The Radnor Arms, Swindon

A traditional looking stone built pub on the main road through this small village, it apparently consists of both the pub and a brewery at the rear, although there were no signs of their wares for sale on our visit. The entranceway was around the side just off of a small courtyard garden, and this leads you in to a fairly compact room with the bar counter on the left. Red quarry tiles covered the floor, maroon paintwork was on the walls and there was an old brick fireplace off to one side. Seating here was fairly limited. Another small room was just off of this, with red Chesterfield bench seating around much of the perimeter, two large tables taking up most of the available floor space and a mixture dark wood panelling and brown paint on the walls, along with a few oil paintings. It all seemed very sombre and quiet, perhaps not helped by the fact that there was only one other punter in there when we visited. Some low level background music would definitely have helped, I thought. A larger room at the front had a bit more character, with much higher ceilings, a tall brick chimney breast, deep blue paint on the walls and a cast iron candelabra style light fitting. It looked as though this room may have been more geared up for dining though. Beers on tap were Butts Barbus Barbus and North Wall Best Bitter, whilst the ciders were both from the Cotswold Cider Company with their Muscle Mary and No Brainer.

Official site of The Radnor Arms - www.theradnorarms.co.uk

Official site of The Radnor Arms - www.theradnorarms.co.uk

Situated in a traditional stone building in a village owned by the National Trust, this is a lovely brewpub, home to the Old Forge Brewery who are located in a large shed at the rear, which has a large plate glass window allowing you to peer in and observe work in progress. Four of the five advertised ales from the brewery were on at the hop-adorned bar, unusually available via both from stillage and pump. This seemed odd to me on a weekday as there wasn’t really enough throughput to keep the lines fully fresh as a lot of punters opted for the stillage approach (as did I after the first one). There was also a real cider too – an unusual one though I forgot to note its name, which is apparently brewed locally. I sampled everything(!) and thought they were decent brews – the Sledgehammer was the one that stood out for me, along with the cider. The interior is divided into two main rooms, the front bar as you enter, decorated with a large number of old metal advertising plates from the early part of the 20th century, which I spent a good long time taking in, and a larger room off to the left hand side which is obviously more for the diners (of which there were none on my visit) decorated with old farming tools and bric-a-brac. There’s a smaller, almost snug, section off to the right of the bar. Large gardens are at the rear and Aunt Sally is available if you ask at the bar. There was also a dart board but alas I had neglected to bring my arrows, as well as a wood burning stove, so it looks like a good bet for the winter months here. Clientele were surprisingly on the younger side and were mostly ensconced in the garden, despite the advancing darkness of a late summer’s evening. By chance we happened upon the landlady, a young lady with dreadlocks who was quite gregarious and entertaining after we’d introduced ourselves. One small downside was the service behind the bar, which was a little brusque. Overall, a rather super country pub that demands a visit.