The Snug, Carnforth

This is a tiny micropub located inside Carnforth station, on the platform nearest to the exit, with very limited hours on certain days, as was the case on the Monday when I called in. You enter to find a tiny L-shaped room with neutral shaded walls and plain, no nonsense flooring. The servery is over to the right on entry, and has a squared off, dark wood counter with all of the casks visible through a cabinet on the bar back, which has an impressive, high unit above for wine, spirits and other bits and bobs. Seating is very limited in such a small space, with just a couple of high tables and stools opposite the bar and two more down the left-hand side, including one of those two tier, continental-style tables. A couple of bits of art line the walls and there are some beer fridges to the side of the bar, but other than that, the place is so small, there's not much scope for anything else. It was very quiet during the two hours of opening on my Monday visit (17:00-19:00) and bitterly cold too, with the landlady fighting a losing battle to get the place warm before opening and almost everyone sat around shivering in their jackets as a result. The pub's position next to the mainline track means that the whole place shakes whenever a high speed train goes through. This was one of the first micropubs to open in the North West and the place has retained a reputation for good ale. On this occassion, the handpulls offered a choice between Northern Whisper Oppenchops, Nightmare Little Shift and Tanager, Black Edge Pike Pale Ale and Rivington Moving South. I took a pint of the Pike Pale Ale, which was in great shape, although not the most exciting beer I've ever had. I thought this was a decent enough micropub with some well kept ale from some lesser seen breweries, although my abiding memory will be how keen I was to get out of here and onto a warm train. Its definitely worth a look if you're travelling to or from this station, but I'm not entirely convinced it merits breaking your journey for. Date of visit - 15th January 2024