The Steamboat, South Shields

Situated to the south of the town centre, this is an interesting ale house with an overt nautical theme. You enter into the main bar with the servery directly opposite along the rear wall. The bar has a dark wood counter and bar back which has a large mirror and lots of flags and pump clips on show. The entrance door has a steamboat image in the centre of the glass, whilst the windows have insets that list some of the drinks available within. Fixed bench seating runs along the front wall supplemented by low stools and there are a few bar stools along the counter, but otherwise it's mainly standing room only in this space. A fireplace was lit over to the left hand side and above there is a large collection of gauges, shields and knot displays. The ceiling is almost entirely covered by lamps and flags with tankards and other such drinking vessels hanging from the beams and there are countless old items of breweriana throughout. The window sills sport all sorts of oddities including figurines, old radio sets and more knot displays. To the rear left there is a raised seating area with pews and standard chairs under a large map of the Tyne, photos of various ships and a dartboard. A small set of steps lead up into a carpeted lounge on the left which has a lot of red banquette seating and a few rickety looking chairs. The room is fitted with dark wood panels and as with the main room, there is plenty of interest on show. The walls are covered with old photos and newspaper clippings whilst elsewhere you can spot an anchor, ropes and pulleys, model ships, lobster pots, lamps, port holes, horse brasses, a typewriter, old cash registers and a large model head of the landlord along with his long service certificates (25 years). To the rear is a slightly raised bare boarded area with some standard tables and chairs and a few pews around a large fireplace full of travel chests, a grandfather clock, another typewriter, life ring and a bookcase with model lighthouses on top. More photos, clippings and certificates can be found here and the overall feel is of a seafaring junk shop. Music played quietly throughout my visit and there was a good crowd of locals in the main bar, although the side room remained empty on a Sunday afternoon. The pub is a regular winner of the local CAMRA branch's pub of the year award and there was a good selection of ales available, comprising Morland Old Speckled Hen, Robinsons Trooper, Upham Stakes, Leamside Alexandria, Charnwood Try Hopped and Maxim Swedish Blonde, with two pumps unclipped. I enjoyed a very pleasant pint of the Alexandria whilst poking through some of the endless bric-a-brac within. I thought this was a really interesting pub with some good beer and plenty going on to reward repeat visits. The atmosphere was friendly and it felt like one of those warm locals pubs where strangers are quickly made to feel welcome and for me this was the clear highlight of an afternoon's crawl around South Shields.

A multi roomed alehouse on two levels. The main bar area has an entrance/exit door at either end. To the left are two raised areas, one of which has a dartboard, the other is more of a lounge. Everywhere is full of nautical bric-a-brac. It would take loads of visits to spot everything. The pub is owned by Punch, so there were some mainstream beers available alongside a couple of more interesting guests. My pint was in very good nick. This is a must visit pub in South shields.