The Plough Hotel, Alnwick

Official site of The Plough Hotel - www.ploughalnwick.co.uk

Official site of The Plough Hotel - www.ploughalnwick.co.uk

A big pub at the edge of the town centre, heavily tarted up inside with a modern sort of feel. There are several rooms around a central bar, with more disappearing off to the back and a roadside patio area at the front. It usually has TT Landlord on handpump but it was off on this visit, nor was there any food on offer so I suspect something was awry. On this showing frankly not worth the effort but it could be better if it tried.

An impressive and imposing looking stone built pub, it reminded me of something that you might found in the Cotswolds perhaps, and certainly looked most inviting. There was a pleasant patio area at the front of the pub that looked well maintained and all together it looked quite upmarket and inviting. It’s a shame then that the interior really didn’t live up to those expectations. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with it, it was all clean and tidy, and quite elegant I suppose in a way, but it was all quite generic and certainly didn’t have any of the character that I had been expecting. The flooring was some sort of sanded wooden boards whilst the walls were predominantly deep aqua blue plasterwork and a whitewashed ceiling. A large oval and wood panelled bar counter split the ground floor room in to two halves. Various random pictures, many of animals, were dotted around the walls, whilst a TV screen showing a sports channel was off to one side. A restaurant upstairs was very similar in terms of décor and we found the food to be adequate, but certainly nothing particularly inspiring. The solitary beer on tap was Wainwright’s Golden Ale, although there was also a pump for Timothy Taylor Landlord which appeared to have run out. Ciders meanwhile were Orchard Thieves and Old Mout Berries & Cherries.

This very much feels like a hotel bar rather than a pub. Despite the large size of the building, the drinking area is actually quite small. I only spotted one hand pull at the bar, offering Black Sheep Best Bitter. I noticed afterwards that a chalk board listed Laine Robin Red Best as also being available, though there was no sign of a second hand pull unless there is a separate section to the bar somewhere that was not immediately visible. Laine is apparently brewed in Brighton, so that has travelled some miles to get up to Alnwick. Accommodation is available, obviously. A function room is also advertised. Not one I can see myself returning to, to be honest.