The Boathouse, Shrewsbury

Superb location. As expected on a sunny summer's day, absolutely rammed but the choice of several bars meant we didnt have to queue for long and there was still places to sit outside. Nice range of Salopian beers and I went for a very decent pint of Gold. Some photos at my blog - http://mappiman.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/270615-shrewsbury-pub-crawl.html

When the Sunday Supplements do one of those lists usually called "100 pubs you must visit" or the like , the Boathouse is usually near the top of the list . The pub dates from the 15th Century and was used as a Charnel House during the great plague , to house victims bodies . The pub used to have its own rope hauled ferry , the long low building at the edge of the beer garden was its Boathouse , the ferry was replaced in 1922 by the nearby Porthill Suspension Bridge . The pub as we find it today is a clean and tidy looking place , from the front the white painted brick lower floor and half timbered upper give a hint of the pubs age , once inside it disapoints , a modern makeover has removed most of the pubs character , as the previous review points out its all a bit IKEA , the Swedish theme continues with several trendy fruit ciders on draught alongside the standard keg beers and seven handpulls with a selection of localish beers , 2 from Wye Valley , 2 from Salopian , 1 from Weetwood with a Theakstons beer being the only long distance traveller , i had a decent Three Tuns XXX. A steep flight of steps leads to the large Beer Garden with its own small bar , set above a tree lined meander of the river Severn with views across the Quarry Park its a lovelly setting , trouble is the tables are crammed in with little room to get seated when busy , and at the first hint of sunshine it will be heaving . Its a nice enough pub to visit , especially if you stroll from town through the Quarry and its award winning Dingle gardens , but the bland interior and over-crowded beer garden mark it down for me , a victim of its own succsess maybe . A must visit pub , not really , for me its not even in Shrewsburys top 10.

I came here a little worse for wear from my previous nights escapades. It was about 1pm and I settled on the idea of gently easing myself in to the drink by supping halfs. The pub itself has a very picturesque setting next to the River Severn and sits next to the suspension bridge. Like a previous reviewer observed there was 'Shropshire Lad' by Woods brewery along with 'Darwins Origin' by local brewery Salopian. Personally I couldn't take to the Shropshire Lad, but I much preferred Darwins Origin. It had a pleasant citrus undertone to it and was refreshing. On my particular visit they had set up a tent for their beer festival, but unfortunately it didn't start until 5pm that day. (I wished that I had gone on the Fri and come home on the Sat now.) Bar meals along with its own pizzeria and a special deal on fish and chips on a Fri. Worth the short walk from central Shrewsbury, although they could utilize the unused handpumps on offer.

Official site of the Boathouse - boathouse-inn.co.uk

Official site of the Boathouse - boathouse-inn.co.uk