The Water Witch is one of the best real ale pubs in Lancaster, a town not known for great venues…read more It's located right next to the canal, with a generously designed outside seating area [Unfortunately, it was raining all the time I spent in Lancaster]. The pub itself isn't as big as it seems from outside, with much of the pub area divided into single-spaced, window-seated tables. On the plus side, that means it won't get too noisy when the placed is packed. The real ale selection is certainly adequate [I've seen better, and much worse, the latter more often], the staff generally nice and helpful, and the real ales being kept fresh. Recommended for Lancaster.

The Witch is a lovely big old rambling canalside pub/restaurant, just a few minute's walk from…read moreLancaster centre. It's a very pleasant pub to spend the afternoon in, looking over the canal boats outside, and it's spacious enough that you can find a quiet corner to yourself most of the time. They have a great selection of real ales to sample, and even offer special discounts for CAMRA members. Tthe food menu is a definite cut above the average and is easily comparable with the best restaurants in town. There's a cool, homely, welcoming ambience about the place that lifts your spirits as soon as you walk in the door. A perfect place to spend a relaxing couple of hours away from the bustle of city life.

The drunken duck is a favorite of our friend who has come here for 40 years, starting with golf…read morebuddies, then with family and best of all to celebrate weddings, and great moments. Relax here, the staff is ready to make this luxury even better with whatever you need! Directions to many local hikes or hot coffee on the picnic tables. So much fun to have, there are gardens, strolls, patios and quiet libraries too. This is the most beautiful place I've ever stayed because I can get some rest, unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. Yesterday there was a local marathon- yes!- great runners charged past into the local town of Ambleside. Hikers and dog lovers are here too. National parks close by... what a get-away we are having!!

Such a charming pub and inn right in the middle of the Lakes District. There's a glorious view…read moreoverlooking the mountains right in front of the venue (with picnic tables if you'd like to sit and enjoy it with a pint). Brunch, lunch, dinner, and bar snacks are served at the Drunken Duck, and I'd only really recommend booking for dinner. The beer and cider are mostly local I believe. We did the curry bowl to share (vegetarian and VERY tasty - kind of wish I could get the recipe), scampi, fries, and tartare sauce (those fries are to die for!) and the lamb kofta, hummus, flatbread, and mint yoghurt (great for sharing and noshing). There's plenty of parking on the side of the inn. The inside is decorated beautifully (very insta-worthy), so maybe consider renting out for an event. And yes, you can bring your dog to dinner/drinks.

Just updating here to add a few more photos from our most recent visit! That Beef Wellington was…read more*divine*!

Brilliant. ... quite simply brilliant. This is a gastro pub and not fine dining but the food is…read moreawsome for the price of £6-8 for a starter and 9-13 for a main, with steak coming slightly above this. Beers aee great with the usual draughts complimented by some good hand pulled guest beers..... try the paddle of 3 x beers of your choice for £3.50. ..bargin. Staff are so attentive, decor is on point and the welcome from Paul n his team is bang on. Come and enjoy some of the best Lancashire hospitality in a beautiful Lancashire village. You will be happy u did.

Lovely and comfortable pub and restaurant with excellent food and attentive but not over the top…read moreservice. Becoming a family favourite.

Very nice food and great service. Little loud for us oldies but we will most definately be back…read morethanks

Very friendly and helpful staff. They seem young and anxious for you to enjoy the fruits of their…read morelabor. Best meat pie we had on our vacation. Our first meal after arriving in England. A good start to a pleasant vacation.

my in-laws live just next door the food is outstanding customer service excellence and there is a…read moregood selection of drinks behind the bar food for vegetarians and vegans is good the Baratta salad is my mother-in-law's favourite

Popped in early evening on a Sunday and it was really quiet. It is a Thwaites pub and the beer was…read morecertainly pleasant enough. There are two pubs in this village, this one and The Ship. The Ship has followed a gastro-pub theme and this one seems to have gone down the cheap and cheerful food route. At the time of writing prices on the regular menu average £7 - £8, in fact the most expensive item on the menu is the mighty mixed grill at £8.95. They also have a 'two meals for £8' menu option onTuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm till 8.45pm. I didn't eat here so I can't comment on whether it is good or bad, I think you're either a two meals for less than a tenner person or you're not and I tend not to eat at places that offer it as an option. There's a pool table, the staff are friendly and basically it's an old-fashioned pub with no pretensions.

The reviewer who gave the Boot 'n' Shoe 3 stars by looking at the menu can't really be taken…read moreseriously as they say they haven't tasted the food. I go at least weekly, try to go twice a week if I can and can report that the food is really nice. I especially like the Beef Madras (which is not included in the offer you'll be pleased to know Jacksters, so you can pay £7.95 for that on its own!) My wife always has the vegetable lasagne which she reports as being excellent too. What I particularly like about the place is that it feels like a proper pub, it has the cleanest toilets in Elswick (not checked them all, but it has to have), the staff are all really friendly and you get a personal service from all the staff. Stephen the barman/landlord's son is a human puzzle, can you guess how old he is? Ha ha. Adam and Tracey the other 2 bar staff are very attentive and the 2 staff in the kitchen (landlord and landlady) are always busy knocking up the most delicious menu. I'm on my way for tea very soon again, don't take my word for it, try it out. And Jacksters if you want to pay more than £8 for 2 meals I'm sure if you ask Stephen nicely he'll double the price for you so you think you're getting the real deal. You certainly won't be complaining even at twice the price. Karl.

This restaurant had one of the most creative menus one can see and beautiful decor. I ordered the…read morevenison sausage which was a little dry for me if it balanced well with the fruit sauce that accompanied it.

This pub was like a homey fairytale. Overlooking the river, it's got quaint little alcoves and…read morepicture-perfect corners with light fixtures and benches. The inside is completely decorated in mushrooms from top to bottom, and if you stay on the grounds you can choose from modern cabins or the look of the inn itself. It's such a lovely property and I look forward to exploring more in the future. For dinner, we ordered the seafood platter to start, which comes with all sorts of crustaceans and fish. For our starters, we selected the Jacobs ladder, skate cheeks, and scallops. All were quite delicious. For the mains, we ordered the fish pie, duck breast, and venison. Heavenly fish pie and the other mains were done so well. We finished off with the house dessert and a banana dish. Perfect end to the meal I must say! Highly recommend dropping by if you're in the area.

Great classic pub. Delicious beers and good looking food. Back patio had lovely seating for when…read morethe small pub area fills up. Staff handled the crowd very well. I would highly recommend.

Proper English pub. Loved it. Beer was cold and ambiance was on point. Will be back. Loved it and…read morecan't say enough great things about this place. The bartender was so sweet too.

If I could give this pub 6 stars, I would. Honestly the best meal I've had in the UK since moving…read morehere a month ago. And definitely the best service. We came here for an early afternoon lunch on a Saturday and it was quite easy to make a reservation. The pub sits on the side of a hill and overlooks the lush English countryside. Parking is simple, though I'm not sure how it would be on a busier day. We ordered wine, beer, and bread to start. The butter here is delicate and sweet, but it's topped with salt that cuts the sweetness. The bread was divine, and a lot of care and attention had gone into baking them. We were given complementary amuse-buche, which was a breaded + fried salmon and lobster bite with aioli. Delicious and plated on an adorable shell. Next we ordered the roast pie and duck liver. Hands down, the duck liver was the best thing I tried during the meal. Glorious mix when combining the liver and the jam it was topped with. The pie was a bit unconventional, and perfect that way. Small, rich, and great pastry. For our mains, we ordered the smoked hare and the pork. The hare was perfectly portioned and had a fun combination with apple and other sauces. The pork was very large, but it won a recent UK pub dish award and it was likely one of the most flavourful pork loin dishes I've had, as they're a bit difficult since the pork takes time to capture flavour. We ended the meal with chocolate and vanilla desserts, as well as cappuccinos and espresso. Such a lovely experience overall and I look forward to visiting again in the future!

We had the loveliest day trip out to this restaurant. It's quite a drive from Manchester but well…read moreworth the trip. Luckily the weather was perfect so we took a short walk in the beautiful countryside then settled down outside the pub for a drink. They tables have blankets over each chair to keep any chills away and we happily enjoyed the fresh air. We were then taken to an inside, upstairs table for our meal. The staff were polite and subtle in their service, just the way I like it. No over pouring of our wine or constantly offering more drinks. The menu is short with just a few options for each course but the food is some of the best I've eaten. We had the lamb and duck mains and these were really excellent. Presented with such skill and the flavours were superb. I'm a huge dessert person (you may see a theme in my reviews if you read more than one!) and had chosen this restaurant based on another sugar addict's recommendation. I was not disappointed, they were gorgeous and I wanted to order them all! In the end we made do with just one each. See my photos for evidence of why you should drive up there immediately and try this magical place for yourself.