The White Hart, Radstock

As described by Rex, below, this is about the only traditional pub with any character left in Midsomer Norton, but despite its historic interest, it isn’t a great experience to visit it. The door was guarded by aggressive smokers who seemed to resent the presence of strangers, while once inside was noisy and unwelcoming. There was a single ale – Butcombe Original - being dispensed by gravity from a barrel under the bar, and Stan’s Cider on draft. Both of these were in good condition. Worth a visit to see the building and its interior, and it was good to have some decent beer, but I wouldn’t hang around too long.

This is a CAMRA National Inventory pub because of its relatively unspoilt interior. It still has three separate rooms, plus a serving hatch in the corridor between the rooms, which would once have provided a jug and bottle service but which is now used for bar service. There have been some changed since my previous visit. The old wood panelling has now been painted a light duck egg colour; a lot of the bric a brac has gone, such as jugs hanging from beams, and I reckon some of the old furniture has been replaced with more modern stuff. But they have resisted any temptation to remove any of the panelling, so it clearly still qualifies for its CAMRA Inventory status. Another change is that Bass is no longer available on stillage, although still available on handpump, and the Butcombe Bitter that used to be on handpump has been replaced by Doom Bar. Pub grub food was advertised on chalkboards above the bar gantry, but I failed to note the details. Personally I don’t think that the changes have resulted in an improvement, but my pint of Bass was in good nick, and I reckon that it’s still the best pub in Midsomer Norton.