In an alternative universe, Withernsea would be the Southwold of the Yorkshire coast, rather than its Fleetwood or Skegness. And Beverley would be the scummy bit of Hull.
But it isn’t. Like Ely, it’s gone over recent decades from charming rural backwater with large church to posh commuter town and tourist honeypot. On each visit it feels a bit more like a mini-York, though sadly that’s partly because the chain pubs and restaurants are encroaching.
I’m sure there weren’t as many pashminas and trimmed beards 25 years ago, the town now a magnet for the Humberside mortgage class on a Friday night. No doubt they’re feeling the loss in Cottingham.
Pedestrianisation has served the centre well, and the many characterful pubs around the core look as good as ever.
Last Friday it all looked more majestic than ever, particularly on the approach to the Minster.
Mirroring Ely, that comes into its own at dusk with a bit of illumination.
A decade ago the Cornerhouse and Sun seemed the big draws; now it was GBG newbie Monks Walk that felt the destination pub. I can’t think of an equivalent in Manchester (perhaps the Briton’s Protection ), but in Cambridge it would be the Free Press, a slightly upmarket pub without too much intrusive food.
Oddly, for such a remarkable building, I have no recollection of this place (formerly the George & Dragon); a bit like overlooking the Bell Inn in Nottingham because it’s not in the Guide.
Some of the locals looked a little worse for wear already.
A maze of rooms on both sides of that alley, but most folk were in the long bar and a baronial style room which seemed to have the gentlefolk wine trade, and the only free seat. I had to move a collection hat, which drew rebuke from a JC lookalike who I suspected had been reciting madrigals to the crowd.
Clearly pitched at the craft market, with some quality cask from Brass Castle and Atom turning over quickly.
Hard to capture the atmosphere, a bit grown-up and a bit magical, with a Viennese styled Atom beer scoring highly.
An instant mini-classic, I thought, worthy of an overnight stop and a session taking in the John Smiths Cask at the Dog & Duck.
More importantly, this fella rated it even higher. And he’s no posh pub lover.
And then there’s the view as you step outside..
retiredmartin 
Beverley, and no mention of Humphrey’s White Horse !
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Them’s the rules. Did it in 2005. Probably unchanged. If only I had your capacity, Paul.
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Most certainly unchanged.
And did you look in at the Chequers, Yorkshire’s first micropub and marginally better that Wolverhampton’s ?
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I did when it opened, and share your view ;-(
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Gorgeous first photo Martin. 👍
“Pedestrianisation has served the centre well,”
We don’t do enough of that over here.
“Some of the locals looked a little worse for wear already.”
😁
“A maze of rooms on both sides of that alley,”
That sounds perfect. 😎
“And then there’s the view as you step outside…”
Again, see above. 👍
Cheers
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Thanks Russ. Or “Someone”, if that’s your real name.
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“Or “Someone”, if that’s your real name.”
Pfft. Having the last name of Smith is incognito enough. 😉
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Are you Humphrey’s long lost son and heir?
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Beverley.
Does she have a sister ?
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Billy Wright married her.
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Beverley – a short hop from student lodgings in Cottingham in days long ago.(&another tale I will never tell unless asked )
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Er, I think we know what you’re talking about. Upmarket kebab tourism !
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Loved the caption “Wine drinkers keeping pubs open since 2011”– I quite enjoy red wine, I must say, but can’t see myself ordering it in a pub. Unless I genuinely hated all the beers on offer!
This looks like a really pleasant one, and bustling with people; that “baronial bit” area was especially striking in the photo. And with the thumbs up from both you and Sir Quinno… well, I think we can just go ahead and give them the “best pub in the area” trophy right now.
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I think fans of the Dog & Duck and Nellie’s (Sam Smiths classic) would have something to say about that ! But certainly would be best pubs in many towns 😉
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This post sums up for me the beauty of British pubs and the ups and downs of the pub ticker’s self imposed lot. So many small things contribute to the experience: the beer, the view, the ambience and so on but often it is the human interaction that is the most influential. Interaction both with others and with your surroundings.
On your visit, the pub was pleasantly full, the conversation flowing, the beer was good and the historic surroundings enhanced by all these things, and then to step outside in that twilight to see a beautifully lit cathedral ( or minster) framed by a Georgian street leaves an impression that lingers long in the memory.
On the other hand, I called at the Monk’s Walk last year, also in April, at the end of a long weekend in Hull ( great pubs, very underated city ) at lunchtime. The place was odd, the service was terrible, the food was strange, the place needed a clean, the pint forgettable…etc. What was missing? People, and perhaps a twilight view.
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