Paignton ARC Bar, Paignton

The Paignton Amateur Rowing Club (ARC) Bar is located by the harbour above the Club shop. By the front entrance there is a picnic table for the smokers and the various chalkboards and signs promote Sky Sports. It is also made patently clear that non-members are more than welcome and I didn’t feel out of place as a visiting grockle. The opening times are stated as being from 16:00 until midnight Monday to Thursday and from noon until midnight the other days. Being above the club shop there is a flight of stairs that has to be climbed before reaching the bar area. It was busy with a mix of people of different ages during my Friday evening visit and a quiz was in full swing. I was a little confused as the weekly quiz is advertised for Wednesday evenings, but as the night went on I gleaned that every now and again the club captain plays host on the microphone. There are two plasma screens for showing the aforementioned Sky Sports and there is a pool table and dartboard by the front windows which afford lovely views across the harbour. A few standard draught products are available from the bar alongside Healey’s Draught Cornish Rattler Cider and Bay’s Gold that was being drawn from the lone hand pump. There was a social club feel in here and everyone seemed to know each other, but I was made to feel welcome and would have no problem returning.