Hop Pole Inn, Bath

Recently reopened after being closed for six or seven years, at one time this looked to be lost forever with the property purchased by someone who wanted to turn it in to a private residence. Fortunately planning was refused, and after a long and extensive fundraising campaign, it has now reopened as some sort of community run venture. First impressions were where on earth do I park? There is a car park, but it’s wholly inadequate for the size of the pub, and the problem has been exasperated by a couple of extra parking spaces that were at the front of the pub being converted to patio seating. Everywhere else in the vicinity is just narrow lanes. Once that obstacle was overcome, it’s clear that a considerable amount of money has been spent on the refurbishment, although from reading the previous review, it seems that it may well have lost some of it’s character in the process. Internally it consists of a central room which narrows at the rear to include the bar counter, and a further room off to the side which looks to be more intended for dining. Décor wise it’s rustic in style but with a very contemporary feel to it. All the wood panelling has gone which it a real shame, but perhaps it was beyond repair or removed by one of the previous owners. Flagstone style tiling was on the floor, plain wooden beams, many adorned with strings of hops, were on the ceiling, and the walls were whitewashed with duck egg blue wood panelling on the lower part. A fireplace with a wood burning stove was off to one side. Seating options seemed a little limited in comparison to the space available with just one large table and two small round ones in the main front room. The bar counter was rather ill designed being either side of a very large stone pillar, but only one half seeming to be used resulting in very little space available to be served, with waiting times further hindered by the barman making coffee’s as well as pulling pints. A pleasant and attractive beer garden and patio was at the rear, which included an outside skittle alley. Beers on tap were Twisted Three & Sixpence, Cheddar Gorge Best and Kettlesmith Faultline. Ciders meanwhile were Aspall’s, Honey’s Midford and the excellent Iford Wild Juice. Overall, whilst it’s obviously fantastic to see this reponed after so long, ultimately I was a little disappointed. It’s all very pleasant, but in a slightly bland way and was lacking much in the way of any real character I thought.

Official site of Hop Pole Inn - www.hoppoleinn.uk

Official site of Hop Pole Inn - www.hoppoleinn.uk