Royal Oak Inn, Windermere

Rather surprised at the number of options available in Bowness. I have only ever driven through it on the way to Ambleside before. There is lots of work to do... on another day. Before midday, the options are less and this is an 11am opener. Much better than the five star rating on here - with a decent line up of cask (4/5 ales on, includes Swan Gold, Landlord, White Rat). I went conservative with a Landlord, which was in peak condition. Two rooms - a dining room one side and an opened through drinking area the other side. A perfectly pleasant pub.

Not much has changed since Alan was here more than 12 years ago, though the pool table has gone and everything looks pretty smart, with nice tables and chairs for dining. The small area around the bar has one high table and some stools. The bar has five hand pumps with Bowness Bay Swan Blonde the only beer on (Monday lunchtime); there was an Ossett White Rat pump clip too, but when someone asked for it, there turned out to be nothing on. The Blonde was not very good: a bit fizzy and sweet, more like a ginger ale than a real ale. This is pretty poor from a pub whose WiFi code is Realales! The other pump clips turned round were Wainwright, Landlord and Black Sheep. It must have been a hectic weekend. Fans of modern pop music will love the background music.