The Bowes Hotel, Hexham

This old hotel has been modernised, with French windows to the right of the front door, and the interior opened out but with a second counter (with footrail) placed in front of the bar for those who like something to congregate around. To the right of this, and leading to the bar, is a change of level that is a slope rather than a step, and is easily missed - at least, I missed it. To the left of the bar is a games area with pool and darts, while the front part of the room is more like a lounge, with a nice fireplace and some old photographs - one of which shows the village store across the road with horse-drawn vehicles parked outside, and a corner of the hotel just visible. I had thought of having a pint here, as I had time before walking about an hour to my accommodation at The Sill (near the Twice Brewed Inn), but the options on the bar were Hobgoblin Gold and Twice Brewed Sycamore Gap, neither of which is to my taste. My half of the local beer was in good condition but far too lemony for me. Looking around, it was interesting to see an old "bottle & jug" window preserved in part of the internal wall. Most of the rest of the refurb seems to have been solely based on new being better than old, and I wondered what the rest of the building would have been like at the time of that old photo.

Official site of The Bowes Hotel - www.theboweshotel.uk

Official site of The Bowes Hotel - www.theboweshotel.uk