The Steamboat, South Shields

After some drinks in the Tynemouth Lodge Hotel, we caught the ferry over to South Shields. It was a lot of fun, though probably because it was warm and sunny. It’s a lovely trip, but not as good as the ferry across the Mersey (though being a Scouser I’m probably biased). Some of the photos I took are here.

In need of more refreshments, we went straight to the Steamboat for some alcohol. The pub’s a short walk from the ferry and it’s in the good beer guide. It was the only pub in the northeast to receive a golden award as part of Camra’s 50th anniversary.

It’s an excellent pub, that sells itself as a community pub (though not an actual community pub, one that is owned by the community). There were only three real ales on tap (the good beer guide says five). Two were too strong for me, so I had to make do with Ossett’s White Rat, sorry John (not one of my favourites either). It was pricy, at £5.10 a pint. But then the pub was a Punch Tavern, so they must pay a premium price for their beers.

The pub has a nautical theme, with the walls full of nautical memorabilia.

The pub floor had reminders of the covid years.

We had a couple of drinks before heading back to Newcastle.

There’s another pub here that’s looks like it’s worth a visit (we didn’t have time), the Stags Head. It’s in a grade II listed building and has three stars in Camra’s national inventory of pub interiors.

Less Expensive Newcastle City Centre Pubs

While researching the pubs of Newcastle I came across three micro pubs in the city centre that looked interesting: the Mean-Eyed Cat, the Town Mouse Ale House and the Wobbly Duck. All three are in the good beer guide. We should have visited them yesterday, but they were on the opposite side of town, a bit too far away and I wasn’t sure how the buses worked.

While talking to the barman at the Tynemouth Lodge Hotel, I mentioned them. He said he knew them, and they are well worth visiting.

When we got back into the city, we went to the Mean-Eyed Cat, the closest one to Haymarket metro station. It was excellent, a proper pub. A pint of 4.5% stout cost me £4.40, a much better price. I could only have two pints due to the limited time available.

A Wonderful Curry

While in the Tynemouth Lodge Hotel we were talking about last night’s awful curry. The mine of information behind the bar told us to go to Khai Khai, an excellent curry house. He was not wrong, it was superb, and it was well worth the beer vouchers. It was a Monday night, and we still had to reserve a table.

An Excellent Day

Today was a good day. A nice walk along the coast, a ferry ride, some interesting pubs and an excellent curry.

Update 25th of September

Today I was in the Sportsman in Huddersfield talking to a man who knows his real ales and pubs well. He also knew Newcastle well (he lived there once). He said he wouldn’t bother drinking in the centre of Newcastle. He’d rather cross over to Gateshead where there are much better pubs. Looking at next year’s good beer guide, he’s probably right. Gateshead’s only a short bus ride away.