Eighteen 66, Morecambe

Formerly the Bradford Arms. I remember this as a forbidding place when I used to live and work in the area, the sort of place you'd need to be introduced to by someone who'd been going there man and boy for at least 30 years. Latterly it seems to have struggled to reinvent itself, resulting in a period of closure. The modern incarnation, as a bright and pristine sports bar is so different that I had to ask a couple of locals what the pub used to be called. The pub was built in 1866, apparently, but there is nothing left of the old interior, with walls reduced to pillars for the most part. There's a nice nod to tradition with the numerous old black and white photos of the town and bay, some of them colourised by hand. To the far left on entering is a substantial modern bar counter with three hand pumps. One of the beers was misbehaving but the landlady was very patient and also managed to keep us entertained while struggling with the recalcitrant pump. I was very impressed and would be happy to call in again as long as she was on duty. The other plus point was the very cheap beer - we only paid more than £2.25/pint at two pubs on our brief visit to Morecambe, and this wasn't one of them. Those two positives aside, this is not really my sort of pub, though at least it's got some good real ale.

Reopened as Eighteen 66 in June following closure owing to staff members dealing in drugs. Now quite plush with three weak real ales and usual keg suspects.