The Jolliffe Arms, Radstock

An 18th Century stone building which has been divided into housing on one side and the pub on the other. It's in the middle of a chocolate-box village, off the beaten track so not overrun by tourists. There is parking at the front and the road opposite, and there is some outside seating at the back, though it backs onto the church yard so doesn't have a pub garden as such. Inside, the main bar and dining room have been conjoined, leaving a stone chimney breast between them. The dining area is carpeted and has a large stone fireplace. The bar is mostly laminate floored, though there is an odd square of carpet in the corner, which turned out to be the adjacent skittle alley protruding into the bar, the rest of it hidden by a curtain. It was carpeted and had dining tables on it, although ti was clearly used regularly for skittles as evinced by the rest of the ally in the next room on the way to the toilets, the pins set up and ready for the next match. The leaderboard for the skittles league was also current. There was one further area, a small snug, behind the bar counter which occupies the corner of the bar. Most of the space in the bar was filled with tables laid out in neat rows for diners, a bit like a school dining room. It wasn't the friendliest of pubs, and we felt we were putting the barman to some inconvenience by asking for beer. The other customers were mainly elderly diners, though there were a few locals propping up the bar. Three ales on, Butcombe Original and Rare Breed, plus Doombar. The keg options were three from Thatcher's, 1664, Foster's Underfall and Guinness. Food is standard pub grub most days but only roasts on Sundays, as a young couple who came in after us were told in no uncertain terms. Fine for a meal and a few pints if you're in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come back.