The King Charles, Poole

I used to regularly frequent this pub in the late ‘90’s as it was one of two pubs on and around Poole Quay that we were always able to get served in prior to turning 18. I’d not been back since those day, when we would inevitably congregate in the upstairs room where there was normally a DJ blasting out dance and Britpop tunes at a suitably loud volume. Things were very different twenty-odd years later, when we visited on a depressingly quiet Saturday evening, finding a relatively unchanged layout but very muted atmosphere. You enter through a short passageway which has a couple of small front rooms off to either side, both of wish have some decent traditional seating options and one of which boasts a nice little fireplace and an etched glass partitioning screen bearing the words ‘Coffee Room’. These rooms are decorated with plenty of old breweriana and have an intimate quality that you don’t find through the rest of the pub. At the end of the passageway, you emerge into the main bar area which has modern laminate flooring through the middle and a carpeted seating area to the right. The bar runs down the left-hand wall and has a nice wood panelled counter front and mirrored bar back with a collection of old nautical themed photos along the canopy. The room has some ancient looking beams running across the ceiling, many of which have old jugs, tankards and other such drinking vessels hanging from them. There are some half height wall panels around the seating area, broken by a fake fireplace with a relocated brass hood, whilst the upper half of the walls have been decorated with a great old pub sign, an out of action TV screen and similarly redundant dartboard and a high shelf stacked with coloured bottles which were backlit to good visual effect. The room runs to the rear of the building where a few high tables and stools can be found occupied by the locals in a space that has a bit of a public bar feel to it, thanks to its jukebox and functioning dartboard. A staircase to the left of the bar leads up to the aforementioned first floor overspill room, which has a nice, high pitched ceiling, muted lighting accentuated by fairy light features and a good deal of additional seating. The pub stopped serving cask ale for a while but has re-introduced it again in recent years to some acclaim, with three hand pumps in operation dispensing Taylors Landlord, Harveys Sussex Best and Sharps Doom Bar on this visit. The young barmaid who served us has to be one of the most enthusiastic and friendly bar staff I’ve encountered and served me a well-kept pint of Landlord before checking back to make sure we were enjoying our drinks a bit later on. It was nice popping back to this pub for a quick nightcap and blast of nostalgia. I certainly appreciated the cask ales and two pleasant traditional front rooms a lot more this time round and wasn’t particularly sad to see the DJ wasn’t playing. There are better pubs around Pool Quay and the Old Town area but this one holds up reasonably well in comparison and would be worth adding to a crawl of the area.

Lovely old pub with various seating areas, beams, including two front rooms. Shame the beer quality is poor and the fires are electric

Nice looking old pub but a dull beer range, Doom Bar, Atlantic and Tribute, the later was in tired condition, not good enough to entice me back in a hurry.

A good, traditional pub in historic buildings with lots of old beams, wood, brick and stonework, perhaps a little tatty round the edges but pleasant enough. The main part of the pub rambles though various rooms clearly knocked through at some point, but still breaking up the interior into separate areas. Up a few stairs to the left is a spectacular ancient large vaulted room, which perhaps could be made more of but is an impressive drinking location. Real beers on offer at time of visit were Landlord, Sea Fury, Proper Job and the inescapable Doom Bar and condition seemed good (Cask Marque certified). The menu seemed fairly standard apart from a speciality of daily fresh fish, varying according to what has been caught.

Some elements of character here in this aged building but essentially it feels and smells like a pub where the 70's and the modern day have collided. The front area is much nicer than the rear, with quarter length dark wood panelling, fireplace and some original timbers. To the rear is a dart board and an unplayable bar billiards table. Music TV blaring out. I missed the medieval function room mentioned below. Two ales, Doom Bar and a warm, lacklustre, Milk Street. Could be good, but isn’t - the whole place needs a rethink about quite who it’s trying to appeal to.

This 14th Century building was originally a wool house hence its position close to the quay, and it was much larger than it is today. It became a pub in 1765 and was originally called The New Inn, changing its name in honour of King Charles X of France who hid here when escaping from the Revolution in 1792. Today it is a freehouse, atmospheric and allegedly haunted by a young woman's ghost. Some of the original timbers are clearly visible, and there is an upstairs bar area in addition to the large ground floor bar. The building rambles a bit as you would expect from one of this age. There is a bar billiards table and a dartboard, while the music is largely nostalgic 1970s/1980s rock. The front bar area has a lovely old fireplace, while the remainder is functional. The staff are very welcoming, and the clients are a mixed bag, but mostly civilised. Three ales on – I had a pint of Tribute which was in perfect condition. Food is basic pub grub and is reasonably priced, and they'll even make a coffee for you if you ask. Well worth a visit