The Cross Rifles, Bridgwater

A Georgian town pub on a busy corner on the main road into town. It’s a wedge-shaped building with a small yard at the front which is partly used as a car park, though the presence of a wooden smoking shack makes it less useful than it might be. However, there is no back garden so they don’t have much flexibility here. Inside, the single large bar has a raised area at one end which has a pool table and dartboard, the latter pinned to the back of the fire door. There are also a couple of speakers which suggest the raised area might also be used for musical entertainment, and there are a few large TV screens which were showing the news. The furniture and carpet are battered, scruffy and filthy, and the pub smells musty and stale. This isn’t a comfortable pub to visit, and we certainly didn’t feel that welcome. Two ales on, Doombar and Old Speckled Hen, in predictably poor condition. I doubt I’ll return.