The Borough Arms, Lymington

Very much as described by Steve, below, this town pub has the feel of a reasonable local. We were welcomed by the staff, and the regulars semed fairly tolerant. Is was let down by its beer quality, though - Timothy Taylor's Landlord in poor condition and Pride which was well past its best. Blackthorn Gold was also on handpump. The keg choices were Sharp's Atlantic, Madri, Aspall's Cider, Estrella, Carling and Prahva. There was a wide choice of Thai food special on the blackboard at reasonable prices. It does however offer a change from the tourist traps in the town centre and offered a reasonable meal with no fuss.

Established as a Posting House in 1855 the Borough Arms occupies a corner plot on Avenue Road that runs to the north in parallel to the High Street. Out the front there are some picnic tables behind a picket fence and a car park can be found to the right. The uncarpeted left hand side of the pub houses a pool table, dartboard and a jukebox that was providing the loud background music during a recent Tuesday evening visit. In the central bar area to the right of the entrance is a plasma screen that was switched off. I didn’t note any live sport advertisements. More seating can be found to the far right where there is a huge mirror on the wall. The opening times are different almost every day: Monday 17:00 - 23:00; Tuesday 17:00 - 22:30; Wednesday 17:00 - 23:00; Thursday 12:00 - 14:00 & 16:00 - 23:00; Friday 12:00 - 14:00 & 16:00 - 01:00; Saturday 12:00 - 01:00; Sunday 12:00 - 22:30. A handful of customers who lined the bar made it tricky to see what drinks were on offer alongside the usual draught products. I recall at least one hand pump but I do not know what it was drawing. The service was friendly so I would use this pub if I lived locally.