Food & Drink

The Cumberland Arms

A three-storey Ouseburn pub known for cask ale, an unusually deep cider range, folk sessions and upstairs gigs.

About The Cumberland Arms

The Cumberland Arms stands on James Place Street, off Byker Bank, in a prominent spot on the bank above the lower Ouseburn Valley, with views down over the old industrial bottom of the valley. It was first licensed as a beer house in 1862, and the present three-storey building dates from 1899, put up after the earlier structure collapsed during renovation work. Little about it feels engineered: bare boards, a small front bar, a back bar used for sessions and a terrace out front that fills on warm evenings. The pub also has four bed and breakfast rooms upstairs, which is unusual for a pub of this character and size.

Drink is the main event. Alongside changing cask ales from independent breweries, including two house beers brewed for the pub by Allendale in collaboration with The Old Coal Yard, it typically keeps up to eight ciders and perries, and has taken the regional CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year award more than once. The upstairs room hosts gigs, comedy from The Suggestibles and Liveoke nights, while traditional folk sessions run in the back bar. Food includes a menu and Sunday dinners, and there is a ping pong table for good measure.

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