New Market Hotel, Bridgwater

Built in 1936, this red brick former hotel was once on the main Bath road but has now been bypassed and is in a run-down backwater leading to a new housing estate. There is no car park or garden, and the whole exterior looks like a demolition site. The paths outside are strewn with fag-ends, and the whole appearance would be a good back-drop for a zombie film. Inside, the downstairs public rooms have been conjoined to form a single, laminate-floored bar which is vaguely L-shaped and has a selection of tables and comfy chairs. There is a pool table, 2 dart boards and a gaming machine. Much of the interior is run-down as well, looking like someone has taken bits from different building sites and thrown them loosely together. The clientele were mainly dunk Eastern Europeans, with a posse of children running unrestrained around the place. The barman seemed like a decent, and very long-suffering, chap. There was no real ale and no food available, no bottled ales or real cider either. We settled for a Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale from keg. This one is not currently a runner.