Really cool spot on the river. Can't get any closer for a drink. The front entrance is the first…read moredoor, not the second and if you gone past that you reach a cool cafe with a bike shop in the rear. Tons of tables and I believe there is a food market that opens up certain days for food options besides the restaurant that's there. The wood pier has wide gaps so don't drop your card, wallet or phone or bye bye to the river. Recommended on a lovely day

From the owner: By The River Brew Co. is a unique container community with a strong spirit of independence. Craft…read morebeers are brewed on site. Trakol, our nose to tail open flame restaurant is fiercely seasonal using the finest local produce. Cycle enthusiasts will enjoy the Backyard Bike Shop where we custom build and service high end road bikes and operate as a cafe serving delicious brunches and coffees. At weekends you can enjoy our street food market (HWKRMRKT) and sample the finest independent street food.

It was only about 15 minutes off the M6 freeway to the Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley, Cumbria. The…read moreroads weren't that windy and were wide and well-paved so this is faring better than expected already. We arrived to where the brewery showed on my map, but it wasn't there. The brewery was slightly up the road within a small shopping inlet next to a coffee shop. We parked and approached the brewery and were pleasantly surprised with how impressive the set-up was. The building was large and beautiful with large wood beams, huge windows, and comfy leather seats. It was so quiet in there I didn't know how much noise we could make without being rude, so we opted to sit in the corner so we could strategize about which beers we wanted to try and how much time we wanted to spend off the road. I ordered the Lakeland Lager which is a 5%ABV Lager/Pilsner and Sean had the Cumbrian 5 Hop 5%ABV Golden Ale. I really liked the Lakeland Lager because it was crisp and refreshing with a great hop flavor on the back-end. Most of their beers were "real ale" style, but the lager wasn't. It was a nice change from all the real ales available. I also really enjoyed the Brodie's Prime with is a dark porter-style beer and is 4.9%ABV. It has a very smooth mouth-feel and is extremely drinkable. We sampled almost their entire beer selection and overall their beer was very good. The styles were done well and the beer was clean and clear and cheap! We were there around lunch time so we went ahead and ordered some food before they stopped serving. Sean ordered the beer cheese soup and I ordered the mushrooms with Stilton blue cheese on toast. The soup was served with large pieces of sourdough bread and butter so it was very filling for a good price. I tried some of the soup and it was really good. The mushrooms were sautéed in butter and the cheese was melted on top of the toast so it was damn delectable. I savored every bite of that toast. The soup was something like 2 pounds and the toast was 4 pounds. I think we walked out of there spending about 10-15 pounds total? Pretty decent if you ask me. Also, they refused to accept our tips. I am accustomed to giving tips always, but they politely declined my offer. Great service, delicious food, cheap and amazing beer and no tip?! It was one of the highlights of the trip.

I'm often in Windermere for the weekend, and having a pint at the Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley…read moremakes for a great start to it. It's a big venue, with a large downstairs area next to the bar, and further seating on a mezzanine upstairs. There's then a further bar (only open sometimes) through the back. There's large glass panels to let you see into the actual brewery itself, so it's interesting just being in the place. There's outside seating too, in the car park, so it's hardly picturesque, but it's fine too when the weather is mild or if you want some peace and quiet away from the buzz indoors. It's a good atmosphere, very laid back and friendly, with plenty of dogs. Staff are pleasant and helpful, and know their beers well. The beers are good - all sorts from your pale ales through to your dark stouts, and last time I was there I had a raspberry sour. It wasn't great if I'm honest, but you can't win them all :-) Hawkshead seem to be quite an adventurous brewery, so there's always something new to try. My favourites are the stouts. There's a range of food too which seems to be mostly traditional 'Northern' food - Shepherd's Pie, Yorkshire pudding, Venison burgers - mostly very meat heavy, so I've never tried anything, apart from the chips. The chips are good! They do a fantastic beer festival. We went this year for the first time, and it was brilliant, we had such a good time. You get a menu, and can just work your way through the ones you fancy the sound of. They're categorised into the different bars, so it makes it quite fun to work your way about trying different ones. They had a massive marquee when we were there, with a crazy and very entertaining jazz band. It's a family atmosphere, with kids there too, so the adults are sensible and nothing gets too out of hand. I'm hoping we can go every year! With regular weekend checks ins until next year.

First and foremost, this is a local brewery that supplies the area with some excellent real ales…read morebut if you want to sample them at their best, their is a nice small bar with 4-5 of the beers on tap. I had the Sundowner and Nell's Best (which I'd had before in pubs) and you will not get a better quality ale than this. The restaurant, eating area is nicely organised and a cross between a cafe and a bar-restuarant. We went for a mid-week lunch and settled for a very nice collar of pork, settled on a mound of black pudding mashed potatoes, pork medallions and the Thurs special of Beef Olives. All were served with a large family style platter of fresh veggies which were perfectly cooked. We were all very happy with our meals. They are child friendly and have high chairs ... and the service was excellent especially from the lady from the kitchen who came up to check that we were ok a number of times and also catered to getting some bread up as our baby, was getting antsy. There is an outdoor area and a kids play area so parents can sample a pint while the kids play. My only criticism is that their bottled beer is sold at the same price as I can get in other places, I would have thought it could be 15-20% cheaper (or sold as a pack of 12+ for a bigger discount) as I would have thought bulk sales would have benefitted all. We'll be back

Love, love, love this place! Have taken four or five different groups of friends or family there…read morefor dinner and Sunday lunch, not one person has come away disappointed or feeling hungry! This is a real gem of a pub, tucked away up the hill just a few miles from Hexham. Have heard this is walkable from Hexham on a nice day but most will need a car - one thing to bear in mind is parking can be a bit limited and a bit of a free-for-all at busiest times, but you should usually get a space somewhere. Alternatively, taking a taxi is a good option, should only cost about £6-£8 from the centre of Hexham itself. First of all, the location and setting is simply stunning. If you park across the road, the views over the Tyne Valley are fantastic. You then go into the pub itself via a lovely garden area with a pergola. Inside is a proper Northumbrian country pub, great traditional decor, roaring fires, with some unusual wall and ceiling decorations (will leave that for you to discover!) Each time we've visited to eat, we've been welcomed by the friendly staff who offer the right level of service, i.e. keeping your table clear, everything in check without being overly attentive. The bar offers a good range of real ales, usually with a local brewery on offer, all of which are very well kept. They have an excellent range of wines and spirits as well, so you could easily go here for a relaxing drink, although the bar area is relatively small. However, if you are here, you really must try the food. Honestly, the Rat Inn has served up some of the best food I've ever eaten, nothing fussy or complicated, just locally sourced ingredients cooked to perfection. What is encouraging is that there are no menus on the tables, instead you'll find the day's menu on a chalkboard, which indicates freshness and illustrates how much they care about what ends up on your plate. In fact, you can find out where the meats and veg have come from as the suppliers are also chalked up on the wall. As the menu changes fairly regularly, it is not really worth recommending any particular dish on here for fear of it not being on next time, but the Sunday roast dinners are superb and the Sticky Toffee Pudding is top notch! Bear in mind you do get hearty Northumbrian-sized portions here, it is difficult to leave here without feeling a tad on the full side... As this place features in the top 50 UK gastropubs, it can get popular and they don't have an abundance of space, which adds to its charm but is also a slight disadvantage - definitely worth booking in advance to avoid missing out. In summary, the Rat Inn really is a wonderful place and one to which I can't wait to have an opportunity to go back soon.

We are regular customers at The Rat because it is such a great place with great food…read more Last night's visit was for my wife's birthday and except for one minor thing it was as good as usual. The Rat is the very definition of an English country pub. Open fires and a cosy atmosphere are exactly what you want from a pub, add in the great food and it is hard to beat. We shared a starter of smoked haddock fritters which was delicious if a little parsimonious for £7. Main courses were superb; slow cooked belly pork and 3 cuts of lamb; delicious, deep savoury flavours that are so hard to accomplish at home. My wife's warm gingerbread dessert wasn't warm which was a disappointment in an otherwise delicious meal.

We come here in the winter, and although it closes at 4pm most weekdays, you can have a meal here…read moreon Friday and Saturday evenings. We rush back from where we have been visiting and grab a pint before closing time. They stock a complete array of local ales and if you look on the ceiling you will find all the different locally brewed brands they have had. The food is great, never had a meal we could complain about, lovely baked goats cheese starter, seafood broth, and of course, all locally caught. Recommended with a great and very brisk walk along the sands with views of Dunstanburgh castle. Fantastic photo opportunities abound here. In fact I hate to give this little place away, but don't worry you don't stand a chance of getting booked in anywhere around here, everyone else has discovered it well before we did.

We ended up stranded because the tide came in (we put an idiot in charge of the tide tables, lol)…read moreThe Ship was the only place open that day, and although they were extremely busy, the landlord and his staff went out of their way to look after four random strangers who walked through his door with nowhere else to go on a chilly rainy day. We cannot thank The Ship enough for their hospitality. We recommend a visit if you are on the island.

Stayed for 3 nights while visiting some friends in Newcastle. The rooms are a bit dated, but they…read morewere clean and roomy. Bit of odor from former smokers still lingered a bit, but not bad. The bathroom was clean as well. We ate, and drank, at the pub a couple nights and the food was good. Beer was fresh and cold. Lots of outside seating and that was all really nice. They were short staffed in the kitchen both nights so food was very slow coming out but it was decent enough and waiting outside with a cold beer was ok. Breakfast wasn't included but you could add your name to the list for breakfast the night before. Typical full English was good. We tried the eggs Benedict as well and that was tasty. Breakfast orders definitely came out of the kitchen faster. Staff were all friendly and helpful. We'd stay here again.

went for Easter Sunday and got a table outside in the marquee. No tables set, tab ends everywhere…read moreand lots of screaming kids. Service was very slow coming out one by one and meat tough and undercooked - ran out of beers and wine. deserts then took a further 30 mins. Complained to the manager twice who both times offered no apologies and waitress said how bad it had turned out to be. she brought us a small refund but no apology or sign of manager - would never go for food here again please avoid

Great beer selection particularly sours and discovered a great smoothie sour at the suggestion of…read morestaff

Brewdog Newcastle was the third stop on our pub crawl around the city, and I'm not sure I should be…read moreadmitting this but it's the first time I've ever been to one of Brewdog's bars. I've drank their beer, obviously, because who in this day and age hasn't had at least one Punk IPA, but I never seem to have made it into my local Brewdog. Their Newcastle bar was pretty busy, as you'd expect for a Saturday afternoon, but we managed to snag a table upstairs. I went for a pint of the 9 AM Saint, a ruby ale which sounded decent and came recommended by the barman. Incidentally, he knew the Brewdog range well and was able to discuss and advise on the beer they had available that day. The beer was good, a nice rounded flavour and not too hoppy. I'll be looking out for it in bottles back home. The bar itself was clean and well laid out, with a very modern feel from the wood and metal throughout. A decent bar, and I'll definitely have to check out the one in Manchester now!