Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Reviewing milestone with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Vernon Masterman
Submitted on Monday, 18th May 2015
View all this pub's pictures (2 more images)
Detail Pages
The Firkin Shed, Springbourne, Bournemouth
Bournemouth
BH8 8BZ
Served areas
Reviews of The Firkin Shed (Average Rating: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Firkin Shed
Just over 3 years since my last visit to the Firkin Shed, I was surprised to see how downhill it has gone during that time. I still like the interior and there is a nice atmosphere to the place, even when a football match is on. However, the real ale selection has diminished, replaced instead by craft beers and real cider has disappeared completely.
The last time I was here, there were 13 real ciders dispensed from bag in the box from cold room adjacent to the bar. On previous visits, I'd seen many more than that. In fact, this was easily in my top 10 pubs in the UK. Now, there is a list of 5 ciders, but all are in bottles. The landlady stated that they couldn't get the cider to pull through correctly, which seemed a bit odd, as they used to simply pour it direct from the box. This was a former CAMRA National Cider Pub of the Year winner. It is far from it now.
Real ales on this visit were both from Eight Arch - Corbel & Quarter Jack. Craft beers were Electric Bear Tree Tops, Boscombe Cole Porter, New Bristol Mello Yello, Wild Weather Satellite, Vibrant Forest Pupa & Unity Only The Sea.
I still like the Firkin Shed as a pub, but cannot understand the lame excuse for the lack of cider and real ale (apparently it had all been drunk before the football match on our Tuesday evening visit.
Note that opening times also appear to have been reduced. It's advertised as 11pm during the week, but last orders was rung at around 10:20, with no more service after 10:30.
On 10th November 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2283 recommendations about 2282 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Firkin Shed
With the conversion of the nearby Dolphin to yet another Tesco store in 2012, there was a bit of a vacuum in this part of Springbourne, until the opening of this fine little micropub in 2015. Situated roughly 10-15 minutes walk from Bournemouth station, this is a simple shop converted pub that serves a loyal band of regulars but offers a warm welcome to strangers too. A nice banquette runs along the front wall of the simple single room layout, beneath a front window liberally lined with potted plants and strung with fairy lights. Low stools serve a series of low tables through the main body of the bare boarded room, with the only other seating coming in the form of a drinking ledge down the right-hand side, with a row of swivel-top bar stools. The servery occupies the rear left corner, in a small cabin-style structure with a wood panelled counter front, stained glass side pane, corrugated metal sheet canopy with a model Millenium Falcon crash landed on top, and a modern shelving unit bar back. The wall opposite has large beer boards hung on it, listing the entire draught range, and next to this is a TV screen which was being used to show a live Six Nations fixture to a small but lively group of customers, who the barmaid was supplying with bowls of roast potatoes from somewhere. The ceiling is covered in many different flags for various nations and organisations, and there is a low-key Star Wars theme throughout, including a life-size Han Solo frozen in carbonite image on the door to the toilets.
There were just two cask ales on the bar on my Sunday afternoon visit - Stonehenge Heel Stone and Electric Bear Werrrd - but this is supplemented by nine or ten craft keg lines from the likes of Deya, Verdant, Vibrant Forest, Siren and Barefaced Brew. The friendly barmaid served me a very good pint of the Werrrd, which flew down so quickly that I still ended up with a long wait for my train when I got back to the station. The pub is a former CAMRA National Cider Pub of the Year and there were two real ciders and five bottled options listed on the beer boards.
This is a great little pub - part of a small but thriving micropub scene throughout Bournemouth’s various suburbs - and a great boon to the local area, which is severely low of pub stock at present. The prospect of some interesting beer isn’t a given throughout much of the town, and with a location relatively close to the station, this place makes an obvious port of call for locals and visitors alike.
On 21st February 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3005 recommendations about 3005 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Firkin Shed
Excellent beer and cider micro-pub, with a small counter towards the back on the left-hand side. Everything is served on gravity, so no handpumps required, but this means that the full choice is not immediately obvious until you spot the 'menu' boards. Traditional furniture and as much mixed decor that can sensibly be fitted into the space. Only had time for a short stop, but enjoyed my quick pint of a red-rye beer and some friendly conversation.
On 16th April 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 7876 recommendations about 7876 pubs]
View more reviews of The Firkin Shed (6)
No known official website for this pub.
- Facebook - The Firkin Shed
- Twitter - The Firkin Shed
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Firkin Shed - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 09 March 2015 by E TA
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 09 March 2015 by E TA
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 21 February 2022 by Pub SignMan
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 30p per pint - last updated 14 March 2017 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Child Friendly : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Darts : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 21 February 2022 by Pub SignMan
- Function Room : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Hot Food : Yes - Pizza shack in garden - last updated 21 February 2022 by Pub SignMan
- Jukebox : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Karaoke : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Live Music : Yes last updated 21 February 2022 by Pub SignMan
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 21 February 2022 by Pub SignMan
- Micropub : Yes last updated 17 March 2015 by David McNally
- Pinball : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Pool Table : No last updated 17 August 2015 by E TA
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 09 March 2015 by E TA
- Real Cider : No last updated 10 November 2022 by Blue Scrumpy
