Golden Ball Hotel

he Golden Ball at Snatchems, on the bank of the River Lune, has been serving refreshment to travellers since 1650! Cool and refreshing in summer or warm and cheerful in winter, this has long been a place of peaceful sanctuary from a crazy world. Today it is still the best site for miles around to enjoy bird-watching with a pint in one hand. Cormorants dive & disappear, curlews call, herons stand sentinel, lapwings wheel about, oystercatchers whistle as tide nears, ever something to be seen from the cobbled promenade-style frontage of this simple and genuine, rustic-cum-maritime pub. Gaze on as a setting sun lights a panorama of hills and sets aglow an old castled city beyond the silver river. Stare in thrilled but silent awe as a tidal wave crashes relentlessly on, over the bones of a centuries-old tall ship yet lying unburied on the shore. Travel back in time, picture an 18th century scene as vessels set sail for Africa or ply creaking upriver homeward bound from the West Indies, laden with sugar, rum and cotton. This old pub has seen a lot of life in the past and is haunted by some of its experiences. Ghosts have been seen here. Perhaps the pirates, slavers and smugglers of old remain within these feet-thick walls. You can walk here, bring your dog & the kids, cycle, drive, ride or sail down the river. All are welcome, just get here. When every other person one meets can say where the nearest “Olde Worlde English Pub” is in Benidorm, Gran Canaria or elsewhere, I think it disappointing that they don’t use their own genuine old pub. The Golden Ball is just that: honest no-frills authenticity with a down to earth sincerely warm welcome. Forgetful of their own true heritage, many Brits prefer to dine out in a plastic Med-style Bistro, mock-up over-decorated Carvery or fake Irish theme bar. Why are we so dissatisfied with our own identity? Perhaps we think it’s unsophisticated to just be ourselves. If the process goes on then your nearest English pub may well one day be in Spain. Are we ever to be crowded into a city-centre Witherspoons to meet each other? The Golden Ball isn’t about drinking to destruction at happy-hour rates. It’s about meeting and talking. Do you remember that? When perfect strangers could converse in a friendly unthreatening way? It still happens here. Be careful when you visit, someone might want to talk to you! These charms are well-known to many anglers, artists, beer-tasters, birdwatchers, boaters, campers, caravanners, cyclists, dreamers, diners, dog-stick throwers, families, fishermen, folk-singers, hikers, historians, jet-skiers, kite-fliers, laughing mud-splashed children, lunching ladies, lifeboatmen, lovers, photographers, ramblers, runners, sightseers, sailors, picnickers, paddlers, poets, Vikings, walkers, water-skiers, and wine-sippers, etc.