Coach & Horses, Hexham

A prominent pub in the centre of the High Street that looks as though it was perhaps an old coaching inn at one time, it looks as though it’s had some extensive refurbishment at some expense and now looks as though it at least trying to be a little more upmarket. Internally it’s not unpleasant, but is a little bland without much in the way of any character. It’s a L-shaped pub with a passageway between the two halves. The right-hand bar appears to be the main drinking area including the bar counter, and this had dark wood strip on the floor along with some tiling around the bar, and red patterned carpet at the rear which had been partially sectioned off with some glazed wood partitioning to create a separate area. The paintwork on the walls and ceilings were a very pale grey or brown, and although there was a feature wall with some wallpaper at the front, there was really very little of any note. The room to the left looked to be more geared up for dining and was a little cosier with carpet on the floor, pale green paintwork on much of the walls, a couple of very light beams on the ceiling and a fireplace with a wooden mantlepiece at one end. A small snug in a recess off of this room had some colourful artwork on the walls and fitted banquette style red padded bench seating. Despite four pumps on the bar, they were both doubled up leaving Timothy Taylor Boltmaker and Anarchy Blond Star as the sole offerings. Ciders fared no better with Strongbow being the only option, unfortunately. I’ve mixed feelings about this – the staff were friendly, and the food was pretty good and a generous portion, but I’m not sure I’d bother coming back just for a drink.

Official site of Coach & Horses - coachandhorseshexham.com

Facebook page of Coach & Horses - www.facebook.com

Official site of Coach & Horses - coachandhorseshexham.com

Facebook page of Coach & Horses - www.facebook.com

Walking past and peering in made me think it was a GBG pre-emptive. Has clearly been done-up recently at expense and smart it looks too. Split down the middle by a glazed retaining wall, a handsome turquoise bar is off right with banquette seating. The left corridor is exposed brick featuring a couple of semi-booths with a dining room off further. My Allendale Pale was easily GBG standard (NBSS 3.5) with their Wolf and Jarrow Rivet Catcher as the other options, although a couple of the pumps were oddly obscured by a straw holder. WhatPub says that it shares common management with the County Hotel, which helps explain things. I liked it here and imagine it’d be a tidy evening venue.