The Castle Barge, Newark

Yep, a standard barge conversion pretty well identical to its cousin in Grimsby, with a lounge and bar in the hold, a smaller room above and a big beer garden on the bank. Ales are from Pheasantry. I suppose it adds a bit of novelty and the lounge is quite cosy, but otherwise there is a lot of traipsing up and down stairs. The beer was ok though.

A boat pub (converted from a grain barge in 1980), like an upmarket Charters in Peterborough. Down the stairs to the comfortable main bar with wood panelling and nautical ephemera, discrete bench booth seating and lots of dark varnish. Upstairs there is a lounge room and also deck seating for sunny days. Friendly barman behind the counter with two ales on over four pumps; Lincoln Green Marion and Stapleford Full Mash (fair). I quite liked it here and it’s well-worth doing as something a bit unusual. Newark has a good variety of pubs. 7.5

Well described already, this is an unusual and comfortable place for a pint. The loos are nautical, the bar cosy and there's plenty of outside seating for sunny days. A brief glance at the menu showed standard pub fare at standard pub prices. Beers on were: Pheasantry Best Bitter, Dancing Dragon and Pale Ale alongside Lincoln Green Spring Green. Both reasonably local breweries but not the most inspiring range. Another of Newark's finest which is well worth a visit but may not be my first stop.

The Castle Barge is pemanently moored on the River Trent and very handy for Newark Castle train station. When i first did this pub it was a North Country tied house with a decent pint of North Country Bitter on the bar. On our recent visit it is still pretty much the same,you go down steps to get to the main bar area with the bar on the left side,there are comfy pew seats on the right side,the floor is bare boarded,the front area is up some steps,there is an upper deck which seemed more popular with diners and there is seating outside on the banks of the River Trent. There were three real ales on the bar,we had a drink of Full Mash Warlord which went down very well,then a drink of Full Mash Bhisti which was also very nice,the other beer was Marble Lagona IPA. Food was being served and background music was playing. We both thought this was a very pleasant pub to end our small Newark crawl on. Will be back next time in Newark. Pub first visited 27/3/1983 Recent visit 6/8/2016

I only once recall going to a pub on a boat and that was a rubbish Bass Charrington tourist trap. This place which consists of what looks like a barge but with a mast is a lot better than that. It's small but larger than I had expected with a top deck room where children are allowed and the main bar downstairs. I found it quite dark and gloomy here but I think in this case it is unavoidable. The bar has just four hand pumps which on my visit had a cider, Taylor's Boltmaker, Lincoln Green Archer and Full Mash Seance. I went for the Lincoln Green Archer which I found to be superb. It cost £3.10 with the CAMRA discount so is a bit pricy for the area but not outrageously so. Food here seems to consist of just pizzas. It was quiet on my Saturday lunchtime visit but would imagine it gets busy in peak times. It's something of a novelty pub which is well worth a look but whether I would return I'm not so sure although I did like it.