The Pulpit, Swindon

A relatively small, single room pub in the heart of Swindon’s Old Town, it was fairly quiet on our recent mid-week afternoon visit compared to many of the other nearby establishments, but I think they had only just opened for the day so perhaps that accounts for it. The décor is fairly rustic I suppose, with rough wooden boards on the floor and a plain whitewashed ceiling. In contrast, the walls were quite vibrant shades of green and orange, although with much glazing at the front and other areas of exposed stonework, this wasn’t quite such an assault on the senses as it sounds. A curved and wood panelled bar counter was at the rea, with a plethora of beer mats affixed to the ceiling above hinting at an ever-changing selection, whilst the seating was a mixture of padded chairs and old metal stools in various colours. Some unusual artwork was dotted around the walls, all of it for sale, and a wood burning stove was off to one side. Despite that, it could definitely have done with being a few degrees warner in there, but perhaps if they had only just opened, it had only been recently lit. Beers on tap were 360° Brewing’s Mustang Mountain IPA, Timothy Taylor’s Golden Best, Arbor Blue Sky Drinking and Brew York’s Fairytale of Brew York. Ciders meanwhile were Pheasant Plucker and Hungerford Park on tap, along with Broadoak Sweet, Broadoak Premium Perry, Saxby’s Original and Hogan’s Panking Pole from boxes.

Pay attention if you are Good Beer Guide Ticking. The Hop Inn is the other side of BetFred. A couple of pints in and its easy to get confused. This is a sister pub to the Hop Inn, from the same owners, so I am sure its just as good. Shows the mindset of CAMRA if one gets in and the other doesnt. A near full compliment of Castle Rock Brews but as they had the ceremonial chalice, I went for a budvar. A bigger (and better) than average micro pub.

A great little micro , vibrantly colourd in a modern art style inside mirroring the great diversity of beer availble. On handpump were Bluestone Bedrock Blonde, Fixed Wheel Concussion Mild, Goffs Blackcurrant Porter, Alsopps Pale Ale and Thornbridge Sequoia, some decent but not noted by me craft keg options along with a couple of Ciders from Lilleys.The First three cask beers mentioned were my choices whilst here and all in tip top condition. A must in Swindon.