I returned to a favourite part of the country recently for the first time for several years. In and amongst my wanders I visited one or two pubs I had been to before, plus a few for the first time. And here is what I found....
I love Northumberland.
I had not been though since before lockdown, whilst back in the 1990's it was a regular place to go for family holidays. So the other week I returned, stopping at the Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh where I had stayed previously and which makes a good base for a day or two of wandering around this still largely unspoilt county. And I was hoping to visit a few old favourites and try a few new places in terms of pubs during my visit.
I made good time on my journey north. I turned off the A1 at Alnwick, and picked up the B1340, but almost immediately questioned my decision when I got stuck behind a caravan for virtually the full distance as we weaved through the pleasant undulating countryside on narrow lanes which made it impossible to overtake. I was heading to the village of Low Newton-by-the-Sea, and when we were getting close to the road to turn down, I was relieved to see my lumbering companion carry straight on. I passed through the village of High Newton-by-the-Sea, where there is a pub in the Good Beer Guide, the Joiners Arms, but I was more interested in carrying on to its neighbour, which actually is by the sea, a place I have visited many times. It is an idyllic spot, a well-deserved reward for a frustrating end to the drive north.
I pulled into the village car park with only residents and deliveries permitted to drive beyond this point, and from there it is only a few minutes walk down the hill to the village itself, with a beautiful vista opening up before your eyes (opening image) with the sweeping bay and the eerie jagged outline of Dunstanburgh Castle high on the cliffs in the distance. The village is small, with a few bungalows on the way down the hill where, at the bottom, with the beach to your left, a cluster of white-walled former fisherman's cottages are grouped around a central grassy area to make an open-sided square overlooking the sea. In the right hand corner is the Ship Inn, which was once described as "the best beach bar in Britain", although I think it is fair to say that its attractions appeal more to the traditional visitor rather than the surfer dude.
The pub can get very busy, with drinkers spilling out from the seating next to the pub to the grassy area, where there are several picnic tables. Inside, the narrow bar front unfortunately encourages the snaking pub queue model which has been embraced by so many since Covid, much to the irritation of lateral queuers like myself. The pub has been brewing its own beer in a former garage since 2008, and these make up the bulk of the beers on sale here. When it was my turn to get served, I ordered a pint of a 4.3% pale called White Horses, brewed next door, which I took to an empty table just across from the bar as there had not been any empty tables outside when I walked past. The beer was very good, cool and refreshing, and hopefully a sign of how good the beer would be over the coming days (NBSS 3.5). The inside of the pub is fairly traditional and simply decorated, with old charts and maps on the wall. It would be interesting to visit when it is quiet and the weather outside is bad, when I imagine you would get a better idea of what this pub would have been like when it was locals and fisherman, rather than tourists, that made up the bulk of the trade. But because of that location and the fact it brews its own beer, it is a place you should visit.
A few miles to the north is the similarly named Olde Ship Inn, which has kept watch over the harbour in the fishing village and seaside resort of Seahouses for well over two centuries. Originally built in 1745 as a farmhouse, it became a public house in 1812. I have been visiting the Ship on and off for well over 30 years, and it never fails to impress. The pub is like a museum of maritime memorabilia and old pictures, which is at its most impressive in the main bar. When I first visited, the landlord was the avuncular Alan Glen, who was a most genial host, but he retired a few years ago, since when the Olde Ship has been run by his son-in-law, David, who used to work behind the bar when I first used to visit. The pub has now been in the same family for four generations, and the same unruffled charm and efficiency with which Alan used to run the Ship is still very much in evidence today. There are 8 hand pumps on the bar dispensing cask ales, featuring a mixture of national, regional, and local brewers. There are usually 2 real ciders. There is a full food menu, and if you fancy an overnight stay there are 12 bedrooms, plus further accommodation in nearby former fisherman's cottages.
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| A treasure trove of maritime memorabilia at the Old Ship |
I visited the Old Ship a couple of times on this latest visit, calling in early evening when the bus times were accommodating, which found the main bar relatively empty compared to later when it always used to be rammed. Meanwhile on the bar, I decided to try a few of the local beers within the cask options, as they included beers from breweries whose wares I'd not sampled before. First up was a pint of XPA. a 4.2% pale ale from the North Pier Brew Co, who are based in Sunderland. It was another good beer, very clean-tasting, and refreshing (NBSS 3.5). Next I went for a pint of Harbour Wall from Cheviot Brewery, who are based on the historic Ford & Etal Estate near the Scottish border in north Northumberland. This was another fine beer which was, as the brewery's website says, a "refreshingly zesty, easy drinking, light session pale ale, with floral, tropical fruit and pine notes" derived from the use of Cascade, Chinook, and Styrian Wolf hops in the brew (NBSS 3.5). Food was beckoning, so after I had finished my beer I adjourned to the nearby Lewis's Fish Restaurant, which like the Olde Ship, Coxon's Ice Cream, and Billy Shields' boat trips to the Farne Islands, is a local institution. Here I enjoyed some haddock and chips, after which I had 35 minutes left to play with before I went for the bus. So I returned to the Olde Ship for a pint of Blonde Star from Anarchy, an old favourite which, like my previous two pints, was in excellent form (NBSS 3.5). And as I sat and drank my beer, I looked around this wonderful, timeless pub which remains as much an essential place to visit as it always it did when I first visited all those years ago.
The beer scene in Bamburgh itself was less impressive. There is a Good Beer Guide entry which is in the good book as the Castle Inn, but it has since been re-branded as the Middle Inn, by which it was known locally anyway, lying as it does between the Lord Crewe, nearest the castle at the bottom of Front Street, and the Victoria Hotel, which is at the top. It has a chain pub feel to it, get the orders out, then move on to the next one, and if you get chance be nice to the customer! By way of a contrast, I do remember last time I had called in a few years ago there was a lovely Scottish lass working who quietly had made everyone feel welcome, but this time it was all very much more transactional. The beer here was from the Alnwick Brewery, but unfortunately I can not drum up much enthusiasm in writing about their Bamburgh IPA, which was unfortunately rather lacking in character (NBSS 2.5) although there was nothing wrong with the beer in terms of quality. Alnwick beers also were on at both the Lord Crewe, and the Victoria, but unfortunately I could not get excited about them here either.
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| Clearly this is the Middle Inn! |
One day I caught the bus from Bamburgh to Berwick-on-Tweed, a 45 minutes or so journey away which sauntered along through lovely countryside and passed through the lovely Budle Bay and the attractive but unassuming market town of Belford, which was once home to the long gone Longstone Brewery, whose excellent beers were regularly on the bar at the Olde Ship when I first used to go there. Whilst in Berwick, I was hoping to visit the Berwick Barracks Museum which chronicles much of the frequent skirmishes that used to take place along the English/Scottish border as well as much other history, but as I found out as I arrived in the most northerly town in England it is unfortunately closed until 2027 as owners English Heritage are working with various partners including the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the Maltings Trust, and Northumberland County Council on a major project to transform Berwick Barracks into a thriving cultural hub.
So I went to the pub.
Or I would have done, if I could get any internet on my phone. Getting dropped off by the bus at Berwick railway station, I remembered the Beer Guide had said there was a good pub near the station, so I wandered around the quiet streets near the station and some attractive gardens overlooking the River Tweed in search of it. Eventually, my phone came to life and I was able to track down the first pub on my list. It was actually not much more than five minutes' walk from the station to the Pilot Inn. It is a solid-looking end-of-terrace building dating from the 19th century in a a quiet part of the town. It has a Grade I-listed interior, with the public bar in particular having much of interest, notably the bar-back, counter, fire-surround, and wood panelling, which date from a refurbishment in the early 20th century. There were three cask beers on the bar which is in the public bar. From the beers on offer, I went for a pint of Sycamore Gap from the Twice Brewed brewery who are based close to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, not far from where the famous tree was felled. It is a light and refreshing pale ale with punchy citrus-hop flavours imparted from the use of Cascade and Lemondrop hops. I thoroughly enjoyed this 4.1% session ale (NBSS 3.5) which I drunk in the room to the left as you go in as all the tables in the main room and stools by the bar had someone sat there, generally older guys enjoying a lunchtime pint. I decided to get a second pint, by which time the bar had virtually emptied, and I was able to get a seat at one of the tables there. The lady behind the bar, with nobody to serve, came and sat at one of the bar stools and flicked through the paper, occasionally joining in the chorus when a familiar song came on the radio which was playing through the speakers. There was a lovely timeless feel about the Pilot and the beer was very good. One of the pub highlights of the trip.
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| The Pilot Inn: a fine historic pub with great beer |
Despite a population of just over 13,000, Berwick feels much bigger with its bustling shopping centre and local branches of both national and regional companies and organisations. Historically, this busy market town was for more than 400 years at the forefront of the historic border wars waged between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two. And this has helped shape the town's unique character. And nowadays, hundreds of years later, the town is famous for its hesitation over whether it is part of Scotland or England. Some people are adamant they are English and their loyalty lies with Northumberland, while others feel the same towards Scotland. Clearly the town's location and history spanning the two nations has led to it developing a distinctive identity of its own, with many people in Berwick having mixed Anglo-Scottish families which contributes to a sense of separate identity. Historian Derek Sharman is quoted as saying "The people of Berwick feel really independent. You are a Berwicker first, Scottish or English second."
From the Pilot I walked down the hill, breaking off to have a short walk along the ramparts which enclose the oldest and most historic parts of the town. I wandered down the busy streets, eventually stopping at Foxtons, a wine bar cum restaurant which I had been to on my last visit, and which has a couple of beers on cask. It is quite a pleasant and relaxed place, and my pint of Farne Island from Hadrian Border Brewery was pretty good (NBSS 3). Incidentally, on that last visit, I had visited a more traditional pub called Barrels which has a good reputation for its range of real ales, plus the unusual feature of a dentist's chair in the bar, but it wasn't due to open until 5 so I had to give it a miss this time.
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| Nice place: Foxtons, Berwick |
From there it was a short walk down the hill and then off to the right along Bridge Street to the place I had been aiming for. Situated in a yard down a covered alleyway is Berwick's first and England's most northerly micropub, the Curfew. I walked through a pleasant courtyard with several tables and into the bar itself, which is a long, narrow room with the bar on the left as you go in whilst the other and slightly lower end of the room is a former storeroom which was converted and incorporated into the bar during lockdown, the story of which is told in a photo book which the landlady, Gemma, gave me to look through. Gemma, who is originally from York, opened the bar with her husband David a few years prior to that and the pair have created a most comfortable, relaxed, and welcoming place. There are 4 cask beers on the bar, plus three beers on tap, along with cider, gin, and wines, and a rotating range of bar snacks. I was delighted to see a beer from Two by Two amongst the 4 on hand pump, and I have to say my pint of Nectaron/Chinook was excellent (NBSS 4). There was a lovely friendly feel to the bar, which takes its name from the Curfew Bell, which has rung in Berwick at 8pm every night since the time of William the Conqueror. I got chatting with one of the customers, who'd moved to the town a few years ago, "Berwick kind of gets into you" he said when I asked if he enjoyed living here, and it is easy to see that an and excellent and friendly bar like the Curfew would help in that. Incidentally, when I got home, I mentioned to my friend Michael Ainsworth that I had visited here, and he told me that when he visited it inspired him to set up the original Grayston Unity in Halifax. A must-visit if you are in Berwick.
I did call in the bar across the road from the Curfew, which is also in the Good Beer Guide. However, sadly I was not impressed with Atelier, a cafe-bar where my half of As You Were, a bitter from Hadrian Border was rather disappointing (NBSS 2) and I just didn't warm to the place. Which was a shame as it was not reflective of my overall visit to Berwick, and I had to catch the bus back shortly afterwards.
I do intend to return to Berwick, and having enjoyed my trip to this part of the Northumberland coast, I won't leave it too long before I come back this wonderful part of the world....
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