The Rose & Crown Hotel, Swindon

The only pub in the village of Ashbury, the Rose & Crown now finds itself in the Good Beer Guide. We didn't explore properly but noted a snug, a bar and a larger room used for dining. The cheery barmaid was telling us how the snug was the coaching entrance, as the pub is an old coaching in. The bar has a dartboard and there is also a TV above the fireplace. On our Sunday lunchtime visit, the TV was off, but background music was playing. Tables all had cutlery and condiments on them. The bar itself has 7 handpulls, 4 on the bar side and 3 on the other side. Being an Arkell's pub, 3B is the regular beer. The one additional ale was their Wiltshire Gold. Arkell's Haze was available on keg. Events advertised included a pancake shack, World Book Day, a village panto, live music and Mother's Day. Children and dogs are both allowed, along with extremely muddy cyclists, of which there were two in the small garden area to the rear. They'll need to spend many hours getting those bikes clean!

Official site of The Rose & Crown Hotel - www.roseandcrowninn.co.uk

Official site of The Rose & Crown Hotel - www.roseandcrowninn.co.uk

A former hotel/inn with 2 large bars and a games room with a pool table, the Rose and Crown is at the top of a steep hill so is a welcome rest after the climb. The interior is mostly "rural" but is spoilt by an ugly fireplace which is wrong for the building. There were 2 ales on, both from Arkells. I had a pint of 3B which was drinkable but nothing special. I didn't try the food but it looked to be good value for money. This is a working village pub which is worth dropping into if passing, and I would include it in a country crawl, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to spend an evening here.