The Packhorse, Bath

As described by others this is a bit of a gem, though without a map or satnav you might have a problem finding it. The car park can best be described as tight – getting a Landrover out proved interesting with the cars parked outside the entrance. Two ales on, Butcombe Original and Otter Ale both past their best. Also available was Laguanitas IPA on keg plus Guinness, a couple of Thatcher’s and two premium lagers. The young staff were helpful, and it all felt very convivial, but given the beer quality and location, I’m not sure I’d make the effort come back here especially, though I’d be very happy to drop in if passing.

As Jon has mentioned below, this has recently been bought by the local community having closed about six years ago and subsequently sold to a property developer. I believe over £1,000,000 was raised making it one of the biggest shared ownership buyouts so far. It’s certainly great to see it re-open again after such a long spell when many people must have given up on it. It can be approached either from the road at the front or down a lane at the back, and from either side it looks a very attractive old building. It’s clearly had an extensive refurbishment inside, and whilst this is largely sympathetic to the buildings origins, it didn’t have the cosy and rustic charm that I was expecting. I didn’t visit it prior to the closure though and don’t know what state of repair it was in prior to the reopening. The pub consists of two rooms downstairs either side of the bar counter, and these had broadly similar décor styles with painted stone walls and large stone fireplaces. The one to the left had black boards on the floor, whilst the one to the right had quarry tiles and a low black beamed ceiling. Pretty much all tables downstairs were laid up for food, and with the staff all wearing smart uniforms I was beginning to wonder if I had wandered in to a gastro-pub. Two further rooms upstairs again follow a broadly similar style, one with black boards on the floor and salmon paintwork, the other with some hessian carpet and generic country prints on the walls. Although there were a few people eating up here too, it didn’t look so food orientated and we managed to find a table to perch on. This overlooked the rear garden which looked to be a pleasant spot for the warmer weather with freshly laid turf and plenty of picnic benches. Beers on tap were Daggers Ale from the local Three Daggers brewery and Kettlesmith Faultline which is a new one on me. Ciders meanwhile were the local Honey’s and Thatcher’s Gold.

Official site of The Packhorse Inn - packhorsebath.co.uk

Official site of The Packhorse Inn - packhorsebath.co.uk