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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Will Larter
Submitted on Wednesday, 22nd February 2023
With picture contributions to 11562 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (21 more images)
Detail Pages
Britannia Inn, Ambleside
Elterwater
Postal town: Ambleside
LA22 9HP
Served areas
Reviews of Britannia Inn (Average Rating: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Will Larter left this review about Britannia Inn
I always call at the Britannia if I'm staying in or passing through this part of the Lake District. Cask beers are now £5.50 a pint, with a reduction to £5.20 for Camra members if you feel like brandishing a membership card. They have been brewing their own beers here - they're styled as Langdale brewery - for a while now; they appear on a couple of other bars in the valley, but I remain unimpressed. Recent winter visits have found the cask beers generally below standard, but this is probably inevitable when the same number of different beers appears on the bar all year round. What does remain impressive is the service and the friendliness of the staff - a couple of visits during the Covid restrictions saw them coping very well, with a quick temperature check on entry, perspex screens across the tables to allow sharing, and a block of wood painted in different colours at each end to signal whether service was required. (Those were the days.)
On 25th January 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Britannia Inn
On my most recent visit I was shocked to be charged £4.80 for a pint of Jennings Sneck Lifter. All the other beers on the bar were £3.70, and although Sneck Lifter is stronger than average at 5.1% it's not a barley wine or an imperial stout. Another irritation on this visit was people making love to other people's dogs. I know dog lovers think this is normal behaviour, but to the rest of us humans it looks like something you shouldn't be doing in public. Apart from that, I had a lovely time. Please see review below from five years ago for something more positive.
On 19th June 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Britannia Inn
Very popular with tourists, the Britannia's clientele tend to burst out onto the extensive patio and even the village green in summer months. It's really quite small inside, with a dining room to the left of the entrance lobby, which itself has a few chairs and tables, and it's sometimes quite a squeeze to get into the bar on the right. Six hand pumps serve mostly local beers, including Jennings. Service is very efficient and friendly.
To the rear, with its own entrance but also now accessible from the lobby, is a village locals bar that used to be served from a small hatch counter. There's a solid fuel stove in here, and its usually the quietest part of the pub. Like a lot of tourist pubs, the Britannia's excellence tends to cause overcrowding and consequently a less than excellent experience, so I like coming here out of season. But if everyone did that, it would be overcrowded in winter too, so KEEP AWAY PLEASE! (Only kidding.)
On 17th January 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
View more reviews of Britannia Inn (6)
Pubs Galore is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
- Official site of the Britannia Inn, contains menus and cask ale list - www.britinn.co.uk
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Britannia Inn - whatpub.com
- Historic Pub Interiors - pubheritage.camra.org.uk
Staveley, 11.76 miles, 3 hr 47 min walk (show)
Burneside (Cumbria), 14.63 miles, 4 hr 42 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Beer Festivals : Yes - November - last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 5% - last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Live Music : No last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Micropub : No last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Real Cider : No last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 09 November 2020 by ROB Camra
