Golden Ball Hotel at Snatchems Free House. at Lancaster Road, Snatchems,, LA3 3ER Lancaster, Lancashire

Description

The Golden Ball at Snatchems, on the bank of the River Lune, has been serving refreshment to travellers since 1650! Cool and refreshing in summer or warm and cheerful in winter, this has long been a place of peaceful sanctuary from a crazy world. Today it is still the best site for miles around to enjoy bird-watching with a pint in one hand. Cormorants dive & disappear, curlews call, herons stand sentinel, lapwings wheel about, oystercatchers whistle as tide nears, ever something to be seen from the cobbled promenade-style frontage of this simple and genuine, rustic-cum-maritime pub. Here you can watch salmon leap from the water as traditional fishermen stand chest-deep to catch them with nets. Gaze on as a setting sun lights a panorama of hills and sets aglow an old castled city beyond the silver river. Stare in thrilled but silent awe as a tidal wave crashes relentlessly on, over the bones of a centuries-old tall ship yet lying unburied on the shore. Travel back in time, picture an 18th century scene as vessels set sail for Africa or ply creaking upriver homeward bound from the West Indies, laden with sugar, rum and cotton. This old pub has seen a lot of life in the past and is haunted by some of its experiences. Ghosts have been seen here. Perhaps the pirates, slavers and smugglers of old remain within these feet-thick walls. You can walk here, bring your dog & the kids, cycle, drive, ride or sail down the river. All are welcome, just get here. When every other person one meets can say where the nearest “Olde Worlde English Pub” is in Benidorm, Gran Canaria or elsewhere, I think it disappointing that they don’t use their own genuine old pub. The Golden Ball is just that: honest no-frills authenticity with a down to earth sincerely warm welcome. Forgetful of their own true heritage, many Brits prefer to dine out in a plastic Med-style Bistro, mock-up over-decorated Carvery or fake Irish theme bar. Why are we so dissatisfied with our own identity? Perhaps we think it’s unsophisticated to just be ourselves. If the process goes on then your nearest English pub may well one day be in Spain. Are we ever to be crowded into a city-centre Witherspoons to meet each other? The Golden Ball isn’t about drinking to destruction at happy-hour rates. It’s about meeting and talking. Do you remember that? When perfect strangers could converse in a friendly unthreatening way? It still happens here. Be careful when you visit, someone might want to talk to you! These charms are well-known to many anglers, artists, beer-tasters, birdwatchers, boaters, campers, caravanners, cyclists, dreamers, diners, dog-stick throwers, families, fishermen, folk-singers, hikers, historians, jet-skiers, kite-fliers, laughing mud-splashed children, lunching ladies, lifeboatmen, lovers, photographers, ramblers, runners, sightseers, sailors, picnickers, paddlers, poets, Vikings, walkers, water-skiers, and wine-sippers, etc. Sorry if I didn’t mention you, where were you? How was Benidorm anyway? Now the pub is up for sale and word is that it’s to be a private house. Such selfishness ought not to be allowed. The building is “listed”, yet no-one thought to protect the life that goes on in and around the sacred walls. Isn’t that rather like saying that it is legal to kill someone, as long as the skeleton is preserved? You can pull down all the stately homes and castles for me. I would rather preserve a way of life than a pile of stones. UPDATE: Now the pub HAS been saved and will go on being one of Old England's jewels for another 360 years. Thank you, to all who supported the campaign.

ADDR

Lancaster

Golden Ball Hotel at Snatchems Free House.

Address and contacts of Golden Ball Hotel at Snatchems Free House.

Description

Opening time

Specialities

Company Rating

Summary

Hotel & Lodging category, Lancaster