The Twelve Bells, Trowbridge

It hadn't opened by 12.13 so I was about to give up and leave the gaggle of old boys outside to it. The barmaid pulled in at high-speed at 12.14 so I decided to give it a go. It’s a fairly basic place of the ‘30 year old carpet and poorly applied grey paint during lockdown’ school of decor. A pool table resides on the left hand side. Fairly popular, with a steady stream on patrons shambling in. No cask - not even a dead pump - so I followed the old boys and had a Fosters. Atmosphere was convivial and the tardy barmaid turned out to be a comedy goldmine and also quite friendly. I hope she’s able to get rid of the ants, she spent plenty of time splatting them in-between serving. One of those classic places where I can’t find much to recommend it aside from the inhabitants but as a 15 minute stop I oddly enjoyed myself – I’ve certainly been in places that tick more boxes without receiving even a tenth of the warmth. Let’s hope somebody can rustle-up a few quid to keep this one ticking-over. 5.5