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PaulOfHorsham
08-11-2009, 17:20
Does anybody have any pub recommendations for Bath? I shall be paying a flying visit on Wednesday and, once the sun goes down, I will need somewhere warm, comfortable and friendly to wait for a train. Central would be best, but I'm prepared to walk 20 or so minutes (as long as it's not a convoluted route).

Raven, Old Green Tree, Star and Salamander all seem to be the kind of place I'm looking for.

Recommendations for places to avoid are also welcome!

Many thanks.

Conrad
08-11-2009, 19:14
God that is embarassing, I grew up drinking in Bath, and I daren't advise now as it has changed so much.

Southgate down by the train station has just been renovated and is a completely different place now, but there never used to be any pubs there anyway.

When I used to go drinking in Bath the Salamander (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/150/) was a dark and skanky pub with a red neon sign in the window, I used to love it. It is now a Bath brewery pub, and I like all their pubs in Bristol, so should be a good bet, although a bit of a stroll from the station.

I was recently in Flan O'Briens (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/110/), it is a nice enough pub, has the feel of a chain pub though with flat screen TV's for the sport.

The Bath Tap (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/11/) is very close to the station, wouldn't like to guess what it is like these days though.

The Huntsman (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/84/) is another pub near the station, used to be on 3 floors, downstairs where the students would hang out, ground floor was respectable and busy, and then club on the top floor.

Sorry not really much help, although it has made me realise I need to go out one night in Bath and have a few drinks.

Soup Dragon
09-11-2009, 09:22
Sorry to say, my Lord of Horsham, it has been a few years since i last went - pre review days, so i cant help:muppet:

arwkrite
09-11-2009, 10:01
I once drove through Bath in the rush hour. I could not get out of the traffic stream. Ended up miles away.I saw lots of nice pubs but as usual on the opposite side of the road across two lanes of solid traffic.

oldboots
09-11-2009, 10:19
my last visit was a few years ago but I would certainly recommend the Green Tree (it does get rammed though) and the Star. The latest GBG suggests the Bell, Walcot St (music pub) and further out at Twerton, the Royal Oak, Lower Bristol Rd and the White Horse, Shophouse Road, as quieter with a good ale range.

Conrad
09-11-2009, 11:29
I once drove through Bath in the rush hour. I could not get out of the traffic stream. Ended up miles away.I saw lots of nice pubs but as usual on the opposite side of the road across two lanes of solid traffic.
Highlighted your mistake there, you clearly missed the 1 bridge you are still allowed to drive across.

my last visit was a few years ago but I would certainly recommend the Green Tree (it does get rammed though) and the Star. The latest GBG suggests the Bell, Walcot St (music pub) and further out at Twerton, the Royal Oak, Lower Bristol Rd and the White Horse, Shophouse Road, as quieter with a good ale range.
The Bell (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/14/) is an excellent choice, I would say a little far from the station, but still only about a mile out. I am assuming it hasn't changed too much, but was without question one of the best pubs in Bath. Many years back when I used to frequent it was regularly rammed, but good service, it was before I started drinking ales, but I remember it did real fruit juice which was a rarity, so I assume it was as concientous about its ales. A long smokey room that used to have live music at the front, a large open backyard, that has now been cleaned up. Also bar billiards and a table football hall for pub game lovers.

PaulOfHorsham
09-11-2009, 16:26
Thanks for the pointers, as well as regrets that you can't provide too much current data - PG is a little historical on Bath (how appropriate!), so I shall see about providing some up-to-date information.

The Royal Oak (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/146/) does sound like my sort of place - 10 pumps, eh? So, off I went to the pub's website (http://www.theroyaloak-bath.co.uk/index.php) - Pubs Galore makes the jump so simple, only to find that it's not been updated in 9 months and the big upcoming event is the summer 2008 Folk & Beer Festival!

Conrad
09-11-2009, 16:41
Blimey that would qualify as a hidden gem, I never even knew about that one, although it is the other side of Bath to where I used to live, sounds quite interesting though.

I kind of feel sorry for pubs when it comes to web sites, having been on the receiving end of some of the sales pitches you get for web sites it must be a nightmare when they want to run a public facing business and some marketeer is mumbling things about giving them a full CMS (Content Management System) web site, that will have perfect meta-tags for search engines, page design that takes into account latest studies using laser eye tracking to make the page sell itself and any other BS bingo words of the week.

It is a pity though, that would be a good web site if it were up to date.

Dave M
09-11-2009, 16:54
only to find that it's not been updated in 9 months and the big upcoming event is the summer 2008 Folk & Beer Festival!

Unless of course they have a US date format for their beer list, which would mean it was updated on the 2nd of November rather than 11th of February.

Sadly the Gigablast search engine (http://www.gigablast.com/search?k0u=622487&q=www.theroyaloak-bath.co.uk) tells me that the site was last modified 9 months ago. Bang goes another good theory :(

PaulOfHorsham
09-11-2009, 17:22
Yes - I am looking just from the point of view of the public - not considering the fact that the business may have bought the website in burst of enthusiasm, only to find that keeping the thing up-to-date is more trouble than they bargained for. Doesn't look good, though I may well make the effort (weather permitting) as it seems perfectly walkable from the station.

Conrad
09-11-2009, 17:28
It is probably somewhere over a mile from the station. One thing I would say is it is one of the dullest walks you will ever find in Bath, off the top of my head can't think of many pubs that would be along it.

Something to look for though is it is right on top of Oldfield Park station, so there may be some nicely timed link trains between Bath Spa and it.

PaulOfHorsham
09-11-2009, 17:58
there may be some nicely timed link trains between Bath Spa and it ..... there isn't on the way back (first thing I looked at!). If I don't leave enough time, I won't notice the dull surroundings as I rush back.

Got to work out that natty quoting of yours though.

PaulOfHorsham
09-11-2009, 18:00
Got to work out that natty quoting of yours though.

Right - think I've cracked that now.

PaulOfHorsham
12-11-2009, 17:43
I daresay you all want to know how I fared on my trip to Bath. If you're not interested, best not read further.

After an unexpectedly frenetic cross-London trip, I got to Bath a couple of minutes early. The weather was fine - I had 2 1/2 hours or so to dash around with a camera (mainly tourist photos, rather than pubs, although I'll be uploading a few in due course). I enjoyed the back streets of the centre and thought the Royal Crescent was very impressive.

Anyway, once the sun had disappeared and I got bored of strolling the streets, I tracked down The Raven (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55745/) - obviously it was more difficult to find once I'd started looking for it - I'd stumbled across it earlier more than once. Not a bad place - not large and I wouldn't want to spend an entire evening on a small, low stool, but I could easily have stayed for more than the one pint.

I'd taken the precaution of marking the likeliest pubs on a Multimap screen print, so I headed straight for the New Inn (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/113/) - a Wadworth's house and probably my favourite of the 4 I sampled. The landlord kindly told me that, despite the novel dispense (electric pump through fake barrels), the beer was all "real ale" - must get a fair few damn tourists in there!

Next up - a 10-minute slog out to The Hop Pole (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/82/). Bath Ale in here, but it didn't really excite, unfortunately. Chips were good as were the bar staff, but the beer I chose (Barnstormer?) was brown & boring.

Then off to The Royal Oak (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/146/) - with 10 ales on, I was hoping for a treat. Didn't get one, unfortunately: Art Brew Hip Hop didn't slip down as easily as I'd hoped. More background music in here - pleased to hear plenty of Fleet Foxes. Disappointed Pubs Galore didn't pay a surprise visit!

Reviews will follow - one already posted and the rest will trickle through, to ensure a constant Paul presence on the front page for a day or two!

Next up - Brighton. And with friends this time! Probably only visiting one pub, though, but it is a good one.

oldboots
12-11-2009, 18:31
Thanks for telling us all about it, doesn't sound like the best pub crawl :(, but not a complete disaster. I haven't seen electric pumps in any form for years, that brought back memories.

Maybe Soupy or me will do one after our forthcoming assault on Derby :glass::glass::glass:

Soup Dragon
13-11-2009, 13:07
Indded, we will

I am a big fan of electronic pumps, see a lot of Banks's MILD (Original for hoppy;)) on them in the mids - great head and nice taste

Conrad
13-11-2009, 14:38
Thanks for reporting back, we did contemplate popping across to Bath, but we are remarkably antisocial people ;)

I like your staggered review strategy, I really want to come up with some way of recognising people for a little longer on the site rather than the 5 minutes of fame provided by the front page.

PaulOfHorsham
13-11-2009, 17:45
Thanks for reporting back, we did contemplate popping across to Bath, but we are remarkably antisocial people ;)

Very pleased to hear it. I would expect no less. Pity you didn't visit - we could have sat in opposite corners, refusing to communicate and, questioned later, simply say "couldn't be bothered".