The Jamaica Inn, Launceston

Certainly an experience.... huge sprawling pub, which you will find out if you try and find the loos from the low ceilinged bar. An open fire, but you real need to strike lucky to feel any heat from it. The smugglers bar is rather traditional - felt very pubby. The souvenir shop a little less so. The farm shop, very expensive. Proper Job at a premium. They had a home branded beer on. Unsure who brewed it, but I went for a coffee, with another 40 miles to drive. I'd say definitely go there. Once a year.

Enjoyed our visit to this old coaching inn today. It was quite busy, but service at the bar was good despite a coach load of us turning up. They had Dartmoor Jail Ale, a St Austell beer for the inn, and Penpont Beast of Bodmin and we enjoyed them. There is a large room separate set for dining, and a smaller room with TV showing sport.

A rather dissapoining visit.we had a ploughmans lunch which was good but the bread let it down,being a bit soggy and tastless,the food service area is a caffeteria style with self service,the staff were rude and sullen,the only good part was the museum and gift shop,the lady there was really friendly and informative.

High up on Bodmin Moor and just off the A30 is The Jamaica Inn. As if we didn't already know, on approaching the pub, we quickly realise that this is no ordinary Cornish moorland village inn. The car park is probably about the size of a football pitch and - here's the real giveaway - there's designated parking bays for coaches. On my recent visit, the pub was relatively quiet - no coach parties, thankfully - but that didn't stop a rather officious looking jobsworth in a fluorescent jacket from eyeing me suspiciously as I drove in and then checking, none too subtly, that I was actually visiting the premises ( as opposed to walking off in entirely the opposite direction to absolutely nowhere, presumably ?) The Jamaica Inn was, of course, made famous by the writer, Daphne du Maurier, and 18th Century smugglers tales and legends connected with this pub abound. No one could possibly accuse the pub's management of underplaying the connection nowadays - there's a separate museum attached to the pub ( admission charge - £ 3.95p ) and a gift shop, where you can buy just about anything, seemingly, with The Jamaica Inn name on. As you walk across the smallish cobbled courtyard to the main bar - predictably named The Smugglers Bar - you see an inscription above the door telling you that "through these portals passed smugglers, wreckers, villains and murderers, but rest easy - t'was many years ago". The pub interior is very much what you would expect - dark, low beams with pots and pans and plenty of pictures of nautical / smuggling activities. There's also an old banknote collection on the beams. A plaque on the floor tells us that "on this spot Joss Merlyn was murdered", although I didn't immediately see anything telling me who Joss was or why he met such an unfortunate end. There's no TV's, but I did see a couple of electronic game and fruit machines. There's a dedicated restaurant area - The Pedlars Bar - which, perhaps not surprisingly, accounts for much of the floor space. A leaflet about the pub refers to "a children's play area with pirate ship", which is presumably round the back of the building as I don't recollect seeing it. There's some seating outside in the cobbled courtyard at the front of the building. Accommodation is offered - 16 rooms in total - in what is evidently an extension to the original building, but it does seem to blend in reasonably well. Needless to say, overnight guests have the possibility of being visited by one of the resident ghosts. The 6 handpumps were serving Tribute, Dartmoor Jail Ale and Legends. The Tribute, perhaps cheaper than might be expected at £ 2.90p, was pretty good. It's only a short detour from the A30, and not exactly short of signposts to help get you there, so you might want to pop in out of curiosity if passing by.

Let me add some context. I arrived here straight from the Highwayman in Sourton and I don’t like crowds (humbug!). I didn’t feel relaxed here from the moment I walked through the door. It’s a landmark pub just off the A30 but also a museum, road side cafe, hotel and gift shop. Too many people for me and too commercial, cashing in on its links to Daphne Du Maurier’s novel. On handpull there was Dartmoor Legend, Jail Ale and St Austell Tribute. I didn’t stay to try them. I don’t think I’ll be going back just because this kind of place is not my cup of tea – more like my cup of coffee ...... and I don’t like coffee.