Beers gardens are heaven on a hot day - there's nothing nicer than basking under rays of sunshine with a cold drink in your hand.
And I felt very lucky after venturing into The Ship Inn in Dunswell and discovering a massive beer garden out the back with a huge selection of benches away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. It wasn't my first visit to The Ship Inn but I'm normally huddled next to one of its log fires on a dark and rainy day and hadn't yet experienced the pub in the full glory of the (brief) English summer.
By chance, we spotted a chicken through one of the windows and decided to investigate the outdoor area. To our surprise, we found a sprawling garden behind the car park and there were a variety of rather tame chickens clucking about.
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Watching their antics as they scratched around for food was oddly therapeutic. Chicken-watching became a key part of the unwinding-in-a-beer-garden experience and you could begin to see their different personalities the longer you spent with them.
One sleepy chicken even fell asleep next to our bench; the pub landlord - clearly an animal lover who takes good care of them - told us she was elderly. There are also a pair of donkeys in the field next door and we were lucky enough to get a good look at them although people shouldn't feed them because they need a special diet and it could make them poorly.
As a CAMRA "Village Pub of the Year East Yorkshire" finalist, The Ship Inn also has a fine selection of cask ales and I enjoyed a Black Sheep Bitter. One of my friends had a pint of Guinness and the other a glass of house red wine which was good quality and not expensive.
There is also a selection of homemade food, from classics such as scampi, haddock and chips, chilli, and lasagne. There's also a choice of sirloin steak and gammon steak.
Not feeling particularly adventurous, I picked a cheese sandwich. It came with a beautifully crisp salad and perfect chips - golden and crispy on the outside and buttery soft in the middle with a gorgeous flavour.
The Ship Inn was always one of my favourite places to hide on a cold day but now it looks like it will have to be a staple for the summer months too.
