The Sailmakers Arms, Hull

We'd planned to have lunch at the nearby Lion & Key, but found it closed on our Saturday afternoon visit to the city of Hull. So, I quickly hatched a back up plan, which was this pub in the city's Old Town. As has been said previously, entrance is through an alleyway which opens up into a courtyard. Inside is a single room, which luckily had one spare table. The menu wasn't impressive and with only the landlord and one other person in the kitchen, the food took a while to arrive, as the pub gradually started to empty out. 3 real ales were all from Sussex brewery Laine's - House Amber, Toby's Tipple & Breaker, whilst 3 real ciders were all varieties of Weston's Rosie's Pig - Original, Strawberry & Elderflower and Raspberry & Cucumber. Children are tolerated, as long as they are quiet!

Accessed through a tabled courtyard in the Old Town Museum Quarter, this is a rather nice pub, if a bit touristy. The main room has bare brick walls and an iron column-supported ceiling and is liberally covered with assorted nautical, beer and other tut. The ale range seemed well kept, if not very adventurous, with Black Sheep, Tetleys, Adnams, Doom Bar, IPA and a house beer from Laine. Some Rosie's Pig ciders were also on handpump and food looked OK although not sampled. Bonus point for friendly staff and an even friendlier pub dog.

The Sailmakers Arms is a very pleasant pub set in a small, atmospheric courtyard off the High Street. The yard has quite a few benches and plenty of potted plants and must be a nice little refuge during the summer months. A porch takes you into the bar which has modern floorboards throughout and the servery along the right hand wall with a dark wood counter and exposed brick bar back featuring a series of arches filled with mirrors and shelves laden with spirit bottles. An open space opposite the bar, broken by a single pillar with a drink shelf around it, provides some standing room, with most of the seating confined to the left hand side of the room. Here, three separate seating spaces are formed by two brick partitioning walls, each with a tropical fish tank set into them. These spaces have been filled with banquettes, chairs and low stools and the first section was playing host to a group of musicians who were passing an acoustic guitar around and taking turns to sing folk songs. Each area has hop lined walls with attractive light fixtures set into small recesses whilst the rear wall is also bare brick and has arches similar to those on the bar back, this time filed with what looked like miniature pub signs, obscured somewhat by a collection of whisky boxes. Elsewhere, I noticed some old pictures of the local area, various beer related advertisements, a lion's head bust built into the wall and various nautical themed bits and bobs, as you might expect from a pub with this name. Dark wood beams cross the ceiling and are decorated with pump clips, a large key ring collection and a great many tankards, jugs and pint pots. A friendly barman greeted me on arrival amid the various sea shanties coming from the opposite side of the room, and he served me a lovely pint of Robinsons Dizzy Blonde, which was one of seven cask ales available along with Sharps Doom Bar and Atlantic, Hardy and Hanson Rock On, Tetley Cask, Wells A Good Stuffing and Camerons Strongarm. Three ciders were also available on the long row on handpulls. I didn't really know what to expect from this place but I thought it was a lovely pub that was cosy and welcoming in the winter cold but will no doubt be a draw in the summer too thanks to the pleasant yard outside. I found this a very good place to relax with a well kept pint, helped no doubt by the warm atmosphere generated by the fine folk singers. This was a great little pub and will be high on the list for a revisit.

Reached through an archway, and passing a few wooden picnic benches in the small courtyard, this is a pleasant-enough pub with an unexpectedly semi-modern interior. The most notable features of the nautical-themed decor are the two fish tanks. The barman was also a helpful chap. Six real ales on handpump, including Bradfield Farmer's Blonde (£1.85 for a half, and in good form).