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Brook House Inn, Holmrook
Boot
Postal town: Holmrook
CA19 1TG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn
On my latest visit to what has become my favourite pub in Eskdale I chose halves of two out of the four beers on the bar. Carlisle Cumbrian Bitter was NBSS 4, a very well presented but fairly straightforward Norther bitter. Cross Bay Hops Be Trippin' was something else: first of all it had to overcome my prejudice against stupid names, then on the initial taste there didn't seem to be much going on - very good condition but fairly ordinary. Then on the swallow there was a burst of flavour, freshly chopped herbs or something, bursting dramatically in the mouth and nose, quite extraordinary. As I was recording my NBSS 4.5 in the GBG app I noticed that this pub is not in the Good Beer Guide this year, whereas another pub just up the road, where I had two poor quality beers poorly served the previous evening, is. I know that GBG entries are not based on one visit by one drinker, but something seems to have gone wrong here. Clearly I need to come here more often, to boost the scores for this brilliant pub! (It's quite a bit cheaper here too.)
On 2nd October 2023
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3734 recommendations about 3471 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn
In my review of 30th March 2011 I noted the numerous dead animals and birds on the walls and ceiling; I scored the pub 6. In my review of 10th October 2019 I noted the tables made from the cross-sections of tree trunks; I scored the pub 7. On my latest visit the tables were pretty much normal and the rather eccentric dead menagerie had long since been replaced on hooks and nails on the beams by (rather more normal and not at all alarming) drinking vessels - cups and mugs and jugs. The beer has been consistently good (and cheaper than another pub up the valley) and the service is friendly and helpful, and it's become my favourite pub in Eskdale, so I think an 8 would be fair.
On 4th July 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3734 recommendations about 3471 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn
Eskdale has become my most often visited Lake District valley in the last two or three years, so I have, as you'd expect, visited this and the other pubs quite a lot. The beer here, in my experience, is always good and often a bit less pricey than at the Woolpack up the road. They often have a Barngates beer (brewed at the Drunken Duck outside Hawkshead): Cracker, Tag Lag or the excellent Goodhew's Dry Stout. Although the interior of the pub strikes me as being a little too food oriented (each table, made from a slice of tree trunk, has its own place mats especially designed to cope with the distorted surface), there is a pleasant sun trap at the front for those magical days of unexpected sunshine. Eskdale is a beautiful valley with high level walks not far away, but the woodland walks near the river and the nearby falls are very relaxing, with the prospect of a beer adding to their charms.
On 10th October 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3734 recommendations about 3471 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Brook House Inn
Probably the pick of the pubs in Boot - mainly because of the Whisky collection and sampler menu.
Its also in the Good Beer Guide 2017, so the ales were in fine condition to.
Ghoulash was on the menu. Wish I had saved myself to eat here :-)
Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2qDLAu9
On 21st May 2017
- rating: 10
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Andy Hemingway left this review about Brook House Inn
I have to take issue here with Graham. I went in here yesterday and although it serves food it was full of hikers & drinkers and definitely heavily biased towards good real ale. The pub is an absolute must for real ale fans. I only wished I didn't have to get the last train back to Ravenglass a half hour later.
On 8th April 2012
- rating: 10
[User has posted 29 recommendations about 29 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Brook House Inn
Heavily food-biased pub just along the road from the Ravenglass & Eskdale railway terminus. Probably better for eating than drinking, although it does have a nice row of handpumps with a very good range of mainly local beers.
On 23rd August 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn
There were four beers and a perry on hand pump when I was here recently: CLA (Cumbrian Legendary Ales) Langdale, Pendle Blonde Witch, Hawkshead Bitter and Yates Golden, mostly local beers but all on the pale and bland ends of the beer spectrum. Beers were priced between £2.60 and £2.90 a pint, quite reasonable for a tourist area. All the tables in both rooms were set up for diners, and some were reserved, so I felt like (or was made to feel like) a bit of an interloper with my late afternoon half of bitter.
There were lots of dead animals and birds on the upper walls (fox, stoat, deer, squirrel, pheasant, snipe and a couple of falcons) plus a duck suspended in flight, hanging from the ceiling. To add to this macabre sight, there was an extensive collection of traps nailed to the beams. The lower walls were more conventionally adorned with mostly black and white photos of the Lake District. There was a small TV in one corner, though it was not on, and there was subdued rock music on the CD player.
On 30th March 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3734 recommendations about 3471 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Brook House Inn
Nice pub/hotel with a fine range of real ales. All the ones I tried (all of them over the night) were well kept. Accomodation is nice if a little overpriced but most accomodation is in the Lakes. Choice of restaurant or bar menu. We ate in the restaurant but the food was pub standard really. Nothing wrong with it, but if you're going to sell things at higher prices in the restauarnt you need to up your game. Over the evening a number of locals dropped in along with some other hotel guests. We found ourselves talking with a couple who live less than 2 miles from us and a couple of regulars. I suspect a lot of the dogs round here get quite a few "walkies" that involve a stop here as there were several dog walkers called in during the evening.
On 27th April 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3223 recommendations about 3134 pubs]