The Hare on the Hill, Kingsdown, Bristol

First pub owned by Bath Ales; Festival, Gem, Spa, Barnstomer (known locally as Barney). Good looking pub but very busy during Eng-Arg rugby and very awkward layout around central horseshoe bar (6 uneven sides of octogon) made getting in & around a bit tricky. TVs in two corners, dartboard to rear right (no need for a table under it), follow bar round to left where a wood panel partition forms a small open snug (empty due to no view of rugby) but also a bottleneck to the loos when busy. Alex, behind bar, asked about the note taking and was thoroughly good-natured with the craic to gain positive comments, incl half a Barney! Home-cooked mains included chilli beef or steak & barnstormer pie (£6/£7) and a couple of good veggie dishes. Baguettes, in contrast, started at £5.50(!). Good pub, cheers Alex.

If you are prepared to venture forth up past the flats that precede it from the city centre, you are rewarded with this gem of a pub, a small old-school street corner local from the turn of the century. The interior is Spartan and pretty small so can get a bit tight when there’s a few punters in, though there’s usually a good mix of punters so it’s not as bad as it could be! Beer-wise, Bath Ales plus a guest on my Xmas visit along with the recently introduced Budvar Dark (bottled). Also boats SKY Sports and a friendly welcome along with food. Apparently this was Bath Ales’ first pub back in 1997. I think it's well worth a stop on the Bristol route - my mate felt it was the best place he'd been in for a while and he's done a lot more Bristol pubs than me in his time.