Monkseaton Arms, Front Street, Monkseaton, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE25 8DP. Tel:0191 2513928.

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Cask Task found the Monkseaton Arms a bit of a disappointment.
Lacking in any kind of atmosphere this large pub offered a couple of Wylams beers but no life.

Ye Olde Ship Inn, Front Street, Monkseaton, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE25 8DP. 0191 2513677

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As our intrepid gang's search continued through Tyne & Wear, up came Ye Olde Ship Inn at Monkseaton.

Expecting to be greeted by old sea dogs and the interior walls festooned with fishing memorabiliar, we entered. A comfortable and very pleasant old pub it turned out to be. The decor, however, bore no hint of its sea washed past, but the selection of real ales did make up for that.

Adnams Extra, Theakstons Bitter, Ruddles and Shepherd Neames Bishop Finger was the choice and a very good hour or so was spent there.

Not a bad real ale pub at all.

The Black Horse, 68 Front Street, Monkseaton, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE25 8DP. Tel:0191 253 6931

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The Black Horse at Monkseaton is reputed to be a great real ale pub and I must admit to being impressed on first arriving. It's a warm, welcoming and comfortable place.
With four ales on offer I settled down to a nice pint from the Jarrow Rivet Catcher, the Durham Brewery's White Amarillo, Hadrian's Tyneside Blonde or my old favourite Courage Directors. My preference for the darker stuff pushed me for the Directors.
A bit of a disappointment though, as I think the Directors may have been a bit on the old side and was unrecognisable from its normal tasty self.

Millstone, Haddricks Mill Road, South Gosforth, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, NE3 1QL. Tel:0191 2853429.

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The Millstone was a pub not before visited by Cask Task and turned out to be a quite cosy and comfortable place.

Not a real ale pub as such but offering Spitfire and Bass.

White Swan, 18 Newgate street, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1BA. Tel:01670 513532.

The White Swan is right on the main street in Morpeth and a pleasant enough pub it is, but not one of my favourites.

I get the impression that the Deuchars IPA and the Bombardier were a token gesture to real ale drinkers, although my Deuchars was fine, it must be said.

The Tuna sandwich was OK too.
Scaffold in front. No photo.

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.

The Ridley Arms, Stannington, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 6EL. Tel:01670 789216.

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The Ridley Arms stands in the beautiful village of Stannington, nicely tucked away just off the A1. Handy but quiet. Just the job.

This Fitzgerald pub was one of my favourites when I lived in Northumberland. A welcoming interior, quiet and comfortable, with a fine selection of 6 real ales.

On this occasion I plumped for the Orkney Brewerys Red MacGregor. Lovely.

Deuchars IPA, Harvests Pale Ale, Maxims Lambtons, Black Sheep, and Fyne Ales Crannoq made up the numbers.

Another fine Fitzgeralds pub.