is it?

Anyway, moving on, here's the outside area round the back, replete with 'artfully' positioned pint glass. This is basically the whole raison d'être of the place - if the weather's good, you can buy a cheap pint and then go and drink it on the grass outside. Lovely.

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