I really loved the location, the inn setting is very idyllic. And my room looked out over the pretty beer garden. The room itself was so comfortable, and I thought excellent value for money. I had a meal there which was quite nice, and I sat next to the canal with the long boats whilst I ate. The staff were helpful and quite friendly.

One aspect which was really disappointing was that they do not accept cash. When I expressed a slight frustration, I got a very bemused response from the member of staff, like I was being fussy. Cash is a legal tender, and if I hadn't have brought my card with me, I would have been pretty stuffed if I would want to buy dinner, the pub being a bit further from the centre. I was on a solo hike for a few days and I like to budget what I spend, and feel more comfortable doing that. Plenty of other places in the area and the taxi to the pub, accept cash...and proudly. It was almost like I was made to feel silly. This was the only part of the experience which was disappointing. I really enjoyed my stay otherwise! Thank you

Lovely pub by the canal, great position, easy to walk into B on A. A warm greeting when we arrived. Both bedrooms perfectly acceptable. Would stay again. A few cosmetic touches would give a boost to the Barge.

We felt the stair carpets needed replacing! It's the first thing we saw when shown to our rooms, and it didn't create a great first impression. The pub is doing a good job of making a pleasant place to stay and eat, a relatively small job would lift the ambiance of B and B for visitors.

Ok so it's an old building and there are signs of this i.e stairs are a little challenging when negotiating them with cases etc, nothing is quite level so things like the wardrobe door had to be firmly closed or it would swing open and anyone walking out of the bathroom could come a cropper walking into it. If you want sterile and uninteresting (you could be staying anywhere) there are hotel chains in nearby towns. If you want immaculately clean, wonderfully helpful and friendly staff and great food (the breakfast menu was especially good) then you're in the right place. We were here to attend a funeral and, being city dwellers, expected to be able to get a taxi easily. This was not the case we discovered. The staff member doing the breakfast shift kindly pointed us in the right direction to walk to the address we were looking for using her phone. As it happened we got a lift from another attendee but walked back the way she'd shown us and it was a lovely walk along the canal. All in all, apart from the occasion we had an all too brief but lovely stay. We also had quite a wait between booking out and getting our return train back to Newcastle but our luggage was kindly stored for a couple of hours while we went for a look around the town. Thanks guys!

I struggled a bit with the stairs as I have 'dodgy' knees so if stairs are a little steep I have trouble walking up them. I have no doubt, however, that if I'd mentioned this during booking we would have been accommodated for.

The room was clean and in a great position near the canal and a short 10 min walk into town. The breakfast was also excellent as was the beer and cider in the bar in the evening.

The only real issue was that there was only one member of staff on the bar at night and at breakfast. I felt sorry first them because they were working so hard to help us but its too much for one person. Also the blind in the bathroom has some of the slats missing which meant privacy from people sitting in the beer garden was compromised.

The location was good as it was next to the canal and easy walk into the town. The staff are nice and friendly. The restaurant area wasn’t very warm for our evening meal. We had our Breakfast in the pub area which was quite cold the meal was great but reasonably expensive and you paid for coffee on top of the cost which I think should have been included at that price or at least our second coffee should not have been extra

Comfortable and close to where I needed to be, the best thing about it though was the wonderful lady who took the time to phone and leave a message to tell me how to access the accommodation outside normal hours, she left a key in my room too! Work overran and I didn’t arrive until 2am, I was exhausted and so relieved when I picked up her message and found my comfortable room. Thank you. I’ll be back.

Warm room, hot water shower, clean, good food (excellent pizza, full English breakfast & eggs on toast), helpful staff. Location good for walks or cycles along the canal. Walk to town centre only half a mile. Car parking on site. Super beer garden good in summer, but we came in a freezing November!

Booking.com website misled us about breakfast with totally wrong information which staff said had never been true (now corrected). There is a good breakfast menu from which you can buy as many or as few items as you want. Porridge was the only cereal, but there is a good full English cooked breakfast plate for about £11, coffee £2.20, eggs on toast £6.50, also toast & marmalade & other items we didn't sample. The bed mattresses could have been firmer.

Staff were so helpful. The location was lovely..right on the Canal with all the canal boats. The food was cooked to order and was delicious. The bedroom was very large and cosy..the beds were comfortable and a lovely view of the garden. The room could have been a bit brighter (that's just a comment) 😃 The bathroom was a bit narrow on entering..again just a comment.

All was excellent

We stayed for evening meal, bed and breakfast on a university open day venture. Booking in was simple, running a tab during the evening. The menu had a good range of dishes and the choice of ciders was refreshing good. The family room was well equipped,, perhaps a bit warm, but comfortable, with a clean en-suite and good hot drink facilities.

Room was just a little warm

Super location, relaxed bar atmosphere downstairs, really comfortable room. Peaceful and relaxing with excellent breakfasts. Easy to come and go at any time.

Only minor points: 1. Shower hose fitting was wobbly and cage for shower gel loose on wall. 2. Email after booking offered to arrange taxis so rang for this, then reminded while en route but nothing arranged before arrival at 10pm. Was squeezed in by local firm ok for following morning, a relief as I was attending a funeral.