No. 38 The Ship Inn

Visited on 28/4/11. For the first CBP venture into the town centre, we decided to try Lower Bridge St. First up though was this place, just across the water in Handbridge. The Ship Inn has traded continuously since mid way through the eighteenth century, but in 2009 underwent a major refurbishment to emerge as a dreaded 'gastropub'. Two years on and it's still busy and still gets glowing reviews, having found a successful formula for combining average food, average service and average ale. Ok, maybe I'm a bit prejudiced against this type of establishment ! To be honest, we found the downstairs bar to be quite pleasant. The pub has been nicely renovated and the ale wasn't bad - Thwaites Original bitter and Nutty Black dark mild. It's also in a great location right next to the river. Reeks of vinegar though.