Pier View Hotel, Berkeley

Set high above Sharpness docks,the hotel bar has a real local boozer feel to it.To the right of the entrance is a pool table and darts board,while opposite the bar to the left there is a long banquette ,while bar stools are popular with the regulars.Maritime ephemera are dotted about,while a door to the side of the bar leads to a back lounge with it's own servery but with the lights switched off,this area wasnt being used on my midweek evening visit.Terrestrial TV was screening a European CHampionship match,and the car park had quite a number of white vans parked up. Food is available but it looked fairly standard pub grub at value prices,while the solitary handpump was unclipped.The sign outside stating that opening hours have been reduced due to lack of demand implied to me that real ale was unlikely to make an appearance here,so a pint of Stella had to suffice (£3.75) from a standard keg selection. During the week it only seems to open at 4pm,lets hope the locals give it enough custom to keep it ticking along as this is a decent enough pub without having any strong reason to go out of your way to seek it out.

The Pier View Hotel is a local’s boozer with a pool table and two dartboards to the right of the entrance. The bar is located on the back wall where standard draught can be purchased alongside Dartmoor Brewery’s Jail Ale which was being drawn from the lone hand pump. There is a back bar to the left rear, but I didn’t visit this area during my recent Tuesday afternoon visit. There was some background music playing off the jukebox and I didn’t note the presence of any televisions. Cheap pub food is available. Decking runs the length of the frontage and around to the left is more decking with covered seating. To the left of the pub is a large grass covered area where some picnic tables can be found. This is the venue of the yearly Sharpness strongman competition. I found the service to be polite and if I lived locally I would certainly use this pub, but this isn’t a place I would go out of the way to visit again.

Despite the name Hotel in the name it's very much a locals pub complete with football teams and strongman contests. A large front bar occupying the front of the ground floor. Right hand consists of pool table and minimal seating. Left hand side all seating and main bar area. Nice little find after going to Berkely and looking to see Sharpness docks and thinking there must be a pub round here.