It's A Banker - Stockton on Tees

More glorious sunshine and blue skies greeted me on Monday morning, when I made the jounrney from my Darlington base to Thornaby station. From there it was a short walk through modern student accommodation and offices, before crossing the Tees on a footbridge.

I was on my way to Stockton.
Uh-oh...on first glance it looked like the town was being demolished...

Significant building works

Stockton-on-Tees is the kind of place that raises a furrowed brow from my mum who tried to bring me up to go on holiday to national parks, walking the fells and visiting country houses.
Why on earth would you want to go to Stockton-on-Tees?!

To see the plinth in the market square.

And the hippopotamus bursting out the side of a house...

And to be able to partake in a pint like this...

The Sun (2 Knowles Street, TS18 6SU - web)
"Bass, please."
"Banker?"
I'm glad that bloggers and Bass aficionados have previously promoted the banked Bass at the Sun, otherwise I'd have had no idea what the fella at the bar meant. 
Or I'd have misheard.

Bass is the sole cask on offer at the Sun and once sold so quickly that half pints were poured at quieter times and 'banked' in the fridge, ready to be quickly topped up, creating the frothy heads.

The Sun Inn looks every bit the proper boozer: open early, hanging baskets and planters braving the chilly April nights, and posters advertising karaoke, disco, and £2.30 pints of John Smith's Smoothflow.
For pre-noon drinking, there was a fair number of regulars settled in their favourite seats, attention divided between horse racing on numerous TVs and wondering why the weird chap a few tables down was taking pictures of his Bass with a big grin on his face.

There's a chap wondering why I'm photographing my pint.
Whilst I'm wondering why he's got a bottle of Fairy detergent on his table.

There is a bit of a problem visiting on a Monday and that's that many micropubs have an aversion to opening at the beginning of the week.
Of the seven current Good Beer Guide entries, three were shut on a Monday.  A fourth, The Wasps Nest, usually opens but had decided to go on holiday when I was there.

Best head to the small shopping arcade to one that was open.
And make a pigs ear of the picture...

Tipsy Turtle (5 Regency West Mall, West Row, TS18 1EF - web)
It was far too quiet, perhaps justifying those that took the day off.
Just two blokes sat in the window seat, which is why I sat quietly in the corner, took no pictures and sipped my Campervan 'Nomad Pale'.

I'm sure I'd have enjoyed this a lot more at a busier time.  Alongside the three cask ales was a good selection of draft German and Belgian beers and some highly tempting, high-ABV, colourful cans in the fridge.

Checking the time, I drank up and headed back to the market square plinth which promised to do something at 1pm.  It kicks into life a minute or so late, just to give me time to think I could be loitering for no reason.  Then the top slowly opened and a steampunk contraption rose slowly in commemoration of the George Stephenson's first railway which ran from Stockton to Darlington.

It moves, hoots loudly, blows steam smoke rings and is absolutely fantastic.

When the Flyer sunk back into the plinth for another day, the dozen or so folk who'd been watching it drifted off in different directions.  In my case, down the road to the Wetherspoon's for a bite to eat.

The Thomas Sheraton (4 Bridge Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3BW - web)
The town 'Spoons has been a fixture in the Good Beer Guide for fifteen years, holding back the rise of the side-street micros to keep its place.

Thomas Sheraton was a famed 18th century furniture maker who was born in the town and published 'The Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and General Artist's Encyclopaedia' in 1805.   I suspect he never envisaged having a pub named after him a couple of hundred years in the future.

It's an impressive grade II listed building which used to the county court house.  There's lots of nooks and crannies downstairs, a mezzanine level with rooftop courtyard, and a great coloured glass skylight.

I ordered some food and a pint of Titanic 'E.B.A' brown ale, before moving on in the search of my final micropub of the afternoon.

This was located somewhere down this colourful alley (or is it a ginnel?)

Golden Smog (1 Hambledon Yard, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1DS)
The Golden Smog was the first of the town's micros, opened in August 2014.
It's a narrow single room with the bar at the far end, pump clips adorning the ceiling and a fine collection of German steins on a high shelf. 

From the five real ales I picked the Harrogate ‘Nid Mild’ and took it to the last remaining table.  Small tables, benches and proper pub stools lined each wall, with patrons facing the centre of the room and chatting to one another in compliance with Herne Bay micropub rules.

I don't know what I missed with all the closed places on a Monday, but I'm glad the Golden Smog was open and will make a beeline for a return visit next time I'm in this neck of the woods.
A lovely crowd of folk drinking everything from Sam Smith's in a bottle to Belgian ales served in their proper glassware.  

Stockton-on-Tees had provided me with a great afternoon out and should be on the bucket-list of anyone who likes Bass, micropubs, and brilliant steampunk sculptures.
And I got a great value haircut.
Cheers!🍺

Durham Pub Crawl

Sunday morning: a dramatic change in the weather promised the first real blue sky pictures on the blog for 2023 (I've only had to wait until April!) 
Full of enthusiasm and a Premier Inn breakfast I headed to Darlington station to catch the LNER train for the 17 minute trip to Durham.
A good early arrival gave me plenty of time to explore, pop into the cathedral, stroll along the banks of the River Wear, and visit the historic Cosin's library. 

How long would it be before I expanded the sightseeing itinerary to include a pub?
That'd be 11:27.

The Half Moon Inn (86 New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AQ - web)
The Half Moon is an early opener with big glass windows allowing the casual by-passer to peer in and spot the Bass pump clip.
It's a fine, spacious, traditional pub, with polished dark wood surfaces and red leather bench running the length of the front window.  The crescent shaped room to the rear gets a mention in the heritage pub guide, but I figured it best to sit with my fellow early drinkers in the brighter front section.
Anyone wanting a cask beer that isn't Bass had the alternative choice of Landlord, Doom Bar and Wainwright.

To be honest, I think it was a pretty average pint of Bass, probably the first of day looking at the fizzy bubbles in Carling glasses on neighbouring tables.  But I enjoyed it, sat quietly with the sunshine beaming in the windows and the tail end of an early F1 race on the TV.

Just a few minutes walk along Old Elvet is the great-looking Dun Cow Inn, where I headed next.  This is a Grade II listed building with parts dating back to the 15th century and stories of several resident ghosts.

Dun Cow (37 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HN)
A passageway leads along the side of the pub, with a sliding door providing entry to the snug at the front, an entry to the lounge further along and a small patio and outdoor WCs at the end.
I slid open the door to the snug and joined the other 4 customers in the small room, grabbing myself the cushioned bench seating in the window alcove.  
Castle Eden 'Blonde' or 'Best', plus a Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' were the options on cask, so I parted with £4.20 for a pint of the best.

I figured the Castle Eden was quite an interesting find - harking back to 1826 they were once a large NE brewer, eventually brought out by Whitbread in the sixties.  The original brewery was shut in 2002 and production of the beers moved to Camerons until they decided to cease brewing the ales in 2013.  Castle Eden has since been resurrected in 2015 as a microbrwery in the town of Seaham.
I'm  a sucker for the revival of old beers, so won't spoil it by mentioning that the beer was very average.
That chap in the corner seems to have an interesting dress sense.
Let's follow him up the road to the Victoria and get a closer look at those trousers...

Don't look too closely - they're very rude and give a clear message to 
wierdo pub bloggers taking surreptitious pictures behind your back! 

The Victoria Inn (86 Hallgarth Street, Durham, DH1 3AS)
Featuring on the National Pub Heritage list, the Victoria was built in 1899.  It's been run by the same family for over 40 years who've managed to retain its original historic design.
The crowd of punters is gathered in the narrow front bar where slices of pie, chunks of cheese and a bowl of crisps are sitting on the counter for all to help themselves.

Five cask ales were on offer, two from Newcastle's Big Lamp Brewery, Harviestoun 'Bitter & Twisted', Durham 'Artemis' pale ale, and - my pick - Blockyard's very tasty 'Space Oddity' stout.

There are two more rooms in the pub - both with marvelous fireplaces, lots of pictures, porcelain ornaments, and proper pub furniture.
An intriguing feature is the Family Department, a small wooden screen partitioned section which can be seen at the end of the bar.  This harks back to the days when women and children would fetch the families ale supplies and would do so from this off-sales counter without having to see or be seen by drinkers in the rest of the pub.

If only there weren't so many pubs that looked worth visiting in Durham, I could quite happily have settled in the Victoria for the rest of the afternoon.  A wonderful pub.
Instead, I trekked over the river twice, through the centre, and uphill on the west side of the city.  I made a fleeting visit for a half of Consett 'Red Dust' in the Old Elm Tree (12 Crossgate, Durham, DH1 4PS), currently Durham CAMRA 2023 city pub of the year.

Then I headed across the road and a few steps down the hill to a new GBG entry which was doing a roaring Sunday afternoon trade...

The Holy GrALE (57 Crossgate, Durham, DH1 4PR)
Previously a board-games cafe called Dark Matter, the Holy GrALE has been dishing outj craft beers since 2019 when it was opened by a former landlord of the Old Elm Tree pub.
It's a simple rectangular room, stairs leading down to a basement, bar and fridges dominating the back of the room.

What a difference a crowd of people make.  There was a buzz about the place with almost all the tables taken and a hubbub of conversation from a wide variety of Durham locals and their four legged companions.

Just the one, very reasonably priced, cask ale was available when I visited, alongside an impressive keg list offering everything from your Dortmunder Union to Vault City sours.
And a 'Huay Chivo' 11.3% chocolate and chilli imperial porter by Tartarus - yep, that'll do nicely!  

I arrived feeling pretty famished by this point and the buffet laid out on a long, high central table saved the day.

The final pubs on my list were handily close to the train station (and there's a pub on the platform just in case there's a long wait for the next train).
Firstly, the Bridge Hotel...

The Bridge Hotel (40 North Road, Durham, DH1 4SE - web)
The building which houses the current hotel was constructed in the 1850's as lodgings for workers constructing the 100ft high granite railway viaduct which it sits in the shadow of.  In 1864 it was established as a pub and named after the bridge that the original residents had helped build.
It's obviously had a fairly recent refurb: smartly painted, with chequered carpet and matching tub chairs.  On the bar was a choice of two cask ales - Ossett 'Yorkshire Blonde' or Greene King 'Future Brewers Spring Break'.

Sunday lunch service had just passed it's peak, with the odd gravy boat still being delivered to a table, whilst West Ham and Southampton battled it out on the TV to see who could keep Forest company near the bottom of the Premier League.

Drinking up at the end of the first half I headed across the road to the Station House, looking very photogenic with the bridge and blue sky behind it...

The Station House (Bridge Road, Durham, DH1 4SE - web)
This pub recently made it to the last four in the voting for CAMRA's 2022 Pub of the Year (won by the Tamworth Tap, which I really must visit soon, whilst other runners up were the Horse and Jockey in Stapleford and the King's Head in Norwich).

The Station House consists of one small room with long high benches, a table by the window, and a little extra seating tucked away down a couple of steps to one side.  There's no bar - just a hatch through which to order, with the beer barrels on view behind a glass screen.
Pump clips were stuck to the sides of the hatch: 3 beers, 3 ciders, 4 craft kegs.
A Verdant 'Burnt Porter' for me, served on top form and thoroughly enjoyable.

No TV screen, no music, no distractions, unless you count the four chaps sitting basked in light by the window and singing an impromptu rendition of 'Here Comes the Sun'.

This had been my first visit to Durham since my parents brought me here as a youngster (and didn't send me into the family department of the Victoria for ale supplies, to the best of my recollection).
It struck me as one of those cities where every pub looks to be worth poking your head into, so I must make it back sometime soon and do just that.

Darlington Pub Crawl

The beginning of the Easter break saw me make the 224-mile trip northbound, where the town of Darlington would be base-camp for trips to Durham and Stockton.
First up, a bit of a tour around some of the local Beer Guide pubs 'n' bars in Darlo.  I think I can get away with the familiarity of calling it Darlo having spent 3 nights there, watched the football team play, and somehow ended up in George's retirement bash at the Britannia.

From High Row, in front of the market hall and clock tower, several narrow entrances between the buildings lead to Buckton's Yard, Clark's Yard, and Mechanics' Yard.  Down the latter of these is the Quaker House, which doesn't make for the most obvious of pub pictures...

There's a pub there somewhere

Quaker House (2 Mechanics Yard, Darlington, DL3 7QF - web)
But inside it's a bit of a gem.
There's some colourful stained glass above the bar, and Motorhead drip mats on it, a classic rock soundtrack piping out through the speakers.
Somewhere within the building is the micro Mad Scientist brewery, so it's their own ‘James Watt’, with a railway pump clip, that I picked.

A great selection of ales, all around the £4 a pint mark, and 'Nineteen times CAMRA Town Pub of the Year', it was tempting to just settle for the afternoon on my stubby stool next to the radiator in the Quaker House.
But that's not very intrepid and there are 9 entries in the Beer Guide (a 10th, the Bondgate Tavern, seems to have recently closed).  So off I set on a short walk onto Coniscliffe Road for the next two venues...

Number Twenty 2 (22 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG)
I was a little worried by this one as I haven't quite got over all those Blackpool pubs and bars with numbers for names.
From the outside the large curved shop-style windows with clock above the door looked quite intriguing.  It feels a little like it should be a trendy wine bar or French bistro within, but was instead a bustling bar with a confusing choice of real ales on offer.  I didn't spot the blackboard listing these at first, and with the pumps being spread around different parts of a large bar I ended up just pointing at "that one please".

There were more hand pulls beyond a pillar for cider, and closer inspection revealed that half the beers were from the Village Brewery - their own beers, brewed nearby at Hambledon Brewery.  
A nice place that I promised myself I'd come back to, yet never did.  Next time.

Just two doors down is the micro...

ORB (28 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG)
I was kinda expecting to find ORB packed to the rafters, but it was quiet in comparison to Number Twenty 2.  I was customer number 3 on arrival, although it wasn't long before a few more folks arrived.
Situated in a former Beauty Salon, a rather smart slate fronted bar was to the left of the front door with a handful of stools dotted around.  Up a couple of steps to the rear there were a few more tables and a shelf of books and games.

Six cask ales on offer, ranging from £3.80 to £4.80 a pint.  I picked the cheapest one, not cos I'm a cheapskate but because I fancied the local, sensible strength, Durham Brewery ‘Magus’ pale ale.

Ah, that reminds me, there's a football match to go and watch.

Darlington FC, the Quakers, used to play at the more central Feethams Ground before over-ambitiously moving into the 20,000 seater Reynolds Arena.  Several bouts of administration, a reformation, a spell playing in Bishops Auckland, and then a move back to share a rugby ground followed.
Blackwell Meadows was a quick bus ride from the town hall to the southern edge of town.  A short queue at the home turnstile and £16 got me into the ground for the National North tie with Chester City.

I enjoy watching football at this level, with the opportunity to walk around and pick several different vantage points throughout the game.  The advertising hoardings promote the local washing machine store; the away supporters have to stand on a small bank behind one goal; and the local kids were playing a frantic game of footy all of their own on a patch of grass to one side. 

The most vocal of the 1,912 supporters were stood in the 'Tin Shed' covered terrace, although there wasn't a great deal for them to cheer.  "Abject in every department" was the conclusion of the chap next to me towards the end.  2-nil down, Darlington did score a 90th minute consolation and set up a bit of an exciting finish as they sensed the possibility of a draw which didn't materialise.

After the final whistle I didn't fancy jostling the crowds for the first bus, so pulled my hood up and ambled the mile back to town in the persistent drizzle.  A good decision as I saw no bus whizz by and beat the Darlo supporters to the craft bar.

Here's the low-point of the day's pub photography...

House of Hop (4b Houndgate, Darlington, DL1 5LR)
The House of Hop is a modern single room bar, with a mix of high and low seating, a fine display of beer cans, and lots of mini lights spread over the ceiling.
It's apparently owned by a couple, one of whom looks after the bar, the other being a brewer for Three Brothers Brewery.  And it was their 'Dan's Brown' small batch brown ale which I picked from the choice of 4 casks, which went down a treat.
I was planning to stick around and see what else was on offer, especially on the keg lines as I'd read this was the best tap selection in town.  But it became uncomfortably busy with damp footy fans.  I figured it was best to move on rather than try to squeeze back to the the bar.

Back to those alleys...gittys... yards again - Buckton's this time - down which you'll find Crafty Merlin's Tap and Bottle Shop.

Crafty Merlin’s (6 Bucktons Yard, DL3 7QL)
Oh, I liked this!  It was opened during lock down as a bottle shop and has since expanded into a micro bar with two floors.  In comparison to the stylish House of Hop, this had a ramshackle feel to it, basic bench seating and cushions atop beer barrels, a scruffy blackboard listing what's on offer and a varied bunch of happy punters.
There were three casks available, two from Hambledon brewery which I ignored completely as I only had eyes for the George Samuel ‘Sticky Toffee Milk Stout'.  Oh yes!

My first day in Darlington ended in The Britannia (1 Archer Street, Darlington, DL1 6LR) at the northern end of the town centre.
This was packed to the rafters, with nowhere to stand with my Timothy Taylor 'Boltmaker' (on great form) without being in someone's way.
George was having a retirement do here which I don't think was private.  

A better pub blogger would have discovered what George was retiring from and reported on the quality of the pies and peas which were delivered to the snug on a huge tray.
Sadly, not me.
I was worn out and needed to pace myself and get a good night's rest if I were going to get around all the pubs of Durham the following day.