The Kings Arms, Trowbridge

The town's 2024 good beer guide tick - although the book details Stallards, it was not showing on the on-line version. Seemed like a decent drinkers pub - with proper furniture, leather topped bench seating and solid tables forming little drinking areas. Not quite booths but certainly able to create a space. Like Quinno, some tables inexplicably marked "Reserved". Not even sure they do food. Very nice beer garden, with music at a tolerable level. Couple of handpulls - Butcombe and a chosen Dartmoor legend. Possibly the best in town. Most locals seem to prefer drinking in the street.

A gastro grey exterior and a fairly charmless mushroom and brown interior. Confusing as a solo toper due to loads of tables having signs on saying ‘reserved for dining’ despite not being set and with few others eating. It’s an island bar and the drinkers were congregated (or perhaps more accurately, exiled) round the back. Three cask available plus Black Rat cider. My Dartmoor Legend was getting long in the tooth but was drinkable (NBSS 2), the other options were Butcombe and Sharps Doom Bar. Staff spent plenty of time loudly griping about life and the atmosphere sucked some life force out of me, not helped by the family of silents chowing-down over the way. Happy to get gone. 4.5

The King's Arms was our second unscheduled stop in the town of Trowbridge. I had a bad feeling on entering and was soon disappointed, as for the second time in the day, my family was refused entrance. Apparently children are allowed in if eating, but not if only drinking. I'd love to understand the logic in this. Not all parents go to pubs to eat! Once again, I visited alone. The ale selection was a tad disappointing Sharp's Doom Bar & Butcombe Original are the regular ales. A third beer was Butcombe Adam Henson's Rare Breed. A positive was the presence of Mole's Black Rat cider on handpull. The interior felt a bit dark and the welcome was definitely on the cooler side of tepid. There must be better pubs in Trowbridge than this, but the Black Rat made it the slightly better of the two I tried.