Dean Bailey charts a course to The Ship Inn, Wylam
Living within a few hundred yards of the River Tyne affords endless opportunity to walk along its banks, explore the many beautiful and tranquil spots along the river’s course to the North Sea, and (my favourite) visit the pubs and inns which populate the villages along the way.
In winter (actually, most of the time) our walks take in at least one pub at the midway point, if not two or even three on a long route. From home, Wylam is roughly an hour-and-a-half away, making it the perfect stopping point for a long lunch before setting out back home. A firm favourite, The Ship Inn is owned by chef Paul Johnson, who was in the employ of double Michelin-starred Nathan Outlaw before his return to Northumberland, and his wife Kelly, while the kitchen is led by the skilled head chef Michael Elliott.
On our most recent visit, the menu is the perfect antidote for the stormy conditions which propel us through the door. The haggis Scotch egg is sublime, the crisp crumb and lightly spiced sausagemeat revealing soft egg yolk which is a perfect partner for the spiced brown sauce on the side. Pigs in blankets provide a welcome bowl of warmth topped with a sticky marmalade and wholegrain mustard sauce.
The Ship doesn’t set out to test its diners, simply to please them, with a menu designed for long afternoons by the fire while the weather beats at the windows.
The Black Angus burger is finished with smoked bacon, sweet onions and a flourish of truffle mayo. Triple-cooked chips, chunky like the burger, are blessed with crisp shells and soft hearts, and each is savoured one by one until the bowl is clean.
A sweet potato and chickpea curry offers fragrant spice and a light touch of heat to allow the spinach and sweet potato to hold their own. The sauce is mopped up with the last of the chips to ensure neither goes to waste.
To guard against the cold, sticky toffee and bread and butter puddings are essential. The former is the best of its kind, served with lashings of toffee sauce. The light caramel atop the bread and butter pudding breaks to reveal sweet custard, while blackberry sorbet cuts through the richness to offer a well-rounded close to our lunch.
Cold walks build appetites better than anything else we know, and a quick stop for lunch quickly becomes a couple of hours by the fire. Alas, the stormy weather looks to be yielding, so we take our chance to head back out into the cold with a memorable lunch to warm the journey home.
Three courses for two plus drinks comes to just under £60, which we consider a well-earned treat for braving the cold.
The Ship Inn, Main Road Wylam, NE41 8AQ, tel 01661 854 538, www.theshipinnwylam.co.uk
