Mid Boldon Club, East Boldon

As local CAMRA club of the year 2023 and a new entry into the 2024 Good Beer Guide, I was eager to give the Mid Boldon Club a try. It looks fairly inauspicious from the outside, where you have to ring a bell at the side door to gain entry. The barman appeared and allowed me in. You will need to be a CAMRA member though. The Club was much busier than I had expected with a couple of dozen people in. You enter into an area with a pool table and seating. Down a step or two is more seating with the bar itself. I soon got talking to a prominent member of the local CAMRA branch who happened to also be the Club steward. We had a good conversation about beers, other local pubs and the Club itself. He claimed that the Club had only recently started allowing women in, which had precluded it from the Good Beer Guide until now. As if to prove a point, he pointed out the solitary female customer! 4 real ales were on - Rooster's Ragged Point, Heavy Roller & Capability Brown & Durham Magus. My Ragged Point was a very dry stout, verging on a black IPA, but was enjoyable nonetheless. As clubs go, this is certainly one of the better ones.