The Boatside Inn, Warden

Jun 28 2009 by Sunday Sun

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JUST occasionally Mrs Eats and I get the urge to blow away the cobwebs with a good walk.

And what better place to go than Hadrian’s Wall on a warm Sunday morning?

Of course, after Sunday morning comes Sunday lunch. So once we’d worked up an appetite we were good and ready for somewhere we could take the weight off our feet and charge the batteries again ready for another session striding out.

Just to be different, we’d decided not to eat at one of the hostelries near the wall but to take the Eatsmobile on a short diversion to the Boatside Inn a few miles away at a hamlet called Warden, between the Military Road and the A69.

The attractive stone building is at the point where the South Tyne and the North Tyne merge and even though Hexham is just over the hill and Newcastle is only 30 minutes away it seems, as I said to Mrs Eats, miles away from anywhere. No surprise, then, that this is a haven for walkers and cyclists, even has its own angling permits for the river and attracts sportsmen of every breed. But it’s also spot-on for families or anyone who likes a quality pint in relaxing surroundings.

But with a homely restaurant, complete with beams and a heraldry theme, it’s perfect for a full Sunday lunch, too. And believe me, full is just what you’ll be.

While I headed to the bar – no surprise there – Mrs Eats went to freshen up. Nice loos, she said, adding that the pub welcomes children so much it even supplies nappies, wipes and items I didn’t want to know about when thinking about lunch!

Now Mrs Eats likes her pate and toast so it was no surprise that that’s what she chose for her starter (£5.45). I like a good bit of fish, so it was fairly predictable I’d go for the smoked salmon (surprisingly 20p cheaper at £5.25). The menu said it came with prawns but, to my simple mind they looked suspiciously like crayfish.

They both came with a mound of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and even melon, fresh apricot and other goodies. If we had just been looking for a delicious light lunch this would have been enough, and with a welcome pint of Hadrian bitter (£2.55) for me and dry white wine for Mrs Eats (£2.85) not bad value either.

But we’d got a lot of making up for our morning’s exertions to do and, as Mrs Eats asked – if the starters were that good, what would the main courses be like?

The answer was very good! My four thick slices of roast beef (£8.50) were as delicious as they looked. Meanwhile, Mrs Eats liked the sound of a chicken breast with stuffing (£8.50), in fact a whacking slice of it that almost dwarfed the chicken.

Both meals came with mashed, new and roast potatoes (just a tiny bit underdone), Yorkshire pud (a little soggy), and four types of veg which were fresh and tasty enough to tempt even a determined meat eater like me.

Big as they were, we would have wolfed them down if we weren’t already half-full of starter, As it was, we ate at a more sedate pace but still managed to leave our plates just about clean.

As you may know, according to Mrs Eats Sunday lunch isn’t complete without a pud and she had eagerly noticed from other tables that the Boatside had a little chalkboard packed full of choices.

What a letdown. The pub boasts that “some” of its puddings are freshly prepared. What a pity then that it didn’t take the opportunity to offer a different menu to the standard, bought-in options available in so many places.

After two large courses, even Mrs Eats admitted that she was “rather full” and couldn’t face one of the many puddings or a creamy roulade. There was a long list of ice creams and sorbets but she said she would have loved something light like a fruit salad but the nearest she could find was summer fruit pudding (£4.95). Pleasant enough, she said, but it should have been served chilled, not “blooming cold”.

My great slab of sticky toffee pudding (£4.95) wasn’t one of the best I’ve had (and, like regrets, I’ve had a few) but suited me fine.

Then we sat with a coffee (£1.60) after what had generally been a very good meal in a relaxed atmosphere. And we contemplated the walk we were about to do – one of a number, starting from the Boatside’s front door.

We contemplated, and we contemplated until we could contemplate no more. Then we climbed into the Eatsmobile and drove home.