Cumbria Help

Ah, the Pickthall homelands.

The Furness peninsula (especially Barrow where many grown men drink alcopops - "the drink of the working man") is not renowned for good beer, RA or otherwise. RA is available but doesn't usually get more exiting than Tetleys.

Your best option is the pubs of central Ulverston where other beers do crop up and the pubs are agreeable and less obviously "chain" than Barrow.

There are numerous other pubs dotted around the smaller towns and villages (try Broughton) and a reasonably local beer to look out for is Coniston Bluebird XB which IIRC is a 5% big brother to regular Bluebird. I drank it at the Brown Cow in Dalton, whether or not it's a regular fixture there I've no idea.

Don't bother with the Railway (Wetherspoons) in Barrow.

Sparklers, love'em or loathe'em, are omnipresent.

If all else fails, Booths supermarket in Ulverston stocks a good range of bottles.

Report back!

JP

Hi Lee

Whilst there are many decent real ale pubs in Barrow and Ulverton, I would forget about those places and get the train - or bus - North to Foxfield (about 5 minutes by train from Askam). Right opposite Foxfield station is the "Prince-of-Wales" which brews prize winning beers on the premises (Foxfield brewery).

There are plenty of trains back South from there. If you do decide to visit the POW, it is closed Monday and Tuesdays. Friday afternoons is a good crack - there is a "Friday" club who generally put the world to rights, sort out the Country's economic state and discuss how far down from her navel the barmaid's tattoo goes.

Err!! You don't say your preference for pubs but the POW is very much a real ale pub with NO jukebox, NO television (big screen or otherwise), NO pool table and no lager. Luxury!!!!!

URL is:-

From Foxfield it is only a few minutes walk to Broughton where every pub (all 4 of them) sells a good range of real ale.

The area is a little known Mecca for real-ale drinkers who tend to keep a low profile lest it get inundated with "foreigners" - oh bugger, I've just let the cat out of the bag.

Regards

KGB

You're joking aren't you?

Unless you're a big fan of the likes of the desperately dull Tetleys or Hartleys (Robinsons) then Barrow does not have many decent real ale pubs. Not any in fact.

Unless the place has undergone a tremendous change while I blinked Barrow is a real-ale desert.

What do you consider to be Barrow's decent real-ale pubs?

I'm up there at the weekend and hope to be able to revise my opinion.

Eh? Ulverston yes, Barrow absolutely no.

If there are any in Barra' can you post them as me brother is going up on Thursday.

Wetherspoons for one??

Regards KGB

I believe that the Ambrose(?) is now a free house selling a range of upto 8 ales. I've seen an advert in the local CAMRA rag and Stuart at the Prince of Wales said that it was getting good reviews. Mind you on Barrow terms that doesn't mean too much! Never had the time to stop off on my way back from the Prince of Wales though to check it out myself.

Seconded, the place is a gem. Upto 8 beers on normally, more during one of their festivals. Mind you they do sell lager, but you can be assured that it's a genuine one and not a fake English one. They don't have a pool table, but do have bar billiards. The food is excellent, nothing flash mind, freshly made pasties, giant Yorkshire puds, that sort of thing. And the view across the estuary is wonderful.

Broughton is good too, but I feel it's only fair to point out that "a few minutes" is more like a mile and a half. There is a irregular bus service, the timetable is available in the Prince of Wales.

Hi Rick

Oh dear, you will have really upset poor Stuart now - announcing to the World that he sells lager. He claims that he does NOT and NEVER WILL sell lager; the very mention of the L word on the premises turns him pale, signs of the cross made and garlic festooned round the doors and windows.

You may argue that it is semantics and terminology, but what Stuart sells are "Continental beers". Ask for a lager, no chance - ask for a "Continental beer" and yes, he sells them!! 8^)

Regards

KGB

I'll go with the "Continental beers" description as it covers the L word, even though some of them come from Wakefield or Foxfield, but how can you tell when Stuart goes pale? Does the beard go a shade lighter? 8:}

I think you might have missed my first post which became estranged from the original thread:

"The Furness peninsula (especially Barrow where many grown men drink alcopops - "the drink of the working man") is not renowned for good beer, RA or otherwise. RA is available but doesn't usually get more exiting than Tetleys.

Your best option is the pubs of central Ulverston where other beers do crop up and the pubs are agreeable and less obviously "chain" than Barrow.

There are numerous other pubs dotted around the smaller towns and villages (try Broughton) and a reasonably local beer to look out for is Coniston Bluebird XB which IIRC is a 5% big brother to regular Bluebird. I drank it at the Brown Cow in Dalton, whether or not it's a regular fixture there I've no idea.

Don't bother with the Railway (Wetherspoons) in Barrow.

Sparklers, love'em or loathe'em, are omnipresent.

If all else fails, Booths supermarket in Ulverston stocks a good range of bottles."

I can't say I've been that impressed by the Barrow Wetherspoons (or any other WS for that matter) for the usual reasons - horrible decor, indifferent beer, poor staff and phantom pump clips. I haven't been in for a year or so, I'll try to pop in again this weekend. It sounds like the Ambrose is worth a try though, I haven't been there for donkey's, it could only improve.