Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
History of the Reat Ale Twa*ts. with Komakino
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Queens Head Hotel, Ambleside
Hawkshead
Postal town: Ambleside
LA22 0NS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Ian Mapp left this review about Queens Head Hotel
Quite a selection of pubs (and a micro tap room) in Hawkshead. I chose this, as it was the oldest and the one referenced in my guide book for the walk I had completed.
Nice friendly greeting on entrance to the low ceilings bar. A dining room around the back and another room to the side. I saw similar Robinsons beers to Will below and chose the Cumbria Way, which was in fine condition. This, with a bottle of Old Tom to take out, was £10.10. Mrs M, on seeing the banking app, thought this was just a pint.
MY guide book makes a great song and dance about the "Girt Clog". A shoe that was in a glass case about the fireplace. It belonged to a Mole Catcher from the 1820s who suffered with Elephantitis. It also provided the name to the local mountaineering club, the Girt Cloggers.
Of course, I forgot to look for it on my visit - too busy looking for after a small dog. I rather think it has been moved, as I can see no other reference to it, apart from some ancient texts and a photo on the mountaineers web page.
Maybe future pubsgalorers could be on the lookout and report back :-)
On 15th December 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1714 recommendations about 1688 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Queens Head Hotel
This is a lovely old inn with remnants of some original features. The dominant impression on entering was the smell of fried fish, but I suppose this is something that we get used to after a while. The beers are all from Robinsons: Dizzy Blonde, Cumbria Way and Patterd'ale. The latter is 4.2% and presumably based on one of the former Hartleys beers, though I can't find any information about it. I drank it and my only notes made at the time were that it was cheap for the area, at £2 for a half.
Date of visit: 3rd March 2022
On 26th August 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 4531 recommendations about 4152 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Queens Head Hotel
It was quite busy when I was here one Monday lunchtime in January. There's a dining room to the rear, and a small area near the bar, to the right upon entering. I found my way to a small room to the left, with rather odd tartan wallpaper. There is wood panelling and low beams throughout, but rather than playing up to the traditional Lakeland pub image which would seem to fit this place to a T, there are pretensions to hotel status, which I find off-putting. One symptom of this was the over-loud lounge bar-type music, which I could definitely have done without.
There were three hand pumps on the bar, two ales being available: Marstons Double Drop and Hartleys Cumbrian Way, probably two of the most anonymous beers you could find around these parts.
On 17th February 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 4531 recommendations about 4152 pubs]