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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The Bobbin, Lancaster
Lancaster
LA1 1HH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Will Larter left this review about The Bobbin
One of the best pubs for real ale in Lancaster and worth the short walk to the far side of the bus station. I counted eight hand pumps on the bar when I was here in April, with two ciders from Lilleys and five beers (see photos), with a sixth line being cleaned while I was there and the beer being pulled through as I was leaving. My half of Pale Yan from Westmorland Brewery was very good, easily NBSS 4, and at £3.80 per pint one of only two beers I came across on this visit to Lancaster that was below the £4 mark. Well worth a return visit and if I find another beer of the same quality I reckon the pub will go from 7 to 8.
Date of visit: 8th April 2023
A further visit towards the end of last year found a very good Lakes Brew Pale (NBSS 3.5) and more recently an incredible Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted (NBSS 4.5), priced at just £3.90/pint (see photo of blackboard for all cask beers and prices on this visit). So I've upped this pub's rating from 7 to 9.
Date of recent visit: 3rd March 2024
On 8th March 2024
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about The Bobbin
i still like this pub, but as I was sat here today I realised this is my first ever visit in daylight and without live music! five or six tables with Wetherspoons-like all day customers but it was probably busier outside. Few ales on, sports on the TV and heavy metal from the jukebox . odd mixture but it’s a bit different from the usual and I like it for that.
On 6th June 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about The Bobbin
a cliquey but otherwise pretty good rock pub consisting of one ripped out space and an extra little room with a second pool table. it's largely a rockers pub and the clientele extremely mixed. it got flooded out a couple of years ago so I guess we're lucky to still have it.
On 13th August 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Bobbin
This large pub is a fairly decent pub without being great. A large single room with some raised parts inside. You can enter from two roads and once in you will notice a number of TV screens. It was very bright on my afternoon visit due to the many windows letting the sun in. 7 or 8 handpulls (I forgot to count) though there were only 5 working. A fairly pedestrian choice of beers with Wainwright, York Guzzler, Rudgate Mild and a Grand National themed beer which I've forgotten. It apparently likes its music but this being a midweek afternoon visit it was just piped music.
On 19th April 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Bobbin
Closed due to flooding (Temporary)
On 4th March 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3230 recommendations about 2939 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Bobbin
This is a fairly large old pub that has been knocked into a single room although I did see a games room poster. There are a couple of raised areas one of which looked like it would be cleared to make a stage.
There was a pool table a darts board, TV screens and a jukebox that I didn't look at. It was fairly quiet on my mid evening Friday visit.
The bar has eight hand pumps of which one was unused and two had ciders one of which was an interesting looking Mango one. The five beers were Thornbridge Kipling, Coniston XB, Dark Star Carafa Jade, York Guzzler and Anarchy Smoke Bomb. I went for the Kipling which was £3.30 before the 30p CAMRA discount which was clearly advertised. It was in good condition.
I quite liked this place but there was no live music or sport showing on my visit.
On 30th November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Bobbin
One of the few Lancaster pubs that I didn't frequent when I lived here in the 70s and 80s - then known as the Priory, it had a rather forbidding look about it. On a recent visit to the old town I thought I'd give it a try and was pleasantly surprised. The former multi-room layout can be imagined, and the open plan is broken up somewhat as described below. A big surprise to see as many as eight hand pumps on the bar, with two real ciders and four beers available. The breweries represented at the time of my visit were Dark Star (Sussex), 4Ts (Cheshire), Coniston (Cumbria) and Wickwar (Gloucestershire) - a huge geographical spread. I had Dark Star's Partridge, which was fairly understated for this brewery, but a pleasant drink. There's a 30p per pint discount for Camra members, which is very welcome and makes this one of the less expensive pubs in Lancaster city centre.
Date of visit: 13th December 2014
On 13th February 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Bobbin
A large corner pub, run by Mitchells and seemingly aimed at younger drinkers (plenty of them in!) with pool, darts, quizzer, modern jukey and a muted TV news on the go above the din. The interior looks recently refurbed, brown and bronze retro wallpaper, laminate flooring and a raised area to front left. Five pumps with three ales (Coniston Bluebird, York Guzzler, Everards Sleigh Bell) and Westons Old Rosie cider, though the ale blackboard had seemingly not been updated since Christmas Eve as it was showing two not on. My Sleigh Bell was in decent shape, however. Not a bad place and I wouldn’t be averse to a revisit.
On 29th December 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]