The Welly, Bath

Official site of The Welly - www.somervalleyfarms.com

Official site of The Welly - www.somervalleyfarms.com

Previously St Christophers, it’s now rather run-down, tired and clichéd student bar wasting a prime corner site in the middle of the town. The cages around the seating area are probably apt for the target demographic, and the rest of the décor has certainly seen better days. There was a dry handpump on the bar, and the semi-apathetic barman, when asked about cask ales, tried to fob us off with Neck Oil and Gamma Ray. No real cider, either, just megakeg, some of it badged as ‘house lager’ and ‘house cider’. There was also a variety of cheap cocktails, and for those brave or hygiene-ignorant enough to want to eat here, pizzas of unknown origin. I can’t see my coming back.

A good sized pub on a corner plot just up from Pultney Bridge, it consists of a U-shape room with the bar counter at the top. Flooring is a mixture of wood strip and tiling whilst the colour scheme is maroon and cream, with the exposed air conditioning ducting on the ceiling also being painted cream. There was some dark wood panelling on the lower part of the walls. The left hand leg of the U facing the street has red leatherette bench seating split in to booths alongside the windows whilst there were a few high tables and chairs at the top. Around the other leg of the U was a room housing a pool table with a rugby mural on the wall and a vaulted room off to one side with old music posters on the ceiling. This seems to be something of a rugby pub and a projector screen at the front was showing the match. We didn’t inspect the menu, but it looked to be of the cheap and cheerful variety and we spotted a few burgers being dished up. Many of the punters left something to be desired with a bunch of guys stood around the bar swearing rather loudly and kids running riot elsewhere. At least one couple walked out whilst we were there without bothering to stop for a drink. Beers on tap were Gem, Dartmoor Jail Ale and Deuchar’s IPA. Ciders were Strongbow, Magner’s Golden Draught and Bounders. The barman seemed a bit clueless serving a Gin & Tonic in a short dumpy glass, and I had to explain to him what mini cheddar’s were.