The Bobbin, Lancaster

This is a large, opened out pub located right next to the bus station, making it a handy port of call if arriving into or departing the city. Inside, there's a bare boarded room with a few pillars and bits of old wall here and there, but for the most part, it's a large single space which had an echoey, drinking barn feel to it on a quiet Monday night. The bar is to the left and has a partially decorative, dark wood counter front with a brass hand rail and a simple tongue and groove panelled bar back, with some glazed tiles below. These are not as impressive as those in the tiled entrance porch, which are highly decorative and have a nice mosaic tile floor and curved entrance door in support, suggesting how great the pub must once have looked. Standard tables and chairs now fill the vast, cold interior, with low stools in abundance and more of the same in a dark, raised space to the right, under a dartboard. There's a pool table to the rear, under some dated looking wallpaper, with a juke box and slot machines also present and correct. TV screens around the room were showing a live football match with hip-hop tunes playing in the background. The pub seemed to have segregated itself along age lines, with a young crowd over to the right and a few older coupes to the left - I ended up sat in the middle, at a table with beer bottle tops inlaid into its surface, although this was more due to the lack of available seats elsewhere than an attempt to keep the demographics in balance. Four ales were available at the bar - Bowland Gold, Vocation Heart and Soul, Hawkshead Windermere Pale and Moorhouded Squid Ink Stout at £2.05 a half. Three ciders further enhanced the range and I noticed they were offering a 15p discount to CAMRA members. The Ink Stout was in reasonable condition although the service was more functional than friendly. I couldn't quite warm to this place, despite the healthy ale range, and found the visit a little underwhelming, mainly due to the impersonal interior and frosty welcome. I may well have just caught it at a bad time - Monday night on a snowy January evening probably isn't the best time to judge any pub - but I came away a little disappointed either way and would be interested in giving the place a second chance the next time I'm in town. Date of visit - 15th January 2024