The Wight Bear Ale House, Southbourne, Bournemouth

The Wight Bear is a compact micropub at the eastern end of central Southbourne. 2 ales are offered and they appear from the cool room, obviously served direct from the cask, and devoid of anything even vaguely resembling a head. There's also 8 or so mainstream craft keg from the taps behind the bar. Internally, the boarded floor and wooden seats and tables give a traditional feel, though comfort is at a premium, as is space, given its not a large room and a fair old crowd was in when I visited. The regulars clearly like it, though the so-so pint means that I wouldn't fancy it as a regular haunt.

Friendly little micro with a decent selection of craft ales and ciders. 2 cask options - Wild Card Brew Pale and Gritchie Brewing English Lore. I went for the Wild Card which was excellent. Well worth a visit.

Small, single-room micropub on the main drag through Southborne. There are just a couple of real ales. These were Wantsum Imperium & Dark Revolution So La. The emphasis appears to be more on ciders and the craft beer selection. Ciders were Purbeck Joe's Dry, Katy Perry & Bushey Berry, Thistly Cross Whisky Cask, Iford New Tradition, Bumble Bee Jungel, SeaCider Lemon Meringue & Farmer Jim's Rhubarb Bob. Craft beers were Ora N17, Wild Beer Nanola, Anspach & Hobday Sticke Bier, Double-Barrelled Have Your Heard About the Brindle Whippet & Vault City Strawberry Sundae, with Bumble Bee Craft Somerset Cider also on keg. Bench seating can be found along either side, stretching back beyond the bar into the far right-hand corner, with the bar itself being to the rear left. The barmaid couldn't locate the one cider I ordered from the cold room, but she seemed friendly enough, whilst customers also were happy to engage in conversation.

Official site of The Wight Bear Ale House - www.thewightbear.co.uk