The White Swan, Middlesbrough

Set slightly apart from the other pubs in Stokesley, out towards the Western end of town, this is a lovely traditional pub with its own onsite brewery that is named after local explorer Captain James Cook. The pub has an island servery that greets you upon arrival thanks to its position opposite the entrance, and around it there is a good mix of chair and bench seating, mainly arranged around the perimeter of the room. The front window bays have some plusher button backed banquettes, which looked like the prime seats to grab, but we arrived at 6:30 on a Friday evening to find every seat in the house had been taken, forcing us to retreat to the rear garden. The pub has carpet throughout and the walls are painted in darker shades with beams crossing the ceiling to create a typical traditional ale house feel. The bar has an angular counter with an amazing dark wood panelled counter front boasting some incredibly detailed carved panels beneath a matching canopy and mirrored bar back. The room has unsurprisingly been decorated with nautical themed items, some of which have specific reference to Captain Cook, but there’s also space for breweriana, blackboards listing the drinks range, high shelves stacked with beer bottles and ceramic jugs, and an unbelievable amount of pump clips, that appear just about everywhere you care to look. The raised, rear part of the room has a couple of acoustic guitars mounted on the wall, suggesting they might have live music on in here at times, plus some old maps and charts that are drowning under a sea of pump clips. Both the front and rear parts of the pub have TV screens which were showing muted cricket. The garden, if you can call it that, is a concrete yard with enough space for four picnic benches and not much else. The yard is flanked by outbuildings which I assume contain the brewery. The packed pub made it difficult to see what the full ale range was, as the handpulls are scattered around all four corners of the servery, but I spotted several Captain Cook brews including Skippy, Slipway, Endeavour and Black Porter, as well as a guest of Atom Quantum State and two real ciders, but there may have been others. I tried a pint of the Skippy which was in near perfect condition and slipped down very easily. The staff certainly had their work cut out for them, but seemed very friendly and helpful despite the crowds. I really liked this place and thought it was one of the better brewpubs I’ve visited in recent years, combining a well-presented traditional pub with some interesting home-brewed beer and clearly finding favour with the locals if this busy Friday evening is anything to go by. This place was recommended to me by the landlord of the Tannery in nearby Great Ayton and I would happily pass his recommendation on to others, as it was one of the best pubs we found in this part of Yorkshire.

Facebook page of The White Swan - www.facebook.com

Official site of The White Swan - whiteswanstokesley.co.uk

Facebook page of The White Swan - www.facebook.com

Official site of The White Swan - whiteswanstokesley.co.uk

Double fronted pub just off the town centre with tasteful wood panelled interior. Brewery tap for the co-located Captain Cook Brewery. Six hand pulls serving Captain Cook and Consett Ale Works beers all in fine condition. Comfortable single large bar with a lower area finished with ample leather seats and an upper area looking more used for dining than easy drinking. Interesting pictures and CAMRA awards decorate the walls along with some pewter and pump clips.