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OK, I know it isn’t Friday, but by the time it is, we’ll all be watching the Royal Wedding As a break from all the hype, I thought I’d blog a little article I found, by Sabrina Ghayour
We all love a pint in our local pub but if you are looking for somewhere a little bit different to knock back your beer in, then look no further. Why not head to one of these nine unusual pubs? From the weird to the wonderful, these places are definitely not your run-of-the-mill local and each one has its own unique and in some cases, bizarre, charm.
The Old Forge – Inverie, Scotland
How far would you go for a nice cold beer? Overlooking Loch Nevis in Inverness-shire, the Old Forge in Inverie is officially Britain’s most remote mainland pub. Despite its location, the pub is regularly brimming with tourists and locals alike who travel out of their way to make the special trip to this unique pub in the Knoydart peninsula. The Old Forge can only be reached via a 45-minute ferry crossing, or a 20-mile hike along a mountain track, which is not exactly the drunken stumble home some of us would have in mind.
Het Elfde Gebod – Antwerp, Belgium
Literally meaning ‘The Eleventh Commandment’, Het Elfde Gebod is filled with religious artefacts and knick-knacks that line all the walls, pillars and rafters, occupying every inch of space in the pub. Rumour has it that the decorative contents of this pub were purchased from Catholic churches that were forced to close, which explains the bizarrely kitsch, religious-themed interior. Not sure how many of us would want to get hammered under the watchful eye of the Virgin Mary; perhaps a confession booth would come in handy.
Haunch of Venison – Salisbury, Wiltshire
With vintage décor that makes you think you have stepped back in time, The Haunch of Venison is home to more than just a good selection of drinks. Protected behind glass is a somewhat macabre spectacle; the mummified hand of an unfortunate gambler who is said to haunt the premises. Body parts and spooky goings-on are enough to make anyone head running into the hills, but make sure you stop for a pint before you leave.
Gallagher’s Pub – McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Antarctica, not the first place that springs to mind when you fancy a pint, especially during Winter with its depressing 24 hours of darkness and wind-chilled temperatures plummeting to an unrelenting -40 Celsius… it’s enough to drive you to drink! But fear not as there is one place where you can go to drown your sorrows “Where everybody knows your name…” – Gallagher’s pub in McMurdo Station. Famous for boozy party nights and home-brewed moonshine, Gallagher’s stock a surprisingly decent selection of beers, wines and spirits and have some pretty bizarre décor, including a collection of bras hanging behind the bar.
Prince of Wales – Kenfig, South Wales
We’ve all played the drinking game ‘Last man standing’ before, but what about ‘Last building standing’? A slightly more bizarre set of circumstances, altogether. The Prince of Wales pub was once part of the old village of Kenfig, until the time when all the other buildings sunk into the surrounding sand. Whilst the tops of some of the old buildings are still visible, astonishingly the Prince of Wales pub survived intact.
The Canal House – Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Proud to play host to a most unique and unusual feature, The Canal House was converted from an old industrial building where visitors will often see boats passing by and, wait for it, the canal itself actually passes through the pub. Drinking there may often be a bit of a squeeze as sometimes a barge moors inside the pub; and if your sense of smell is of the sensitive persuasion, then the stench of the canal may put you right off your pint.
Ettamogah Pub – QueensIand, Australia
This tacky but iconic shack has become a Queensland institution, with the ‘Ettamogah’ being the Aboriginal word for ‘Good drinking place’. Its quirky shape and caricature appearance are what attracts thousands of punters from around the world there each year. A 1927 yellow Chevy truck is parked on its roof; it is supposed to have washed up there in the floods of 1946. Mind your head as you knock back your pint as the interior is even wackier with chainsaws, large model airplanes and other strange bits dangling from the ceiling.
Somerset House –Stourbridge, West Midlands
Could it be a cunning trick or is there something more sinister afoot at Somerset House in Stourbridge? Many theories have been explored to try and explain the strange occurrence of glassware sticking to the walls; suggestions as to why this is possible include everything from wallpaper paste to paranormal activity. To date, nobody has proved conclusively what allows visitors to leave their pint glasses fixed to the walls. The phenomenon continues to defy logic and gravity, leaving scientists and visitors alike, utterly baffled.
The Hatchet Inn – Bristol, Bristol
Serving punters since 1606, The Hatchet Inn is Bristol’s oldest pub and was once home to cock-fights as well as a bare-knuckle boxing ring around the back. Occasionally staff will even dress in period costumes, but it is one particularly stomach-churning feature in particular that makes this unassuming local a gory place to stop for a pint. For some inexplicably gruesome reason, the front door to the pub is rumoured to contain several layers of human skin, but nobody seems to know how or why this happened.
[See also: 10 UK bars you must see]
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