The Ship Inn, Marygate, Holy Island, TD15 2SJ. Tel:01289 389311.

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The Ship is the first pub you'll come across after being shepherded into the tourist car park.
The island was packed, as Cask Task wrongly decided that 25th August was a good time to visit.
I had been to Lindisfarne twice before many years ago and I would highly recommend a visit, but do remember to check the tides before hand. There's so much to see and a full day is required.
The small castle, the Priory ruins, the tiny old church, the little village itself and of course, the real ale pubs! The kids holidays is not a good time.
The Ship is a quaint old place, and at a quieter time, would be a comfortable pub to spend a little time over. With a couple of good real ales to choose from, High House Farm Auld Hemp and Hadrian and Borders Holy Island Blessed Bitter, even the short stay for us was good.

The Lord Crewe Hotel, Front Street Bamburgh, Northumberland, NE69 7BL. Tel:01668 214243.

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The Lord Crewe Hotel originates back in the 1600's and its front faces the magnificent Bamburgh Castle. What a setting.

Cask Task explored and found the rear of the place to be tastefully extended in similar stone. As the sun was out, we relaxed out the back in the secluded patio area with a tasty pint of real ale, before continuing on to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

Hope & Anchor, 44 Northumberland Street, Alnmouth, Northumberland, NE66 3RX. Tel:01665 830363.

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The Hope & Anchor is an old favourite of mine. I used to be a frequent visitor to Alnmouth when I was a child and also in much more recent times. A lovely village and a beautiful beach to walk. But watch out for flying golf balls!

This pub has some happy memories for me and I must say it hasn't changed. The welcome feeling hasn't altered and the sup is still good.With Northumberland Premium, Wylam Gold Tankard and Farne Island beers to choose from, you can't go wrong. The food's still OK too.

I recommend it highly.

Sun Inn, 29 Northumberland Street, Alnmouth, Northumberland, NE66 2RJ, Tel:01665 830983.

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The Sun Inn is a lovely little pub on the main street of Alnmouth. Although once a frequent visitor to the village, I'd never been in this particular pub before.

I don't know why, because its a tidy and comfortable little place with a good atmosphere. Only two real ale hand pulls on offer, but these were both popular favourites. Mordues Workie Ticket and Black Sheep. The Workie Ticket went down a treat.

Good for food too.

Neat pub.

Cook & Barker Inn, Newton on the Moor, Nr Alnwick, Northumberland, NE65 9JY. Tel:01665 575234.

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The Cook and Barker, set high above the A1, in the little village of Newton on the Moor, is a gem. Although I visited the place a number of times about about 25 years ago, for meals and single night stopovers, the place has still got a terrific reputation.

I called on a tuesday lunchtime and the place was full of diners. Such is its following that Cask Task could not even get a seat for a pint! Its always had two or three real ales on offer and still has.

I'll have to call again, but book a table in advance next time.

Widdrington Inn, Widdrington Village, Northumberland, NE61 5DY, Tel:01670 760260.

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The Widdrington Inn sits right on the side of the A1068 coastal route at the very edge of the tiny village of Widdrington.
When I first went in to this place some fifteen years ago it was a bit of a dump but in the last ten years or so its been transformed into a worthwhile drinking and eating establishment.
Going strongly for food unfortunately has resulted in just a couple of hand pulls on offer.Never mind though. Any port in a storm, Cask Task ventured in.
The real ales were Abbott Ale and Hogshead Bitter (a pint of Hogshead was supped). It was an early August midweek lunchtime visit and the pub was very busy. An ok pint was all we had.
Not a bad pub though.

The Blagdon Arms, Village Square, Cramlington, Northumberland, NE23 1DN. Tel:01670 731162

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The Blagdon Arms is in the beautiful little oasis that is the village.
With its beer garden at the rear, Cask Task found the pub a friendly and welcoming place, with 3 real ale taps. When Cask Task called these were Wells Bombardier, York Brewerys Tettnang (my choice for the day), and the Shepherd Neame Spitfire.
Serving up some food too, the place was quite busy. A pleasant pub.

Carts Bog Inn, Langley on Tyne, Hexham, Northumberland. NE47 5NW. Tel:01434 684338.

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The Carts Bog Inn was originally built around 1775.
It stands virtually on its own and looks, to all intents and purposes, like a roadside cottage. Get yourself inside though, and its a welcoming and attractive little country pub and restaurant.
A decent number of diners seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the grub while we concentrated on the beer.

The three hand pumps offered up Northumberland Brewerys Fuggles Gold, Hadrian and Borders Tyneside Blonde and I couldn't resist trying the Bog Bitter from Mordues. Very nice.

Another wonderful little pub around the edges of the roads from Newcastle to the Lake District and Carlisle.

The Milecastle Inn, Military Road, Hadrians Wall, Haltwhistle, Northumberland. NE49 9NN. Tel:01434 321372.

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The Milecastle Inn's directions were passed on to us, as we would never have called here.

I am glad, however, that we did. What a smashing pub inside. Low ceilings, a comfortable feel about it and we must admit, the owner's son, who was on duty, made us feel welcome.
Handy for the Hadrian's Wall visitor, the Milecastle is a good stop off point.

With three hand pulls on, two Big Lamp Beers and Prince Bishop, plus an inviting menu, this is worth a look in.

The Bowes Hotel, Bardon Mill, Hexham, NE7 7HU. Tel:01434 344237

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The Bowes Hotel was stumbled upon by Cask Task while looking for the Twice Brewed pub.

We called in The Bowes to find that, unexpectedly, two hand pubs were to be had there. Jennings Tom Fool and Wylams Gold. So we had a pint.

As it happened the barman was a bundle of knowledge on real ale pubs in the area. So, not only did we enjoy a decent drink, but we gained our route plan for the day.

Thirst temporarely quenched, off we went.

Joiners Arms, 6 Wansbeck street, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1XZ. Tel:01670 513540.

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The Joiners Arms looks like the end of a row of houses, but I must recommend the place if your a pub fan.The bar offers a range of five real ales and has featured in a few CAMRA awards over the years. The setting is right on the river's edge. Beautiful.

My favourite place on an evening was always the lounge but the Fyne Ales Pipers Gold, Mordues Spring Tyne, Deuchars IPA, Black Sheep and my choice from the Stables brewery at Beamish, Old Miner Tommy, tastes good anywhere you have it.

A superb real ale drinkers pub.

Dipton Mill Inn, Dipton Mill Road, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1YA. Tel:01434 606577.

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The Dipton Mill Inn is not the easiest pub to find, but well worth the effort as its a fabulous old building.
Full of character, low ceiling, proper fire and its own real ale brewery! Even has decent food if you want it and an attractve beer garden out the back, but that will have to wait for another visit.
Cask Task seems to be staggering from one terrific country pub to another and this one's a beaut!
A good welcome from behind the bar started us off on the pub's Hexhamshire Brewery Devils Water. Deliciously dark and tasty. Right up my street and I can't wait to try the Old Humbug which comes in at 5.5%. A grand variety of ales including Shire Bitter, Whapweasel, and Devils Elbow complete the choice.
This pub's a must for the real ale fan. Can't wait to go back.

The Feathers Inn, Hedley On The Hill, Stocksfield, Northumberland, NE43 7SW. Tel:01661 843607.

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What a smashing old pub The Feathers Inn turned out to be. Having missed it, for one reason or another, were we pleased to find it at last, in the little village of Hedley On The Hill, and I can't wait to go back for something to eat.
A cheery welcome, from Pip behind the bar, lead us to sample the locally brewed Hexhamshire Devils Water from the choice of 4 real ales. Smashing.
The others were, Mordues Workie Ticket, Wylams Magic, and Cumberland Brewerys Corby Ale.
Unfortunately, pushed for time, Cask Task had to be dragged off home, but not for long I hope.

The Forum. 8/9 Market Place, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1XF. Tel:01434 609190,

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The Forum, incorporating a Wetherspoons pub and, upstairs, a cinema!
Walk in and the place is surprisingly large with stairs down to a further part eating/drinking area. A bit soulless, but typical Witherspoons, the beer choice is good and reasonably cheap.
Not to my liking as a watering hole, but as usual the pub was reasonably busy and the staff friendly.
The real ale was the ridiculously cheap Ruddles Best, Allendales Wolf, Wylams Angel, Greene Kings Abbot Ale and my choice for the visit, the very tasty Saddlers Stumbling Badger.

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.

The Punch Bowl, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne. NE2 1JY. Tel:0191 2818285.

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The Pun h Bowl, as it says over door, although I'm certain we were going into the Punch Bowl, looks decidedly run down from the outside but does its best on the inside.

With two real ales, Deuchars IPA and an anonymous Hydes Over The Barrel pint on sale, we had our sup and moved on.

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 Sun Inn, Dene View, Main Street, Acomb, Hexham, Northumberland. NE46 4PW. Tel: 01434 602934,

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Just happened to be passing Acomb so we called in to The Sun Inn.
Although a pleasant enough and friendly pub, there was only the token single real ale Black Sheep on offer, so we had one. For the enthusiast though, the Miners Arms, a few yards further up the street, appears to offer a greater choice. Unfortunately it was closed during the day so we missed out.

The Robin Hood Inn, Military Road, East Wallhouses, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland. NE18 0LL. Tel:01434 672273.

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Right on the Roman Wall trail is the Robin Hood Inn, on the old Military Road.
Not the most picturesque of pubs but in the right place.
Cask Task called in on the way home for one for the road. Mind you thats all there was here. A choice of one. Never mind it went down well and the barman assured us that High House Brewery, not two minutes away, covered both pumps during the summer.
A handy walkers pub with decent food.