The Water Witch is one of the best real ale pubs in Lancaster, a town not known for great venues…read more It's located right next to the canal, with a generously designed outside seating area [Unfortunately, it was raining all the time I spent in Lancaster]. The pub itself isn't as big as it seems from outside, with much of the pub area divided into single-spaced, window-seated tables. On the plus side, that means it won't get too noisy when the placed is packed. The real ale selection is certainly adequate [I've seen better, and much worse, the latter more often], the staff generally nice and helpful, and the real ales being kept fresh. Recommended for Lancaster.

The Witch is a lovely big old rambling canalside pub/restaurant, just a few minute's walk from…read moreLancaster centre. It's a very pleasant pub to spend the afternoon in, looking over the canal boats outside, and it's spacious enough that you can find a quiet corner to yourself most of the time. They have a great selection of real ales to sample, and even offer special discounts for CAMRA members. Tthe food menu is a definite cut above the average and is easily comparable with the best restaurants in town. There's a cool, homely, welcoming ambience about the place that lifts your spirits as soon as you walk in the door. A perfect place to spend a relaxing couple of hours away from the bustle of city life.

The drunken duck is a favorite of our friend who has come here for 40 years, starting with golf…read morebuddies, then with family and best of all to celebrate weddings, and great moments. Relax here, the staff is ready to make this luxury even better with whatever you need! Directions to many local hikes or hot coffee on the picnic tables. So much fun to have, there are gardens, strolls, patios and quiet libraries too. This is the most beautiful place I've ever stayed because I can get some rest, unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. Yesterday there was a local marathon- yes!- great runners charged past into the local town of Ambleside. Hikers and dog lovers are here too. National parks close by... what a get-away we are having!!

Such a charming pub and inn right in the middle of the Lakes District. There's a glorious view…read moreoverlooking the mountains right in front of the venue (with picnic tables if you'd like to sit and enjoy it with a pint). Brunch, lunch, dinner, and bar snacks are served at the Drunken Duck, and I'd only really recommend booking for dinner. The beer and cider are mostly local I believe. We did the curry bowl to share (vegetarian and VERY tasty - kind of wish I could get the recipe), scampi, fries, and tartare sauce (those fries are to die for!) and the lamb kofta, hummus, flatbread, and mint yoghurt (great for sharing and noshing). There's plenty of parking on the side of the inn. The inside is decorated beautifully (very insta-worthy), so maybe consider renting out for an event. And yes, you can bring your dog to dinner/drinks.

Just updating here to add a few more photos from our most recent visit! That Beef Wellington was…read more*divine*!

Brilliant. ... quite simply brilliant. This is a gastro pub and not fine dining but the food is…read moreawsome for the price of £6-8 for a starter and 9-13 for a main, with steak coming slightly above this. Beers aee great with the usual draughts complimented by some good hand pulled guest beers..... try the paddle of 3 x beers of your choice for £3.50. ..bargin. Staff are so attentive, decor is on point and the welcome from Paul n his team is bang on. Come and enjoy some of the best Lancashire hospitality in a beautiful Lancashire village. You will be happy u did.

A wining combination of fantastic food and wonderful service make the Railway a go to spot for…read moretravelers and locals alike. A wonderful English pub nestled in a beautiful location, the decor is traditional pub but with modern upgrades to the bar, but its the food that's the real winner here. Specials listed on chalkboards around the pub offer alternates to the solid menu, i really wished i could have ordered about 5 appetizers and 6 main's but alas, only one stomach! Prawn cocktail app was traditional English, small prawns in a delicious marie rose sauce with a few slices of granary bread, this was a huge serving, could almost feed two (but there was no way i was sharing!) For mains i went light, grilled salmon with baked potato with seasonal veggies, absolutely cooked to perfection grilled salmon with a decent sized potato with carrots and green beans. Other winners at our table were the Sunday roast, meat and potato pie, ribs and chicken and the southern fried chicken. Great value, clean, and a well diverse menu make The Railway one of my favorite places to visit when i'm in England.

Very surprised to see that nobody has reviewed this great little pub-cum-restaurant yet, as it's…read morebeen popular locally for years! You can always get a really good feed, with food ranging from hearty pasta dishes to Asian favourites like Thai green curry etc. Maybe none of the food is particularly groundbreaking, but it's hard to bear for value for money and me and my wife often come here when we have someone to look after the kids. There's plenty of space and the pricing is very fair for what you get. Only minor quibble might be that the music is sometimes a little on the loud side and I always feel vaguely rushed when that's the case, but like I say: a minor quibble in what is otherwise a very nice little local haunt.

This is a pub with the emphasis very much on food. More expensive than the usual run of the mill…read morebar food it has an adventurous menu more befitting a restaurant than a pub, an example main course is Slow cooked Goosnargh duck, potato puree, marinated prunes and Madeira sauce. I had a melt in the mouth fillet of beef served with wonderful chunky chips but it was let down by an over salted peppercorn sauce. I would go back again though as hopefully the sauce was just a one off error. No food Sunday evening and closed all day Monday.

We've been here twice and the food was excellent each time. I had fillet steak which was pricey but…read moreworth it. Small but comfy pub and with reasonable staff. We're going again next week so lets hope nothings changed!

My wife, dog and I came here for a delightful afternoon tea to celebrate our first wedding…read moreanniversary. This place clearly was an old coaching inn and you can really sense the history and age of the place. There are many different rooms which cater for different things, a lovely bar, a larger dining room and some smaller ante-rooms for things such as afternoon tea which I would definitely recommend. Well worth a stop en route to Keswick!

Wonderful and amazing choice of whiskey. Cider choice poor. The food is good, small quantity, quite…read moreexpensive and the food is bistro/gastro pub. Would rather have had good basic food.

Very friendly and helpful staff. They seem young and anxious for you to enjoy the fruits of their…read morelabor. Best meat pie we had on our vacation. Our first meal after arriving in England. A good start to a pleasant vacation.

my in-laws live just next door the food is outstanding customer service excellence and there is a…read moregood selection of drinks behind the bar food for vegetarians and vegans is good the Baratta salad is my mother-in-law's favourite

This place was very nice. It's a little confusing because it's listed as "Best Western Plus Lake…read moreDistrict" but it's also called the "Castle Inn" so just be aware. It was our first stop after arriving in London and our home base for the Lake District National Park. We were looking for a hotel outside of town with parking and this place was perfect. The hotel and facilities were clean and well maintained. The reception was a little tricky to find, but during the day it should be fine. We got there around 3am and were at a door on the wrong side of the hotel, so I called the desk and the night person actually walked all the way through the hotel to the other side to come get me ... How's that for service! Overall we had a very pleasant stay and I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a chain hotel in the area, but not right in the heart of town.

From the owner: Surrounded by the stunning beauty of the Cumbrian mountains and with views of the serene waters of…read moreBassenthwaite Lake, our charming and relaxed hotel offers a tranquil retreat for those seeking relaxation and adventure alike. From the moment you step through our doors, you’ll be greeted with genuine smiles and a level of personal service that feels more like visiting old friends than checking into a hotel.

We struggled to get in here on Saturday evening when we moored on the canal. That it's fully booked…read morebodes well and is deserved. The service and food were good, even thought we had to eat outside on the terrace where it was a bit chilly. Well worth a visit.

I was invited to a christening at the Blue Mallard and it was an amazing experience. The food was…read morefantastic and there was such a relaxed atmosphere. There were quite a few young children, and we were really impressed by the facilities and the food was perfect for everyone. Another benefit is that you can take a look around the Burscough Wharf which the Blue Mallard is part of. There is an old fashioned sweet shop, an art gallery and lots of other things to look at. You can almost make this a day out! I would strongly recommend the Blue Mallard for any event you are looking to run.

Cask ales sold here stated the billboards in the street. Lies!…read moreThe place was empty inside, a warning that perhaps I should have left. But someone needed to express urine from their bladder urgently (not me) So here I was being told that the cask ales they sold (two varieties)were off tap. That I could have a Guinness or John Smiths as they were just as good. (They are not) So a pint of Guinness it was. At bloody London prices! Just under a tenner for two pints. In a not very clean, mostly empty former train station. They do offer food, but given the state of the place and previous reviews I decided to nope out of that. It's a Greene King pub whose food I've experienced before. It's tastes frozen & reheated by microwave. Shame as this place could be a great gastropub given the right management. Instead it's owned by a chain so nope!

The pub could definitely do with a refurb coz the place looks a little rundown inside.Went in on a…read moresunday it wasn't very busy but the wait for food was 40 mins and when it came it was adequate/nothing special and they seemed under staffed with plates left on tables after the guests had finished eating and left.