The Ship Hotel

Allonby, eight miles north of Maryport, was established as a fishing village and became known as a popular resort for sea-bathing in the early 19th century. It sits on the B5300 Cumbrian coast road from Maryport to Silloth adjacent to the Solway Firth. When the tide is out it has a very expansive sandy beach that is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Dumfries and Galloway can be seen across the Solway and the sunset on my website banner was taken towards Dumfries and Galloway from Allonby beach (and provided the inspiration for a Yates beer). 



The family-run Ship Hotel is recorded as being the place where Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens stayed while touring Cumberland. A house in the area seen on that trip was some of the inspiration for Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White. The Ship serves as a hotel with a number of rooms available for guests, as a bar/pub for the village and as a restaurant for the locals and tourist traffic, particularly during the summer months. The Ship is an outlet for Yates Brewery in Westnewton, 3.5 miles inland from Allonby. Yates’ Bitter and Yates Golden Ale are perfectly good reasons to visit even if you’re not hungry.

Visits over last couple of years had us seriously worried about The Ship’s long term future because custom seemed sparse. The atmosphere over visits this summer was completely different. Our first visit was early in the evening and as we sat looking at the menu the room had the familiar feel of bleakness where we expected to be the only patrons. But it was different. Chelsea were playing on the TV which helped bring people in but there was a trickle of custom beyond that and the restaurant/bar area acquired a real homeliness. The pattern was repeated as the bar filled each night while we ate and the dining room had a steady stream of patrons too. With it being late in the season it seemed that the Ship was fulfilling its role as a local community asset.

The dining room is basically furnished with fascinating old photos of The Ship and Allonby on the wall. The tables have a mixture of chairs and bench seats and ordering food prompts the addition of table mats, salt and pepper and a basket of sauces. The menu is pretty traditional pub fare split between appetisers, salads, filled jacket potatoes, mains, grilled dishes and vegetarian options. There are daily specials usually based on homemade dishes on the day. 

First visit and although previous experience has taught me that the fish & chips are really worth ordering I went for something different. The spiral of spicy Cumberland sausage came with a fried egg, chips, grilled tomato, peas, carrots and onion rings. The locally sourced sausage was excellent and I’d have happily eaten much more. The accompaniments were mostly good particularly the soft-yolked egg. The carrots tended towards being more cooked than I’d like and the onion rings were too doughy round the onion. As these were trimmings it was easy to push them to one side and ignore them.

One day later and we were back. This time the overall makeup of the dish was the same but the central ingredient was a 12 oz gammon steak. I asked that a fried egg be added and this was done with little fuss. Again the gammon was delicious and the accompaniments showed the same strengths and weaknesses. Excellent fried egg, good chips, tomato and garden peas, poor carrot and horribly doughy onion rings. The overall impression was of a good satisfying meal.

Our last visit over the course of the week and it seemed like time to revisit the fish and chips.  Deep-fried haddock came with chips, garden peas, a small side salad and coleslaw. As with previous visits, the crisply battered fish was excellent with a delightful crunch from the batter and mouth-watering flaky fish inside. The salad garnish really wasn’t needed, it was just a distraction from the main event.

Of all the times we’ve spent at The Ship, these were probably the most pleasant. The fuller bar and dining room gave the place a nice buzz so it felt much more welcoming. We looked to try other places but for a variety of reasons they did not work and we circled back to The Ship. On each day it delivered and overall I was glad we went there as a regular dinner venue. The food is generally of a decent standard so The Ship is a safe bet for a satisfying, filling meal.


Overall Rating - 3/5