The Board Inn, Bridlington

This is a very smart looking High Street pub in the heart of Bridlington Old Town, that has retained a number of interesting historic features. You enter to a fairly compact bare boarded room with the servery directly opposite the front door. The bar has a nice dark wood, curved counter and a very impressive high matching bar back topped with a decorative pediment, all mounted on an exposed brick back wall with a large cabinet to one side, displaying various bottles. A long comfy button backed banquette runs down the front wall under large front windows with some highly decorative etched glass lower sections. To one side of this stands a sizable shelving unit full of typical pub odds and ends such as earthenware, books and bottles. A wooden ceiling is lined with dark wood beams whilst the walls are mostly bare brick, decorated with old CAMRA certificates, paintings and the like, and all of this is lit by very dim lighting, which helps create a strangely warm and cosy environment, especially when visiting during the hours of darkness, as we did. Stairs to the rear left lead you up along a passage behind the servery, eventually emerging into a fairly unspectacular rear room with some additional seating and access to the toilets. The pub was very quiet when we visited on a Monday evening, and we got the impression they would’ve closed had we not arrived just as the only other customers were about to depart. They had three handpulls in operation when we turned up, giving a choice of St Austell Proper Job, Taylors landlord and Titanic Plum Porter. Despite not being a fan of the latter, I decided to give it a go and found it in excellent shape but still not really my cup of tea. The barmaid was very friendly and although a couple of other customers turned up after us, the lack of music or other such distractions meant that everyone could easily hear every word that was said, which made for a slightly strangled atmosphere. This is a very attractive and comfortable pub that I was happy to spend a bit of time relaxing in. We probably didn’t see it at its best and could imagine it’s a very different experience with even a modest crowd in attendance, but with well kept beer and cheery service, there’s plenty here to entice the passing drinker.

In the heart of the old town, this place has had a very recent refurb and it feels like a proper old pub, with an interior almost exclusively dark wood and exposed brick. Very dim lighting, perhaps too dim. To the right side is a little snug area, then a few steps take you up to a lighter rear room with comfy seating and a proper fire. Apparently there are others, but I missed them (perhaps should have brought along a torch). A genuine quiet pub so everyone was whispering, which I found a bit disconcerting at first. Seven pumps all on; St Austell Proper Job, Titanic Plum Porter, Fullers ESB, Adnams Ghost Ship, Oakham Citra (very good shape), Hook Norton Bitter and something Gold. I grew to like this one as time ticked by and it's worth getting the train for.