George Inn, Wells

Picked as a Cannonball Run stop-off due its GBG listing. Quite a nice interior with exposed stone walls, think beamed ceiling and a morass of dried hops. Bit cold in here, someone didn’t light the fire properly before opening. Three ales on, a good range; my Blindmans King George is a bit lacklustre (NBSS 2.5), reflecting the lack of turnover and custom at 6pm on a Tuesday evening. Maybe I caught it at the wrong time but I feel a little less effusive about it than the previous two esteemed reviewers. 6.5

A superb traditional village pub laid out as described below. It actually opened way before the published time which was a pleasant surprise, and there were a couple of locals in who made us feel very welcome. The American landlord seemed a bit vague, but he obviously runs a good pub. Ales on from Palmer’s, Exmoor and Blind Man Brewery, all in excellent condition. There were 4 boxed ciders, and the craft offerings were Bristol Beer Factory’s Clear Head and Wild Beer’s Bibble – the latter was an interesting find given that the Brewery went into receivership recently. Two premium lagers were also available. Definitely worth a visit.

A traditional looking, roadside pub in this small village, it consists of a number of rooms internally and has won Bath Camra’s Rural Pub of the Year award on a couple of occasions. The main bar area has a dark wood strip floor and exposed stone walls all around. It has a traditional country pub ambience with black beams on the ceiling, plenty of hops hanging around and a fire-place inlaid in to one wall which the friendly barmaid kept well topped up with logs. A dual aspect fire-place elsewhere contained a wood burning stove providing heat to the adjacent room as well. A darts board was on the wall next to an old grandfather clock in the corner and there were numerous pictures on the wall including photographs of the local area and watercolours of the pub. Beyond this was a room similar in appearance with one large table and a plasma screen in the corner which looked somewhat out of place, although this was not in use on our visit. A table contained a pile of old board games and a window ledge displayed a selection of shields and trophies, presumably won by the pub’s darts or skittles teams. Another room at the rear is perhaps more geared up for dining with purple paintwork and an arched ceiling. Beers on tap were their own King George (brewed for them by Blindmans), Bath Ales Barnsey, HSD, Yeovil Summerset and Blindman’s George & Dragon. Ciders too were well represented with Thatcher’s Gold, Pilton Cider, Cornish Rattler and Cheddar Valley. All in all, I thought this was a great pub and well worth a visit.

Official site of The George Inn - www.thegeorgeinn.co.uk