Kings Head, Ulverston

Scaffolding up outside and I did think twice about going in but a tick is a tick. Absolutely dead in contrast to the other places in town, I was the only customer. It's a decent place though, bit of a comfy old skool interior (some snot green paintwork excepted) and the jumbo tile Ulverston map on the wall looks good. Only one ale on, a so-so Courage Best doing well in the circs (NBSS 2.5). Not sure what the future holds for this one but it feels like in Ulverston that if you miss a beat then you’re in trouble as there’s voracious competition. I wouldn’t mind popping back in and seeing how it looks in 18 months’ time.

Not to be confused with the larger King's Arms, the King's Head is a Marston's pub, whereas the King's Arms is a Robinson's pub. Confusingly, they're both on King Street. My visit highlighted one of the potential pitfalls for the post-lockdown drinker. On arrival, I was shown to a table. Luckily, I could see 2 pumpclips at the bar - Hobgoblin & Wainwright. I enquired with the staff member if there were any other real ales. He said that they were the only 2 on. Preferring a dark beer, I ordered the Hobgoblin. Luckily for me, my beer was delivered direct to my table, without use of one of those buzzing devices that tells you when it was ready for collection. Others who had been waiting longer than me were still patiently waiting for their machine to vibrate. However, the beer that arrived was a pale ale. I told the staff member that I had ordered the Hobgoblin, to which he replied that it was what I had ordered. I said that I was fine with the Wainwright, in any case and he slumped off. It was only afterwards that I realised that what I had actually ordered was Hobgoblin Gold. Without being able to get to the bar to order and without a beer list in sight, choose your beer at your peril!