The Old Crown, Bath

A lovely old pub situated in the countryside between Bath and Bristol, I’ve been coming here for about 30 years on and off as I lived just across the river in Saltford at one time but for some reason have neglected to review it previously. Very remiss of me. Fortunately it has managed to retain all it’s olde worlde charm and has resisted the temptation to go down the gastro-pub route, but at the same time it’s had a bit of spruce up and looks tidy and up together. There is a good sized garden at the rear backing on to fields which looks to have had some considerable investment, and includes a large covered area as well as a small bar counter. Internally it consists of four rooms all arranged in a long line along the front of the pub. The bar counter is more or less in front of you as you enter, and this is quite a cosy room with a flagstone floor, black timberwork and an old fireplace at one end. Seating is quite limited with just a few benches in front of the window and most punters were standing on our visit. To the right is another attractive room with something of a country kitchen feel to it, whilst a snug off to the left was again a cosy spot with another fireplace, khaki green wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and pale green plasterwork elsewhere. There is a smaller bar counter in here too, and low hanging lamps above the bar were designed to look like old oil lamps. Beyond this was a dining room which was perhaps slightly out of kilter with the rest of the pub in terms of décor with smoked glass mirrors on the wall and some exposed stone work, but from a quick glance it looked pleasant enough. Beers on tap were Bass, Butcombe Original and Butcombe Heathcliff whilst ciders were well represented with Cheddar Valley, Thatcher’s Dry and Ashton Press. All in all, a cracking pub and well worth checking out.