Queens Hotel, Laxey (Queens)

A large open plan pub, a quarter of a mile south from the village centre. The pub walls feature many photographs of the TT motorbike races and the local area. This village local supports live music on at least a monthly basis, and has pool, darts and TV for sport. The pub has undergone some refurbishment works in recent times, but retains its very traditional character with old fashioned chandeliers and light fittings. A traditional, and now increasingly uncommon, meat raffle draw is held on Sunday. There is an extensive beer garden overlooking the Manx Electric Railway tracks. This is to the rear of the building and often overlooked by visitors, but it can be an immensely relaxing area, and a sun trap on a summer's day in which to enjoy a leisurely pint. The Queens has a small porch area, useful for those wanting to linger with a pint until the very last moment, where the incoming buses, which stop right outside, can be seen approaching. The pub dates from at least 1863 and quite probably before, and famously historically suffered from a fierce fire in 1905, depicted in a painting, which left the building completely gutted at the time, with only the bare walls remaining.