The Anchor Inn, Taunton

Once a lovely village pub with which I was very familiar, it has now undergone a transformation and become yet another commercialised pub/diner/theme park of the sort that gets crowded with coffin dodgers and young families on a Sunday lunchtime in Summer while not retaining enough atmosphere to keep the locals happy the rest of the year. Apart from Mothers’ Day and Christmas, of course. The inglenook has been bashed through and a woodburner installed to heat both bars (one is no longer called a bar – it’s now a ‘lounge’). An echoey extension has been added to provide more restaurant space and a function room; it has its own bar counter. The gardens are extensive, having oozed into what was once a field behind, providing yet more entertainment space including a children’s play area, and there is a smoking pavillion at the front. There are also some B&B chalets. The car park is also much enlarged and there is even an overflow car park on what used to be another field. On the plus side there were 4 ales on, all in average condition – Otter Amber, Tribute, Exmoor Ale and Sharp’s Cornish. Food isn’t particularly cheap, but they have won awards and it’s a cut above the big chains. I suppose at least it’s open and hasn’t been converted to residential, but I’m not in a hurry to drive down this memory lane for a while.

Great country pub. Lovely food, local ales and big beer garden. Friendly staff. Wish there were more like this about. Plan to spend many an afternoon in the beer garden this summer! Fingers crossed for a good one.

I quite like this out-of-the-way village pub and often visit on a summer afternoon for a couple before lunch. The Landlord always sells fairly local beers eg, Branscombe, Otter, Palmer which make a pleasant change from Cotleigh, Exmoor etc, and no sign of the ever present Doom Bar. It has a large garden and smaller terrace which is a great sun-trap in the summer, real log fires in the winter. There is a small snug behind the main bar and a larger restaurant-type area which is often busy on a Sunday.

Official site of the Anchor Inn, contains menus - www.theanchorinn.net

Official site of the Anchor Inn, contains menus - www.theanchorinn.net