Cumberland Arms, Newcastle Upon Tyne

a fantastic ale house up a steep set of steps from the Cluny, or in a back street off the main Byker roundabout. it’s a no frills place with two sides (one with a piano) plus a music venue upstairs. I enjoyed an excellent stout and relaxed as it was quiet of an afternoon- much livelier later I suspect.

I first came to this pub over 35 years ago, probably closer to 40. At the time its rise to being one of the most famous UK ale houses had already begun. It was one of three Newcastle pubs in the original 1974 GBG. Two of these were in the Byker area and one in Gosforth. In those days it was noted for Bass Worthington Bitter straight from the cask but had upgraded to Bass by the time I darkened its door. Today it concentrates on local micros and some of the more crafty options from others. It really isn't very far from the Cluny and Ship but it does involve climbing a steep stepped path. The two rooms have been well described below. There were around ten beers available plus a cider and I don't remember seeing anything mainstream. I went for the crafty options of Northern Alchemy Lemon & Vanilla Oatmeal Stout (£4.10), Tiny Rebel Strawberry Milkshake (£4.90) and Salopian Insomnia (£6.00!). These made quite a varied choice and were in good condition. I'd forgotten about this place but for me it's worth a 10. It's in most editions of the GBG.

A wonderful hidden-away traditional two-room pub high up on the Ouseburn valley, with a commanding view over the city. A well-worn feel inside, the left room was the quieter of the two bars with a mad two counter arrangement, floor to ceiling tongue and groove varnished wood alongside fantastic stained and frosted glass. Hard to tell exactly what was on over the two bars but I think it was nine ales and a few ciders. I ended-up with Yorkshire Heart Dark Heart Mild (very good) and Northern Alchemy Lemongrass (fine). A convivial atmosphere pervades here. Heard music from the next bar so popped in to see what was going on – the room was packed solid whilst a group of Gaelic folk musicians played. I had a smashing time here and felt a twang of pain at having to leave. With its tricky-to-find location and its unusual opening times, you really need to plan to make sure you work this one in as part of your Newcastle experience – possibly the best ‘pub pub’ in the city. Almost a 10 – 9.5

Perched high up on the Eastern side of the Ouseburn Valley, this is a fine, traditional two bar pub with its own microbrewery. A series of picnic benches have been arranged outside the front of the pub, which give great views into and across the aforementioned valley and are no doubt a prized spot in the summer months. You enter into a porch from where you can turn left or right depending on which bar you wish to access. The main bar is through the left hand door and this seemed to be the more popular and comfier of the two rooms. Here you will find scuffed old floorboards and fixed bench seating under windows with stained and frosted panes where the pub's name has been picked out. Standard tables and chairs fill out the rest of the room, with a respectful amount of standing room provided around the bar and through the middle of the room. On the end wall there was a lit stove in a brick fireplace with various magazines and local listings pages on the mantle and a stack of books and board games reaching almost to the rafters to one side. A large pump clip collection snakes its way around the walls and I noticed some unusual gold discs on the walls which seem to have been awarded to a dance group who practise at the pub. They perform a local sword dance known as the Rapper and the local Wylam brewery have brewed a house beer of the same name. The bar to the right was far plainer, with only the pleasant front windows of any real interest. The room is bare boarded with tongue and groove panelled walls with very little of note on them An upright piano can be found on the back wall and there was another fireplace with a lit stove. There is no bar as such in here - just a small serving hatch with a bit of a counter, so it appeared that you needed to walk through to the main bar to order. There appeared to be access to a third room or garden to the rear here, but I didn't explore. Live music was promoted quite heavily and there was a decent soundtrack playing throughout my visit. On the bar there was a good deal to choose from - Wylam Rapper, Allendale Simon, Northern Alchemy Vanilla and Lemon Oatmeal Stout and the stonking 11% Cullercoats Royal Sovereign. Great Heck Christopher went off whilst I was waiting at the bar and the remaining hand pumps were serving three real ciders. I tried a pint of the underwhelmingly named Simon and was blown away by an outstanding pint. The Northern Alchemy brewery are based in a shipping container to the rear of the pub and since my visit, plans have been released to expend the brewery and open a first floor restaurant, so it will be interesting to see, assuming the plans get the green light, whether they can retain the warm, traditional community feel of the pub during a period of great change. This is a fine old pub which seems to have been left relatively unchanged for over 100 years and benefits greatly from the sense of history this imparts. I was very happy settling down here with an excellent pint and would be very interested to come back if and when their expansion plans have been realised. Another excellent pub in this part of town.