The Bell, Bath

A fairly rough and ready back street pub, though no doubt it is loved by many. I liked the fact that my beer was about £1/pint cheaper than just up the road at the Curfew, and it was in good nick too (Arbor C Bomb - NBSS 3.5), though I've had many beers that I enjoyed more, and I can't see me drinking this one again. I wouldn't mind calling in here again, but with the Star less than five minutes walk away, it seems a little unlikely.

Fairly worn and traditional boozer heading north out of Bath town centre. You enter to find the bar in front of you, with the room stretching off to the left hand side up a few steps. In the middle is a slightly larger area, where there appeared to be a DJ in action. At the bar, regular beers are Otter Ale, Butcombe Adam Henson's Rare Breed, Hop Back Summer Lightning & Bristol Beer Factory Independence. Guests were Bath Gem & Downton Chimera IPA. Thatcher's Cheddar Valley was also available. It was only as we were about to leave that I spotted another 2 boxes of cider to the side of the bar. I decided to stay and try both - Dick Willows Dry Cider & Bristol Cider Company Bristol Sixer. A decent pub that should be included on any crawl of Bath and was probably my favourite of 12 visited on the day.

As described by PSM, below, this town pub is a GBG regular, which is justified by the quality of its beers. Strangely though the staff know very little about this side of the business, and the barman who served us hadn’t even heard of CAMRA. Fortunately the landlady put him right, and although they no longer off CAMRA discount, he gave me a few bob off anyway out of kindness. Ales on were St Austell Cornish Bitter, Summer Lightning, Otter Ale, Rare Breed, Palmer’s Stoker and BBF Independence. Two craft beers, Moor Refinance and Brixton Pale Ale, plus a bank of megas were also available. Beer quality aside I wasn’t really struck on this pub, but it’s worth a visit and I wouldn’t be put off coming back if the situation arose.

Large backstreet pub to the North of the city centre, with an unusual floor plan, spanning a wide, open plan room across two distinct halves. The bar is in the right-hand half - a space given a bright colour scheme and a liberally hop-strewn ceiling. The latter helps to give this side of the room a ‘drinker’s’ feel, whilst the décor, which mainly comprises colourful artworks and various musical instruments, adds plenty of character. There’s a small stage to one side of the entrance, clearly used on a regular basis for live music, and beyond, in the left side of the room, there is a spacious seating area with loads more music-themed décor on display. In the middle of the room, the pub runs back a little, through a space with an old bar billiards table which now doubles as a DJ table. More entertainment themed items are on show here, including a TV studio ‘Applause’ sign and various old LP’s that have been nailed to the walls. Out the back is a beer garden with loads of benches, a good amount of shelter and some old gig posters lining the wall of an outbuilding. Old-school hip-hop tunes were playing quietly in the pub and a few people were eating from a decent looking pizza menu. The pub is in the latest Good Beer Guide and had a good variety of cask ales on when we visited - Blindmans Gambit, Hop Back Summer Lightning, Butcombe Rare Breed, Otter Ale, Box Steam Tunnel Vision, Twisted Oak Ghost Town and Bristol Beer Factory Independence. I took a pint of the latter, which was in very good shape and we enjoyed sitting here, watching various characters come and go. This place doesn’t have the cosy ambiance of the nearby Star, but is regardless a good all-rounder, compensating for a less interesting interior by adding in plenty of unusual décor, whilst still maintaining high quality ales and friendly, efficient service. Well worth checking out, especially in conjunction with the Star.

Official site of The Bell - thebellinnbath.co.uk

Official site of The Bell - thebellinnbath.co.uk

Large pub and live music venue, the bar area to the right remains "pubby"in feel. Nine beers were available from fairly local west country brewers, I went for Butcombe Rare Breed which was good enough, the pub had a few punters in on a Tuesday afternoon and led to a decent real pub feel about it.