Durham and Newcastle

Wantz branch enjoyed a weekend in Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne at the end of July. The main focus was on Durham, a city I had long wished to visit and which fully lived up to expectations. Surrounded by rolling countryside and situated on a sharp bend of the river Wear, the Durham skyline is dominated by the 900-year-old cathedral and the neighbouring castle. There are numerous bridges across the river and narrow cobbled streets in a very compact town centre. Our resting place was St Aidan's College south of the town; student accommodation is hired out during vacation times and most of the other guests seemed to have been attending a wedding reception also held at the College.

Apart from all its other attractions, Durham is hardly short of pubs and needless to say we gave a few of these the benefit of our custom. The best of these, without a shadow of doubt, was the Victoria Inn in Hallgarth Street. This really is a gem, a genuine listed Victorian pub just outside the city centre. Most of the action is in the main bar, a fairly small narrow room along one side of the pub. Adjoining this is a 'smoke room' complete with upright piano, and a separate snug bar; this doesn't have so much as a bar counter and the bell pushes on the wall are a reminder that there would once have been waiter service. The walls and shelves are covered with fascinating memorabilia, much of which is associated with the eponymous Queen. There is also a considerable collection of bottled spirits behind the bar, the wide selection of Irish whiskies giving a clue to the origin of the management. We were given a friendly reception when we called in at lunchtime and a no less friendly, but more raucous greeting when we returned in late evening. The pub was fairly bustling by now, this being very much a locals' pub - lucky people to have this as a local. I haven't even mentioned the beer yet, but this is not least of the Victoria's attractions. Five handpumps offered a selection of beers, mostly from brewed locally by the likes of Big Lamp, Mordue, Wylam and Durham breweries. A splendid pub, almost worth the journey by itself. We did manage to visit a few other of Durham's pubs. Colpitts in Colpitts Terrace to the west of town is a wedge shaped stone building, also split into 3 or 4 rooms. This is a Sam Smiths house and I was glad it was my round when we called in since the OBB cost a staggering £1.26 - yes, for a pint! Sam's is not one of my favourite brews but the Colpitts offered a pleasant enough pint and the pub and the price made this a worthwhile diversion. Out on the other side of town the Woodman Inn on Gilesgate has a comfortable no-smoking lounge area at the front and a games area behind. There were four handpumped beers when I called in, mostly from north east and Yorkshire breweries. Right in the city centre is the Shakespeare in Saddler Street. This has a fairly small main bar and two even smaller rooms tucked away along a winding corridor. Boddingtons and Deuchars IPA were on offer, along with a guest beer in the shape of London Pride, not what we'd travelled 300 miles for! Finally there was the Dun Cow on Old Elvet, a long narrow building divided into three rooms. Beer of choice here was Castle Eden bitter, of which the Dun Cow sells more than any other pub. There was a music festival in the city on the day of our visit and the back bar of the Dun Cow featured a number of folk performers who each did a turn in early evening before taking their talents to another pub.

On the Sunday morning we ventured north by train to Newcastle, looking out for the Angel of the North statue. Having admired the variety of bridges over the Tyne and walked around the city centre (rather quieter than it would have been the night before) we embarked on a healthy pub crawl, finding no less than three GBG-listed pubs that don't open Sunday lunchtimes! A couple of us had already enjoyed a sneaky pint in the Bodega in Westgate Road, out towards the football ground in the theatre district. Plenty of stained glass and two impressive ceiling domes and an excellent choice of beers, including Durham Magus which I'd relished in the Victoria the evening before. Eventually we all settled in the Bridge Hotel which is very close by the surviving keep of the 'new' castle which gives the city its name. It's also right by the railway line which was built to within a couple of feet of the castle. The Bridge is a spacious inn, partitioned into a number of areas and with a small terrace down the stairs at the back. (Incidentally, if you like cities that are nice and flat, the undulations of Durham and Newcastle may not be to your liking!). Six draught ales to tempt us, including a summer beer from Mordue; we pretty much went through the card between us and all were in fine condition. What with a tasty and good value Sunday lunch to wash the beer down, this was a highly satisfying end to an excellent and all too short visit to the north east.

Roger Jacobson
(reprinted from the SPBW publication PINT in HAND)