LOCATED on the banks of the River Tamar, The Waterside at Saltash is one of last (or first) pubs to be found in Cornwall.

Placed between the LiveWire youth club and Saltash Sailing Club, it sits as one of the three main pubs of the town's waterside.

Originally called 'The Wheatsheaf', the Waterside's current landlord and landlady are Mike and Joanne Langton.

Coming from Plymouth, Mike and Joanne have worked at the pub for 10 years.

Having previously worked in the food and drink industry for 15 years, Mike says that the move into being a landlord was a 'natural step'.

With Mike being a keen Liverpool FC fan since he was young, the pub boasts its fair share of memorabilia, with shirts, signs and mugs giving the Cornish pub a feel of the North-West.

Joanne helps with the cooking in the pub with bar manageress Tracy Riggs. The pub offers traditional pub grub all week, except Thursday nights, and is also available for functions.

Joanne said: 'It's useful having Tracy here. If one of us goes away, there is always someone to do the cooking and cover for the other person.'

The pub itself has a Georgian look to it, with its large lounge giving scenic views over the River Tamar and across to Plymouth.

On hot days, drinkers can go outside and have a relaxing time on the pub's beer terrace.

With dart board and pool table, the pub has many teams. There is both a Tuesday and Friday night dart team, a pool team, and on Thursdays, the pub's ladies darts team come in to play.

Joanne said: 'The ladies team are fantastic. They are a good bunch of girls and always make sure that they have a great time, no matter what the result is.'

A member of the darts team is Paul Edgcumbe. He has been part of the team for four seasons now, and regularly comes down at the weekend for his drinks.

Welcome

Paul said: 'It is really friendly here. The people are so nice and I have made a lot of mates since drinking here.

'Everyone is welcome here and there is never a bad word said against anybody.'

Paul's friend and darts team mate David Robertson, echoed those ideas.

He said: 'I have been drinking here for three years and it is a great place to come and have a quiet but enjoyable drink.

'There is a great atmosphere here and the staff make sure that everything is in order.'

Paul added: 'The darts team may not have the best of winning records, but it is the taking part that counts.

'We have so far only won one match this season, but to be fair, we haven't played many. That was when a different team turned up with just four players and you need six for a team. They conceded the match due to the numbers, but we still played them. Unfortunately their four players were better than our six and we still lost!

'The darts team all have a good time and even though sometimes we lose, we all enjoy ourselves.'

Musical entertainment is supplied on the last Sunday of every month, with a karaoke night.

Another regular of the Waterside is Stefan Trawicki from Liskeard. Despite living a long way from the pub itself, Stefan finds time to come into the Waterside on the way home from work, and he knows what keeps him coming back.

'The staff here are fantastic and they really draw you into the pub. I pop in a few times a week, and it is usually quite busy with a lively bunch of regulars. Everyone tends to know each other and all get on well.'

Friendly

Stefan added: 'It is a good pub with nice customers and nice staff. I would recommend it to anyone.'

Jim Thompson is a true local to the pub. He lives just seven steps away, behind the Waterside and says that the pub is superb when it comes to the welcome it gives.

'I originally come from Saltash, but moved away due to work reasons,' he said. 'When I moved back recently, I started coming to the pub because it is so close to me. When I first came in, the thing that struck me was how warm and welcoming the people are here. There was a fantastic welcome from the staff and the locals that I have not experienced in any other place.'

Jim added: 'The food here is also great. Sunday lunch is good and you always get a real crowd down here. The mood is always fun and friendly and it has a superb atmosphere.'