Castle View
Lancaster's Hidden Gem
Lancaster has some wonderful independent shops, restaurants and cafés. Here are some of our favourites to visit during your stay at Castle View!
The Wagon and Horses pub offers top quality locally sourced food with home made relishes and home grown herbs. Located on St George’s Quay overlooking the River Lune. There is a footpath close to Castle View that goes from Lancaster Priory down to the quayside – very handy for a trip to this particular pub!
The Three Mariners is the oldest pub in Lancaster. Steeped in history, in a Grade II listed building dating back to the 15th century, it is one of only two sites in Britain with an original gravity-fed cellar. This pub has seen it all: from the closure of the Castle Priory by Henry VIII in 1539, to the Jacobite uprisings in the 1700s. The pub has also played an important role in the city’s history. Led from the castle dungeons through a rumoured hidden passage, prisoners were brought here for a ‘last drink’ with their families, and during The Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, where Lancaster earned its nickname as ‘The Hanging Town’ and the dungeons of Lancaster Castle were overflowing, The Three Mariners, then known as The Red Lion, would even hold those awaiting trial in its first floor cellar.
These days there is a much more cheery atmosphere with warm and welcoming hospitality, a menu of hearty British cuisine and a lengthy list of craft beers.
You will find the John O’Gaunt pub right in the middle of Lancaster’s busy town centre, you may hear the music spilling out from it first, with its ever popular live music weekends. The pub is always full of life, encouraging the local up and coming talent and featuring well established world wide groups too.
The Borough is bustling pub with its own micro-brewery based on a corner of Dalton Square near Lancaster Town Hall. The Borough takes great pride in purchasing their fine and fresh ingredients from independent local suppliers. They have their own comedy club every Sunday evening, check their website to see who is going to be appearing during your stay in Lancaster.
The impressive grade 2 listed Georgian building with Victorian frontage has ranged from the Mayor of Lancaster’s house, to a working men’s club.
A couple of doors down from The Merchants, the Robert Gillow has over 100 types of beer and always has something new to offer with a variety of styles and flavours to explore. Sharing platters and nibbles served daily. Live music on a Thursday.
Robert Gillow founded the famous luxury furniture firm Gillow of Lancaster in 1730. He was also a pioneer in the export trade, exploring far flung corners of the globe to bring precious goods back to Lancaster.
Just a short walk down Castle Hill, The Merchants is your nearest ‘local’ during your stay at Castle View. Food is freshly prepared on site using the best locally sourced ingredients. Wines, cask ales and craft beers all carefully selected. The fresh ground coffee is their own unique blend, flame roasted at Atkinson’s of Lancaster.
Morecambe’s Midland Hotel is the ideal place to enjoy an afternoon tea. Whether it’s with a pot of tea or a glass of champagne, you can delight in a three-tiered selection of cakes, scones and sandwiches. Sit back and relax in 1930’s art deco surroundings, and take in the panorama of Morecambe Bay.
An easy destination from Castle View by train, or by bike along the cylce track, so no need to drive if you’re leaning towards the champagne option!
The Midland Hotel was desinged by architect Oliver Hill. The front of the hotel is decorated with two Art Deco seahorses, which can be viewed at close proximity from the hotel’s rooftop terrace. Hill designed the hotel to complement the curve of the promenade, which allowed guests to view the spectacular panoramas and sunsets of the Morecambe Bay coast.
The Hotel was left in disrepair for many years but was renovated in recent years by Urban Splash‘s regeneration project, reopening to the public in 2008.
Lancaster Market can be found in the heart of the city centre every Wednesday and Saturday. Enjoy the hustle and bustle of this traditional outdoor market and the aromas of freshly cooked food as you meander through more than 40 stalls selling a wide selection of local produce and international cuisine. Street food stalls, farmers market stalls, artisan breads, tasty olives and much much more!
Wonderful selection of artisan breads and pastries. Only 4 minutes walk from Castle View. Filbert’s use organic flour and use ingredients that are as ethical, fair trade and as local as possible.
Just down the hill from Castle View, J Atkinson & Co. Coffee Roasters and Tea Merchants is definitely worth a visit. It’s been going since 1837 and you feel like you’re going back in time!
Next door to the shop is their post-industrial style café, The Hall. Award winning ‘flat whites’ and scrumptious cakes and sandwiches. The Hall is licensed and often open into the evenings, sometimes with live music.
Further into the town centre in Sun Square you can find their smaller “showcase” venue, The Music Room, with indoor and outdoor seating. The Music Room is a unique Lancaster Trust building with a 1730s Palladian façade.