The Hop Pole, Lower Weston, Bath

Bath Ales first tied pub, opposite the lovely Royal Victoria Park. Four Bath ales and a guest from Titanic at £3pp; both my Barnstormer and SPA were in good nick. Budvar also available. This is a popular pub and was pretty busy on our 12:30 visit, the customers a mix of Mums, students and drinkers with plenty of them chowing down on the food. The interior - painted in dark orange and battleship grey - is a bit boho but retains some traditional touches. A real draw in the summer months in the lovely outside garden. The bogs were in excellent shape. Daily papers available. A tidy pub overall and one I’d happily spend 10 minutes walking out of the city centre for.

This Bath Ales pub is just a short stroll from the city centre opposite Royal Victoria Park. The pub seems to have more of a reputation for its food than its beer although it was the latter that was specific to our visit. The building appears to have been extended one way or the other and now incorporates two separate internal rooms and a restaurant extension to the rear. The décor has been revamped in a modernish way but without detracting too much from its character with plenty of subdued tones, tongue and grooved walls, bare floors and basic furnishinmgs. To the rear is a pleasant garden with a small shelter and overhead trellises. I didn’t spot any TV’s or note any music and the laid on entertainment appeared to limited to a few newspapers racked by the front door. There were 4 Baths Ales on show (Barnstormer, Gem, Golden Hare and Spa) as well as a guest (Titanic Full Steam Ahead) with a 6th pump unused. Prices were pretty reasonable with the Barnstormer at £3. Food was very much in gastropub territory but was quite reasonably priced for what was on the menu with main courses around £10-12. This was our first pub of a crawl (following an abandoned attempt to get into the Royal Oak) and a decent enough kick start to the day’s proceedings.

One of those pubs that just isn't quite as good as you'd hoped. It's a bit out of town, so maybe what was missing was a crowd - I was there early evening. Maybe it was the beer - it's a Bath Ales pub - in good nick, but the pint I had was just brown and boring. Overall, it's worth popping into if you're headed that way (maybe aiming for a pub a little further out?), but probably not worth the 20-minute stroll from the centre of Bath otherwise.