Pub 130, Day 48 – Staindrop Lodge

By Rob

OK, this one’s not a pub. There have been a few places that, in the past, have had questionable pub status, but this one’s pretty unambiguous. It’s not a pub.

Or is it?

No, it’s a hotel. But the hour was late, everywhere in Chapeltown was closed, we were six pints deep into our adventure, and we didn’t want to stop until we had to.

Winding our way back to the station, we spied the Staindrop Lodge Hotel. The lights were on, at least one person could be seen drinking inside, and so we investigated further. Maybe it was a pub? And if so, we’d have to order another pint!

We nipped inside, entering a reasonably smart, modern-looking hotel bar. We asked the barman if, contrary to all appearances, we were actually inside a pub.

“No,” he replied. “This is a hotel.”

Not persuaded, we had no choice but to drink another beer. After all, it was a public bar – as evidenced by the fact we’d just walked in and ordered a pint – so maybe it was a pub?

Sitting ourselves down on some swanky hotel chairs, at one of their hotel tables, we whipped out our phones to check whether, in fact, the Staindrop Lodge Hotel could be considered a pub. Logging into the hotel Wi-Fi, we searched the name of the place we were in. Google told us it was a hotel. Various hotel booking websites told us it was a hotel. The other bloke drinking in the bar, kindly, told us it was a hotel.

Naturally, we were far from convinced.

A few search results later and we found the Staindrop Lodge’s website. “Bar – Brasserie – Hotel” read the homepage. The word ‘pub’ never appeared.

Inconclusive, we decided.

We made good progress with the two pints of Blitzen – a zesty Christmas beer from Black Sheep Brewery. Even so, we were cutting it fine and finished up just as the barman began placing the hotel chairs on the hotel tables.

Leaving the pub (yes), and looking at the clock, we knew everywhere in Chapeltown was now closed. It was finally time to bring the night to an end.

Or was it?

Pub: Staindrop Lodge (Lane End, S35 3UH)

Rating: 6/10

Pint: Blitzen

Brewery: Black Sheep Brewery (Masham, North Yorkshire)

NEXT UP: Dancing on the tables, at Bierkeller...