Stonehenge Inn, Salisbury

I'm almost at a loss with as to what to say about this pub. The signs were there - a mini stonehenge on the opposite side of the road. A double decker bus in the garden for the kids to play on. Two plastic "menhirs" guarding the entrance doors. So far, so tacky. I was pounced on entry and explained I was just after a drink. Of which the choices were limited. Two cask - and one of those was called Stonehenge Ale. Wasn't going to risk that. So a pint of eurofizz taken outside to admire the stones in the sunshine. Watched international tourists having their photo taken, enjoying the Great British Pub experience. Then the rain came, so I hot footed it inside. I noticed that not only was every table setup for dining but they all had bread rolls on the table. Again, I was pounced on by waitresses. I asked if there was anywhere to sit to finish my pint and was told "Not inside, we have coach parties coming, but you can use our garden". I pointed out the rain and should have asked if I could sit in the fun-bus. So bad, it nearly comes around the scoring scale. But no, just bad. A uniquely terrible pub.

A Victorian inn originally part of the United Breweries complex which is no longer a brewery, it was previously owned by Enterprise but was bought out and is now operated by the same people as the Swan in Stoford. There is a car park across the road, and there is a garden at the side. Inside, it is quite scruffy, and has 2 main bar areas which are open plan. On the left is a carvery restaurant, whose wares looked as though they'd been sitting for a while and did not look at all appealing. On the right is the main bar with a counter and various seating styles, all a bit battered. Despite the name and the location, it's not really on the tourist trail, so most of the customers were locals and ex-military who knew the area. The pub is dog-friendly, offering free biscuits to canine customers, and they offer 10% discount on their draft ales and ciders to HM Forces. The ales were Doombar and something called 'Stonehenge', which is in no way associated with the nearby Stonehenge Brewery. The beers were rather flat, not that well kept. There were also 2 ciders on draft, which were a better bet. The bar staff were quite friendly and tried to be helpful, but the manageress was rather unpleasant and ignorant. It's not a great pub at the moment, but hopefully the Swan management team will improve it over time given its potential.