retiredmartin

I’m in Blackpool for a couple of days, the only possible follow-on to Royal Tunbridge Wells.  It’s entirely coincidental that the trip coincides with an invasion of slugs into our kitchen, no doubt attracted by the smell of spilled Yeastie Boys.  Mrs RM has it in hand. To fortify her for the task ahead, here’s a picture from my IBIS this morning;

Kitchen slugs are no doubt just one of the topics of conversation you’ll find in the Victoria, in one of Blackpool’s northern suburbs.  I couldn’t resist hopping off the tram en route to Fleetwood to see whether this Sam Smiths house was as good as I remember.

Pub Curmudgeon and Simon Everitt have both sung the praises of this vast roadhouse, though I rated the nearby Bispham a better experience. The Victoria has to be in any Top 100 though; it’s as good as pub going gets for £1.80 a pint (The sweet chilli crisps were good but almost expensive in comparison).

You’ll know I often complain about pub seating, finding it hard to get comfortable.  The Victoria has the best pub seating in the world, whether you’re wanting to hide away with a book or chat with a group.  Lovely padded seats too.

It wasn’t as quiet as it might look here; there were a dozen regulars dotted about at 4pm, which shows the size of the place.  All I’ll say on the “banter” is that recent funerals in Blackburn seemed to be a key feature.

The sunlight really poured through the gorgeous windows, which made the pint of OBB taste even better than the NBSS 3.5 I gave it. Apparently not good enough for the Beer Guide this year though.

This is a wonderful place, with really friendly service, and very much a community estate pub. I guess it gets a lot less visitors to the area than the Bispham.   Worth a special trip.