The Birtley Ale House, Talbot Terrace, Birtley, County Durham, DH3 2PS. Tel:0191 4100593.

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The Birtley Ale House, as it's now known, is right on the main street in Birtley.

 Taking up a corner site, you can't miss it, and if you're a real ale fan and you're in the vicinity, you must call in and sample its wares.
Mark the owner, and a very hospitable chap we found him to be, used to be at The Old Fox in Felling. My home town incidentally and frequent drinking hole.

With 6 real ales always available at The Birtley Ale House, it's certainly a treat.
Hadrian and Borders Northern Star, Camerons Snake Joke, Caledonian Deuchers IPA, 80/-, and Double Dark, a beautiful stout, of which I had a couple, on at our visit.

There are a couple of live entertainment nights per week to help the ale go down.

Well worth a visit.

Dyke Neuk, Meldon, Nr Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 3SL. Tel:01670 772662.

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The Dyke Neuk is in a small village a few miles outside of Morpeth.
Have a look for it and pay a visit. I highly recommend it.
In picturesque countryside, the pub has a good atmosphere and a comfortable and welcoming interior.
A couple of good real ales, from Wylam Brewery and Hadrian and Borders, ensure you'll enjoy your drink. I spent a very enjoyable two and a half hours there and a delicious roast beef sandwich certainly helped.
A smashing pub.

The William Stead, 8 Crown Street, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1LU. Tel:01325 465487

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The William Stead is within walking distance of at least half a dozen other real ale haunts, in the brilliant shopping centre that Darlington has become.

A large two storey pub/restaurant with a special lift to the toilets on the Ist floor for gronks like me. I had to use this facility as the staff failed to pick the lock on the disabled toilet on the ground floor. Some bloke must have absconded with the key! B.....d.

Look at the photo. Its big enough for a Marks & Spencers branch!!

The Ruddles best was £1.39 a pint! I had to suffer a pint at that price. Grainstore Brewery Ten-Fifty (brewed in Rutland for its sins), Daleside Blonde and Old Lubrication, and Abbott Ale were the rest. Although I'm warming to some of Wetherspoons wonderful pubs, this one left me cold.

Must press on.

Tanners Hall, 63-64 Skinnergate, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7LL.Tel:01325 369939.

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The Tanners Hall, yet another Wetherspoons pub. This one gets its name from the leather trade once big in Skinnergate in the 16 and 1700's.
Busy of course, with both diners and drinkers, the pub interior is interesting and reasonably comfortable with well priced both beer and food.
The usual multitude of real ale choices from the ridiculously cheap Ruddles, the beautiful Mordues Workie Ticket, Northumberland Brewers Premium, Wentworth Gold, Daleside Monkey Wrench, Big Lamp Premium and on and on.... The Workie Ticket, incidentally, was spot on.
Fancy breakfast? You can have one here for about thirty bob. Its not worth turning the gas on at home, never mind having to wash up afterwards!

Derwent Walk Inn, Ebchester Hill, Ebchester, Consett, County Durham, DH8 0SX. Tel:01207 560347.

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The Derwent Walk Inn is set on the side of a hill giving superb views of the surrounding countryside for miles around. Especially from the added conservatory seen here on the left.

A Jennings house, it supplies a good selection of their real ales. The powerful and densely dark Sneck Lifter (I couldn't resist a pint of this), Cocker Hoop, Cumberland Ale and Bitter, all on sale here.

Once ensconced in the conservatory, with a pint in my hand, I couldn't resist the food menu and enjoyed, with friends, a good home cooked meal. The staff were friendly and reasonably responsive to our needs and the visit was a success.

A pub well worth the sojourn.

Number 22 Alehouse and Canteen, 22 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7RG. Tel:01325 354590.

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Number 22 Alehouse and Canteen. Certainly a name to conjure with and not a great looker from the outside, but what a grand modern and comfortable interior. A superb real ale pub.

Although not wide, the pub is cavernous inside. Maybe a bit too high. But let's not nitpick. It's friendly and comfortable and by god does it offer some choice of beer.
I counted twelve, yes 12, real ales. It is home to the Village Brewer Brewery, three of whose ales are there. The list is endless. Brakspear, Ringwood, Skipton, Ossett.......I had the Village Brewery Old Raby Ale but, after a long day sampling on your behalf, I got so pissed (you've guessed it) I forgot to take the photo.
Another visit may have to be made. What a shame!

Made a second visit and got the photo.

Tap & Spile, 99 Bondgate, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7JY. Tel:01325 381679.

The Tap & Spile sits right next door to the Tapas Bar on Bondgate. Real handy for the dedicated boozer because here is another place to stagger into if you enjoy good ale.

Not the most attractive of interiors but a fine selection of good beers to choose from.
Wychwoods Hobgoblin, Adnams Broadside, Moorhouses Blond Witch and Saltaires Triple Chocolate (yuk!!)

The chalkboard listing the above and forthcoming ales was worth the visit. Some wit had removed some letters and words to give amusement to the reader. Cask Task will leave these changes to your ingenuity.

Old Yard Tapas Bar, 98 Bondgate, Darlington, County Durham, DL37JY. Tel:01325 467385.

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The Old Yard Tapas Bar looked the most unlikely of real ale pubs. It just shows you how mistaken you can be! No less than six proper beers to choose from.

My old favourite, Theakston's Old Peculiar was top of the list, Ossett Light Ale, Consett White Hot, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Everards Tiger, Caledonian Mexican Bandit and John Smiths Cask Ale followed.

The Tapas Bar is also a substantial restaurant too. A very pleasant way to spend an hour or so in the sunshine out front.

Well worth a visit.

Quaker House, High Row, 2 Mechanics Yard, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7QF. Tel:07783960105.

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The Quaker House exterior doesn't exactly invite you in. Look at our photo. And its up a narrow alley! Nevertheless, in we went and I must say the greetings from the guv'nor and the barman were 1st class. So was the beer. Eight on tap! The place was a real drinkers paradise.
Rock music a speciality with umpteen bands billed to appear.
The Quaker House was CAMRA's Town Pub of the Year 2009-2010.

Real ales from Woodfords, Summer Wine Brewery, Rugby Brewery, Shipyard Brewery, Consett's Cast Iron and Brakspears Hooray Henry!

A highly enjoyable visit to a good real ale house.

The Havelock, Bonemill Lane, Washington, Tyne & Wear, NE38 8AJ. Tel:0191 4159739.

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The Havelock came to me by chance on a beautiful summer's day while motoring through Fatfield.
I parked up and ordered a pint of Workie Ticket and a sandwich and I'm pleased to say both were Ist class. There were only two real ales on but the Mordues was excellent. So good in fact I came back the next day to sample it again.

Good service, good food, good beer. A smashing pub.

The Lonsdale, Lonsdale Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne &Wear, NE2 3HQ. Tel:0191 2810039.

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The Lonsdale has a huge drop down screen, presumably to show the football, and a huge amount of scaffolding to the left hand side, presumably to keep the wall up. A quick pint of Black Sheep, which I had, or the Deuchars IPA, was called for. Afraid I may sneeze and bring the place down around our ears, we made a quick exit for the West Jesmond metro station, just across the road.

Blue Bell, Jesmond Vale, Newcastle Upon Tyne. NE2 1PH. Tel:0191 2321774.

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The Blue Bell is a lovely old pub tucked away down in Jesmond Vale. Unfortunately in the shadow of one of those awful 60/70's tower blocks.
The Blue Bell does its best with an attractive outside seating area and a very friendly and comfortable interior. The food wasn't bad either.
The real ale on offer was Deuchars IPA and Abbot Ale.
Enjoyed an overcast hour or so there. Very nice.

The Newton Park, Benton Road, Longbenton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear. NE7 7EB. Tel:0191 2662010.

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The Newton Park is a huge pub which majors strongly on reasonable food selection and a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.
The real ale choice was Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, and Green King IPA. With a long and arduous day in front of us, I sampled the IPA before moving on.

The Black Horse, Red Row, Beamish, Co. Durham, DH9 0RW. Tel:01207 232569.

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The Black Horse. There must be hundreds of them, but Cask Task managed to find one that wouldn't let us in.

Cask Task is made of sterner stuff though. At the third visit, we got in! Our persistance was based on the attractiveness of the place and its surroundings. It didn't disappoint.

The two stoves, one from the original part and the other from the extended section certainly added to the feeling of warmth in what is one large room split into two by the central bar. We had difficulty getting in because the place has had a complete re-vamp, including the surrounding gardens. It should be a picture in the summer.

Going back to the 1700's The Black Horse seems to be based on the row of cottages there and a sound job has been made of them.
The three real ales on sale were Brains SA(a Welsh brewery), Shepherd Neames Spitfire and Wells Bomardier. The SA we sampled was 1st class.

We were made very welcome there and I'm sure you will be too.

The William Jameson,(Wetherspoons), 30/32 Fawcett Street, Sunderland, SR1 1RH.Tel:0191 5145016.

The William Jameson in Fawcett Street was at one time Joplings Department Store, I think. It was so long ago since I was in Sunderland city centre, and there have been so many changes, some not so good. This good building has been saved and is thriving thanks to Wetherspoons.
The beer fest was in full swing with Northumberland's Coffin Dodger, Theakstons Old Peculiar, Ruddles and Abbott to name but a few of the 10 real ales on offer. I went for a Leg Over (chance would be a fine thing) from the Daleside Brewery. Very nice.

The Lambton Worm (Wetherspoons) Victoria Buildings,Low Row, Sunderland, SR1 3QA. Tel:0191 5689910.

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The Lambton Worm it may be called but it is a Wetherspoons with out a doubt. Characterless but nonetheless busy. The beer fest did help and of course the beer selection, see above, was tremendous, (and cheap!).

I couldn't resist the Purkmister Bohemian Schwarbier, a stout from Czech Republic's Purkmister Brewery (4.8%). By the time I'd got through ordering it I was ready for a pint. What a surprise! It was very tasty!

I must admit there were some lovely beers to be had but Its not my idea of a pub.

Harbour View. Roker, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, SR6 ONU.

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The Harbour View at Roker. After what seemed like an hour of real ale hunting on a rain soaked day, this modern looking pub hove into view. Keen to get out of the rain Cask Task entered. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be.

A curved fronted bar housed a real ale drinker's delight of 6 pumps, consisting of Timothy Taylors Landlord and Deuchers IPA as regulars and 4 guest ales. I had never come across Clary Brown (not one of my loose women I must point out), so I gave it a try. It was superb. From a local brewery called Bull Lane Brewing Co..

The Harbour View's others were Wold Top Brewery's Wold Gold, Consett Ale Works' Blast, and Endeavour from the Capt. Cook Brewery. All excellent local north east real ales.

The manager was a pleasant chap and the atmosphere warm and friendly. A good place to enjoy good beer. I could have put my feet up and stayed for the rest of the day. But, as you well know by now, I'm a hard worker for the Cask Task cause and had to move on.

A Ist class real ale pub.

If you want food the Benedict Bar upstairs is there to accomodate.

The Badger, Street Houses, Ponteland, Newcastle Upon Tyne, HE20 9BT. Tel:01661 871037.

The Badger, now a super pub and restaurant, was three houses in about 1700, in the original village of Street Houses just outside of Ponteland. Now a super pub and restaurant in which I have had many a good meal not to mention quite a few gluggable vinos and various real ales over the last 6 or 7 years or more.

I love the atmosphere, the garden in the summer, and the open fires in the winter. Some happy memories there. Oh dear, pass the hankie.

The Badger has always tried really hard, and sometimes failed, as most of these type of places do, to offer a decent selection of real ales. On offer this time was Sharps Doombar(a Cornish beer), Brakspear Oxford Gold, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted(which I had), Black Sheep and last but not least the Badgers ever present Bass.I always used to have a Bass and sent a few back in my time. Don't let me be too harsh as they are trying.

Worth a visit.

The Boathouse. Station Road, Wylam, Northumberland, NE41 8HR. Tel:01661 853431

The Boathouse was recommended to me as I was having a quiet pint in Ryton Old Village on a sunny afternoon. It sounded wonderful, so I decided to investigate The sunny afternoon just got better!
Right next to Wylam rail station, The Boathouse turned out to be a real ale officionado's paradise, with 14 pumps on the go! Obviously quite a number were Wylam Brewery's own, so I decided to have a Wylam's Haugh. A beautiful porter.

Prince Bishop, Avalanche, Byker Wit, Northern Star, Tiger, Highlander, Steel Town........at this point I fell of my stool!
A CAMRA Pub of the Year on umpteen occasions and now one of mine. Super drinker's atmoshere. No music, just conversation and a loverly old fireplace to add to the ambience in the winter months.
Food can be had and there is a small beer garden.

The beer's the thing here though and another visit later in the year is on the cards!
I wish it didn't have the stairs to negotiate though.

My 2nd visit to the Boathouse was just as pleasurable as the first. A pint of High House Matfen Magic only added to the pleasure of the quiet atmosphere.

Super pub. Super beer.