The Ale House, Stroud

We were about to leave Stroud behind, feeling quite disappointed with the quality of its pubs. But with one last stop, our efforts were redeemed. The Ale House is situated in a nice old building, reminiscent of a gentlemen's club (the prim and proper kind), with high ceilings in its two spacious rooms. There is also an outdoor drinking area. The highlight is the ale and cider choice - Tilley's IPA & Amarillo Pale Ale, Rooster's Yankee, Five Points Pale, Red Cat Mr M's Porter & Buxton Blonde were the ales. The cider was Pearson's Medium Dry, a new one for me, and there was also Snail's Bank Very Perry. Easily the best pub we got to visit in Stroud. Although I'll have to go back to try those currently still closed that I missed to verify this.

Grade II Listed building - impressive high ceilings and loads of space. Like an independent Wetherspoons! Architecture is where the similarity ends. This is a proper beer lovers pub - with a wide range of beers on offer - all detailed on slates over the long bar. I went for a breakfast stout - which was perfect. Sunday night quiz seemed impossible :-) Not knowing the height in feet of Angel Falls, Venezuela, we sat on some wonderful Chesterfields in front of a superb open fire. Lots to admire!

Imposing premises, apparently built in 1837 for the Poor Law Guardians, and now a multiple Camra-award-winning establishment. You enter via a corridor to enter the central bar area benefiting from an expansive roof light, with a large seating area at the front and a room off to the side at the back. The furniture is surprisingly on the semi-modern side, but the tall ceilings make the place seem rather lacking in atmosphere mid-afternoon on a weekday(although there were several other mid-afternoon customers when I visited, and I expect that it is much busier at other times). It also has a real fire, but that was struggling to make a difference on a cold December day. Excellent selection of ten real ales and two ciders from the impressive line of handpumps, and my pint of Tiley's Equinox from the Salutation Inn in Ham (£3.80) was in absolutely top form.