The Burcott Inn, Wells

Very well described by Blackthorn, below, this superb village freehouse has charm, character and a warm welcome from staff, the pub (a somewhat soppy boxer) and the locals. The main drawback is the limited opening hours, btu we managed to find it open on this occasion. Draft ales on were Gorge Best and Summer Lightning, both in perfect condition. Keg options were Guinness, Carling and Moretti. Well worth a visit, but check the opening times first.

Official site of The Burcott Inn - www.burcottinn.co.uk

Official site of The Burcott Inn - www.burcottinn.co.uk

A traditional pub on the outskirts of Wookey and just a mile or so from Wells, it has a cosy ambience and there was a pleasant crowd of locals in on a recent Saturday afternoon visit. The landlord and landlady were very friendly, and this strikes me as a great pub. The residents of Wookey are indeed lucky to have three splendid hostelries in their mist. Outside is a good sized garden, although the majority was laid to lawn and bereft of any furniture. Half a dozen picnic benches were on a gravelled area at the front. The main bar area is an L shaped room with the servery on the corner of the L facing two ways. The front half has a flagstone floor whilst the left hand part is carpeted, but both share an otherwise similar decor with a low beamed ceiling and whitewashed plaster walls with some exposed stone pillars. A number of old plates and such like were hanging from the beams and old black and white photographs of the locale were on the walls. Seating was a mixture of church pews and chairs with chunky pine tables. A large fire-place was to one side, although whether or not this is used I’m not sure. A plinth in the stonework above it suggests that the building dates from 1730. There was a community notice board next to the bar, and a notice advertised a forthcoming charity auction where you could bid on 2¾ m³ of woodchip mulch! At the rear was a restaurant area, which had exposed stone walls and perhaps looked a little dated with dark red drapes at the windows and matching napkins stuffed in to wine glasses on each table. We didn’t study the menu, but a chalk board up above the fire-place listed a few options such as a burger, BBQ rack of ribs, lamb shoulder, cod fillet or belly pork, and these were mostly priced somewhere around the £9 - £12 range. Beers on tap were Cheddar’s Potholer and Hopback Summer Lightning, whilst a third pump appeared unused. The solitary cider was Thatcher’s Gold. All in all, a great little pub and well worth checking out.