Cumberland Inn, Carlisleback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Pleasant traditional pubs amongst the Botchergate cafe bars. Worth a visit.
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The Cumberland Inn is at the heart of Carlisle's nightlife strip near the station. We opted for this after having to queue (!) to get into the nearby Lloyds Bar only to find bouncers charging £2 to get in (!!). Needless to say, I'm a bit too long in the tooth to pay for entry to a pub. The Cumberland had its own bouncer and was every bit as noisy as the William Rufus. But we didn't have to queue and we didn't have to pay to get in. Inside was a sea of people enjoying 1990s/2000s dance classics. There were both young and old. It was quite a spectacle, reminding me of my clubbing days. There's a nice tiled error around the bar. But it's probably much nicer when clean, as we were sticking firmly to the floor with every attempted step. There's a vacant handpull here, showing it why it made the Good Beer Guide in 2006. But our choice was Guinness, Guinness Extra Cold, Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit, Fosters, John Smiths Extra Smooth or Stella. I could have quite happily stayed longer admiring the sights and listening to the music. But my drinking partner removed his earplugs to signal his desire to move on somewhere a little more civilised!
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Wandered around Carlisle today and could not believe how lacking in pubs it is. You could come to the conclusion it is dry. Yes there are cafe bars / restaurants but they don't count when you're after a swift one. After the usual lengthy circular ramble around the streets of somewhere I don't know, I stumbled across the Cumberland, which of course is just 100 yards from the train station. It looked great from the outside and in all honesty decent on the inside. A few nare-do wells (members of the light-ale cavalry) were stuck to the seats opposite the bar, but it has a decent interior and the bar staff were really friendly. I didn't mind the music or tellies. A rather lively pint of Lancaster Blonde was on hand pump and it was in good form. The food seemed decent as well. All in all, well worth a visit.
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One of my old haunts has nt changed much in last 25 years the stuffed buffalo's head has gone the lingering pungent aroma of stale tobacco a distant memory. Great old building seems to have lost its way in last few years not a real ale pub by any means ok rough n ready, still gets lively though.
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Had a day trip to Carlisle from Penrith, and I was really looking forward to visiting this pub, as Its rated highly in my 2006 good beer guide.
***
however it seems to have got worse since then.
I can see the original building has potential, but it has a run-down feel to it now. no meals. no cask ales.
lady behind the bar says they don't sell these days.
***
verdict:
I'm sure the place has seen much better days, but there are much nicer pubs on the same street.
sorry to say, only a 3 from me.
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Agree with all the other comments.Nice to find a trad. pub in this lovely City.Just imagine what could be,if they served more real ale.I wil always visit this place when in the City.
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This is a traditional pub on CAMRA's National Inventory, chiefly because it is the only remaining example of the Carlisle State Management scheme which saw all pubs in Carlisle nationalised from the First World War up until 1972 or thereabouts. That said, although the interior is pleasant it is rather underwhelming by NI standards, and, as previously noted, real ale does not seem to be a priority. That said, the Deuchars that is normally on offer is usually up to standard, and this is by no means a bad place- especially considering the surrounding options. This is a nice pub to come to if waiting for a train, being about 100yds from Carlisle's impressive railway station, although passing the alcopop drag of Botchergate can be off-putting.
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Came in here out of slavish pursuit of anything listed on CAMRA's " historical interior inventory" but was a tad disappointed. There is mainly one large bar area but it seemed to lack atmosphere and there was only 1 cask ale being served:-Deuchars IPA.With flat screen tellies everywhere and noisy crackly juke box it felt a bit like a Wetherspoons with old wood panelling.
As it has an historic and relatively unspoilt interior it could maybe be transformed with subtle changes to fixtures and lighting and a big range of cask ales/foreign beers microbrewery on site etc.I guess it has to serve the needs of its customers and maybe there isn't a big calling for real ale pubs in this part of town.
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Traditional, wood pannelled pub in Botchergate, close to Carlisle station. Botchergate appears to be the epi - centre of the Carlisle drinking circuit - I spotted 2 Wetherspoons, a Walkabout, a Litten Tree, plus other "yoof" bars all in a stretch of 200 yards or so.
The Cumberland Inn - a CAMRA National Inventory listed pub is therefore an amazing survival in their midst, although I was disappointed to note that it has unfortunately succumbed to the trend of offering "attractions" - eg karaoke, disco - on certain nights of the week. Mercifully, my Monday night visit ( 3 Sept ) was free of such attractions and I was able to enjoy a good pint of Jennings Cumberland Ale in relative peace. Rather disappointingly, the locals all seemed to be drinking John Smiths Smooth and I reckon that real ale is not a big seller here.
Carlisle seems dreadfully short of tyraditional pubs - there's the Howard Arms, on which I've just posted, plus this one, plus the Kings Head behind the Tourist Information Centre - but that seems to be about it, unless anyone knows different
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One of the best Pub's on Botchergate - Simple as! Wide ranging clientele, if you've been you'll know what I mean. DJ on Thurs to Sun, tho Nevy has rumoured to have been sacked! Disgraceful!
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the last of the old as far as city centre goes. situated in the re-juvinated area of the city it stands out because of it's original character rather than in spite of it. always on the list during a pub crawl. good clientel although you may come across eastern europeans as much as eastern carlisle. changing times for a little changed pub.
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Piece of history - has a room upstairs which is unusual but not in use.. part of the State Management History with decor from that era.. last time I looked.
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