The village of Asfordby near Melton Mowbray is located towards the edge of the Leicestershire Long Alley area, barely a Skittle Throw away from the similar-but-different Notts/Derby version of the game. Having said that, and as I've seen elsewhere, there has been a fair bit of adaptation of the game throughout the area, particularly where a pub was originally run or built by a brewery from over the border but the local game is now played. The alley at The Horseshoes is a very fine one, and firmly in the Leicestershire mould as far as I can see.
The pub is also a fine one as village locals go. A thoroughly unpretentious single bar drinking pub, featuring a Darts Board and the occasional rattle of league Domino play. An otherwise unremarkable boozer, but then pubs as 'honest' and welcoming as this one are not nearly as common as they once were. Would that there were more 'unremarkable' pubs like The Horseshoes.
An alley as beautifully functional as this can only have been purpose built for the job, and I'm pleased to say that it's well used in various local leagues including the Syston & District, and Melton Mowbray Ladies. Each team have their own set of pins and cheeses, as can be seen in the image of the Ladies set below.
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| A traditional Cards/Dominoes table in the Skittle Alley, itself unremarkable except that they're becoming much rarer in pubs nowadays. The alcoves below would have been designed to take the pints during a game. |
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