Holcombe Farmshop & Kitchen, Radstock

Facebook page of Holcombe Farmshop & Kitchen - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Holcombe Farmshop & Kitchen - www.facebook.com

Comprehensively described by Blackthorn, below, and previously The Duke and The Duke of Cumberland. The current name describes it perfectly, but it is a shame that its history has been over-written; it is still referred to by the locals as The Duke, however. There is a dartboard in the bar, various stools made from milk churns and an efficient log burner, all contributing to a pub-ish atmosphere. The clientele was mainly a cross-section of villagers with an assortment of dogs and children; we were the only non-locals present. On draught were Otter Ale and Stan’s Cider, while the keg range was Moretti, Amstel, Guinness, and Thatcher’s Rascal and Gold. It’s really good to see otherwise unsustainable pubs surviving through diversification, but it’s not somewhere I’d seek out especially unless I actually lived here.

A traditional looking, stone-built pub just on the outskirts of the village, first impressions are when walking in to the pub are that you’ve actually walked in to a farm shop. No doubt because that is indeed what the front area of the pub is, with an array of wares for sale including loafs of bread, pasta, and so on, as well as their own range of jams and preserves. Oddly for an establishment that is also a pub, the ale and cider range was very poor with just a couple of mainstream beers and Thatcher’s Gold being available. I appreciate pubs have to diversify to survive, and this may perhaps be a worthwhile side-line, but as farm shops go, I thought it was pretty poor and not somewhere I’d take a detour to get to. Beyond this was a restaurant but it looked very much more like the sort of self-service café setup you might expect in a farm shop, rather than a normal pub restaurant. The actual bar was off to the left of the farm shop, and although presumably recently renovated, it was not unattractive with a large open-apex roof at the end clad in rough wood panelling which also extended to some of the walls in a sort of parquet design. Elsewhere the walling was whitewashed brickwork with dark green wood panelling down below. Old flagstones were on much of the floor, and a pile of logs was stacked up next to a freestanding wood burning stove. A TV was mounted up in the corner, but fortunately this was not in use on our visit. Seating was a mixture of padded benches along the wall and high stools which were made from old milk churns that had been fitted with a tractor seat. A few random pictures were dotted around including a portrait of the Duke of Cumberland, which is presumably the duke that the pub takes it’s name from, although his connection to the local area was not divulged. It was quite difficult to get to the bar with a line of punters taking up all the available space, and some of their language seemed rather at odds with the otherwise upmarket pretensions that the pub seemed to be trying to present. Beers on tap were Otter Amber and Butcombe Original, whilst ciders were well represented with Stan’s Traditional, Thatcher’s Gold, Inch’s Apple and Harry’s Blackcurrant & Raspberry dispensed from a box behind the bar counter. Overall, I suppose they’ve done a decent enough refurbishment job, but overall, I was quite disappointed with this and am unlikely to return.

Official site of The Duke - www.holcombefarmshop.co.uk

Official site of The Duke - www.holcombefarmshop.co.uk