Pub 26, Day 9 – Noah's Ark

By Rob

The Earth’s orbit around the Sun and the tilt of the planet’s rotational axis are what, in a very real sense, make our summer. They guarantee that everyone’s favourite season is an annual event as inevitable as the next Monday morning. And yet, despite the assured schedule of the seasons, here in the north of England hot summer days are very much like my early sexual experiences: eagerly anticipated, yet distressingly rare and disappointingly brief.

With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that when a day rolls around that brings with it genuinely nice weather, we Brits rush outdoors to bathe in that pleasant, carcinogenic warmth. Andy and I are no exceptions to this, so when such a day finally made an appearance, I received a phone call from my fellow public house connoisseur requesting my presence on yet another leg of this cultural voyage.

However, before heading to the nearest beer garden we decided to finally finish our mammoth game of snooker that we had been playing for a very, very long time. (After all, on a scorching hot day, there’s nothing quite like being indoors, in a dimly lit snooker hall with no windows).

We were playing the first to 18, and the score stood at 17-16 in favour of Andy. It was a game we had, quite literally, been bashing away at for years. I’d like to be able to say that I won the first frame, thus pitting us against one another in a gripping winner-takes-all finale.

But I didn’t.

Thus we closed the door on an important, but ludicrously lengthy, chapter of our lives.

Seeking a place to celebrate Andy’s victory and commiserate my defeat, we headed to the Noah’s Ark in Intake. It’s a family friendly venue with plenty of outdoor seating, a nice beer garden, and a good-sized children’s play area – although given the dazzling weather, we could have been provided with a soiled mattress and an upturned bucket and we would have still enjoyed our visit.

Inside, the pub resembles a typical elderly gentlemen’s drinking hole without much in the way of striking decor. That being said, the Noah’s Ark has seen a notable improvement in recent years. At one time the drinks on offer reflected the furnishings, with just your standard lagers and bitters. However, upon our visit we had the choice of a couple of guest ales and the option to order food. There was also a pool table, which is always a positive.

We decided upon a pint of Directors. This ale, despite its undeniable malty and fruity notes, was hardly the best drink to be sipping in the heat of the sun. As such, we each bought a vodka and coke to have alongside it.

We were joined by our friend Danny, who had just finalised his upcoming travel plans. In just over a month he would be flying out to Thailand, from where he would travel down through Asia, nip across the water to Australia, and then hop over to America before finally landing in Manchester a full six months later. He was very much of the opinion that his fortunes with members of the opposite sex would improve when on foreign soil. I was inclined to agree – the language barriers would certainly work in his favour.

As professional travel bloggers ourselves, deeply committed to cultural exploration – albeit of a more local nature – we wished him every success on his journey and looked forward to his return when we would no doubt be inundated with tales of how he managed to get ignored by women in at least three different time zones.

Sitting there in that very pleasant beer garden, drinking a pint of real ale, it was quite easy to see why the Noah’s Ark was apparently still going strong while other local pubs were struggling. For many years, the Royal Oak had stood just across the road from where we were sat. Unable to compete with its rivals, it recently closed its doors for the last time. In its place now stands a funeral parlour.

A more fitting image would, I think, be hard to find.

Pub: Noah's Ark (197 Mansfield Road, S12 2AL)

Rating: 7/10

Pint: Directors

Brewery: Wells & Young's Brewery (Bedford)

NEXT UP: A post-job-interview-pint, at The Rawson Spring...