The Bell on the Common, Melksham

My journey to this Wadworth village pub in Broughton Gifford was far from eventful, after finding two other village pubs having closed early than published for the afternoon (reviews to follow) and then having to drive (quite literally) through the River Avon which had taken over the B3107 coming out of Melksham. I was relieved to find this one open. Overlooking the village green/common where a rather large bonfire had been constructed in readiness for the weekend's festivities, you enter to find a small snug on the right-hand side, the main bar to the left and a dining room further beyond that. The chef had finished cooking lunches and was set enjoying a beer at the bar with a local. There were a few diners in the dining room, one of whom came through to the bar to thank the chef for his creations. Maybe he has free reign over what to cook, as opposed to sticking to some sort of Wadworth standard menu? I never got to find out. 6X, Henry's IPA & Horizon were the real ales.

A charming, stone built Wadworth’s village pub in an idyllic setting. There are three bars, all arranged along the length of the pub, and a decent outside area. The right hand bar is quite small and primarily used as a pool room since the table fills most of the available space. There was also a small TV set tucked away in a cupboard in the corner of the room and several photo’s of sports teams on the wall. The main bar in the middle is a pleasant, rustic sort of space, with rough boards on the floor, a dart board at one end and a large fireplace with a big copper chimney hood at the other and the usual horse brasses and such like dotted around. I didn’t investigate the third, left-hand bar, although I guess this may be more geared up for diners as the Sunday lunches seemed very popular. There is a good sized, attractive beer garden and adjacent patio area which has a large floral display in it’s centre. There were also plenty of hanging baskets around which made for an attractive setting. Bar staff all seemed friendly. Beers on tap were just 6X and Henry’s IPA on a recent visit, although there was a third pump that was not in use on this occasion. Ciders were Stowford Press, Weston’s Traditional Scrumpy and Strongbow.