16 best pubs in Lancaster & Morecambe according to CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2023

Bars in the Lancaster district feature in this year’s CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

By Debbie Butler

Published 2nd Nov 2022, 06:00 GMT

The annual guide, released by the Campaign for Real Ale and now on sale at https://shop.camra.org.uk/product/the-good-beer-guide-2023/, offers an insight into pubs, bars and clubs.

It highlights venues selected by its members "as places to savour good beers from small breweries as well as cask-conditioned lagers and world beers and some pubs are highlighted for serving real ciders too".

Here are 16 local bars that feature in the 50th edition of the guide and what CAMRA said about each of them.

CAMRA said: A traditional Victorian station hotel whose facelift should be complete by the time you read this. The grand entrance and foyer lead to a tapas bar, while round the back is the larger and more basic Junction Bar, where there are games, real ale and live music (on Fri and Sat). The establishment became the Royal Station Hotel in 1900, in recognition of the fact that the Duke of York, later to become George V, availed himself of the hotel’s hospitality during a shooting trip. A microbrewery is planned.

1. The Royal Station Hotel, Market Street, Carnforth

CAMRA said: A traditional Victorian station hotel whose facelift should be complete by the time you read this. The grand entrance and foyer lead to a tapas bar, while round the back is the larger and more basic Junction Bar, where there are games, real ale and live music (on Fri and Sat). The establishment became the Royal Station Hotel in 1900, in recognition of the fact that the Duke of York, later to become George V, availed himself of the hotel’s hospitality during a shooting trip. A microbrewery is planned. Photo: Google Maps

CAMRA said: Formed from two 19th-century buildings joined together, this pub has a single bar with three distinct areas – the major feature is a Yorkshire range. Despite the busy road at the front and the proximity to the university, the trade is mainly local. There are two to three guest beers according to season, often from Lancaster and Bowland breweries. Music is played occasionally.

2. The New Inn, Main Road, Galgate

CAMRA said: Formed from two 19th-century buildings joined together, this pub has a single bar with three distinct areas – the major feature is a Yorkshire range. Despite the busy road at the front and the proximity to the university, the trade is mainly local. There are two to three guest beers according to season, often from Lancaster and Bowland breweries. Music is played occasionally. Photo: Google Maps

CAMRA said: Former cafe opened as a micropub in 2018. A possibly Victorian stone-built building with a timber extension and a plate-glass window from its cafe days, it has a U-shaped layout, with the bar counter near the entrance in one arm, a wood-burning stove in the middle, and a back room for games. wood-burning stove in the middle. Note the bound copies of Railway magazine and photos of Hest Bank Station which closed in 1969.

3. The Crossing, Coastal Road, Hest Bank

CAMRA said: Former cafe opened as a micropub in 2018. A possibly Victorian stone-built building with a timber extension and a plate-glass window from its cafe days, it has a U-shaped layout, with the bar counter near the entrance in one arm, a wood-burning stove in the middle, and a back room for games. wood-burning stove in the middle. Note the bound copies of Railway magazine and photos of Hest Bank Station which closed in 1969. Photo: Google Maps

CAMRA said: The Bookmakers, opened in 2019 in a former betting shop among other shops in a suburban neighbourhood, is a welcome addition to the micropub scene in this area. The decor in this single wedge-shaped room is industrial chic, with an arrangement of standing and seating areas and a few comfy chairs and bar stools. The pub is well used by locals.

4. The Bookmakers, Heysham Road, Heysham

CAMRA said: The Bookmakers, opened in 2019 in a former betting shop among other shops in a suburban neighbourhood, is a welcome addition to the micropub scene in this area. The decor in this single wedge-shaped room is industrial chic, with an arrangement of standing and seating areas and a few comfy chairs and bar stools. The pub is well used by locals. Photo: Daniel Martino

CAMRA Lancaster Morecambe