Lamb & Fountain, Frome

A CAMRA ** NI multi roomer a few minutes up the hill from town. Much as described by Blackthorn below - two basic rooms either side of the servery via a side corridor which also contains an off-sales hatch. The rear room is the more spacious and has a large rear window with a fair view over the way, though the yellow and grey colour scheme is a bit ick. Amusement value provided by the local old soak who tried to queue jump ahead of us and then complained when we stood out ground; “oh ignore him, he’s a just a miserable cnut!” said another local sat next to the bar. We found it amusing but it would certainly scare-off plenty of others less seasoned in the pubbing game. There was a single cask, a so-so London Pride (NBSS 2), plus a selection of filled rolls which always gets an extra half point. Apparently there are also ciders though I didn’t make note of any. If you’re new to Frome then I’d say it’s unspoilt enough to be worth the 10 minute hike to sample it. Whether you’d be inclined to repeat the experience is another matter.

Apparently Frome’s oldest pub located in a residential area just a five minute stroll from the town centre, it’s certainly a no frills, back to basics boozer and seems to be very much a local’s pub although they all seemed harmless enough. There is a small snug on the left as you enter, with a corridor taking you down to a larger room at the rear. This had large windows giving good views over the town as well as the terraced pub garden below. There was some sort of old lino on the floor with canary yellow paintwork on the walls and grey/blue wood panelling on the lower part. Various old pictures were dotted about including several of the locale, a selection of naval frigates, and a few portraits. An old barometer was on one wall as well as a Worthington’s branded darts board and a few brewery mirrors, and so on. It didn’t have the quaint old charm of some pubs, or I suspect, much that was original. It looked more as though it had been refitted back in the 1960’s and not touched since. A further room was off to the left, although we did not investigate this. Unfortunately, the sole real ale offering was Doom Bar and this was off on our visit. Ciders fared somewhat better though with Natch, Blackthorn, Thatcher’s Gold and Rich’s Farmhouse. Landlord was pleasant and friendly, and the prices were remarkable cheap with the Rich’s Farmhouse coming in at just £2.50 a pint.