The Rising Sun, Taunton

This is a rare find. I had heard mixed reports about this pub, so I was expecting to find a run-down dump. What I found was a very pleasant surprise indeed. It seems it had been run down until recently, but the new landlord had turned it around. Well off the beaten track, the pub is down a narrow country lane which doesn’t really go anywhere, and without the home-made signs I wouldn’t have found it. On arrival you go into a large car park behind the pub. At the front is a small seating terrace which is quiet, scenic and very relaxing. The building is old – the pub claims 15th Cemtury but some of the structure is older and looks more 12th or 13th Century. It looks like part of it was an old ecclesiastical building, which has been extended and joined onto a Jacobean perion cottage next door to form a single building. The upper floor looks Georgian. There are flagstone floors, stone walls, a large inglenook and a rare lattice oak ceiling alongside the more conventional ships’ timbers. The main bar is formed from 3 original rooms, and there is a smaller games room with a pool table. Food is freshly cooked, delicious and well priced. The landlord is extremely welcoming, and the locals were very keen to engage. They host various community events including Sunday lunches and dog walking mornings. Two ales on, Otter and Doombar, both in excellent condition. This pub is in the ascendant, and I shall definitely be back.