The Castle, Bradford-On-Avon

It's listing in the 2016 GBG was the draw for the visit,which justified climbing one of the steepest streets I have ever encountered to reach it from the town centre.It has a grand appearance and is clearly old,pitched at the top of the river valley commanding views over Wiltshire,although you need to stand up to see them,rather than just sit in the very pleasant beer garden hoping to enjoy the sights .The interior has a tap room to the left,low ceiling,exposed stone,real fireplace and long bench seating,all very authentic.There is also a side room mainly full of dining type tables but drinker friendly.Accomodation is available and this feels like a small country hotel rather than a boozer.There are lots of Georgian features and the gents have proper porcelian urinals with glass splash backs.Sadly they smelt quite a bit to boot.The food menu looked interesting if pricey with a few pretentious descriptions but that wasn't putting punters off. There were 6 handpumps offering Blindmans Golden Spring,Three Castles Barbury Castle ,a house Flatcappers Ale (brewed by Three Castles) and a very good Arbor Hoploader which proved a perfect session ale. I liked it,smart yet relaxed,dog friendly despite the food offering,charming barmaids,and well worth a return visit.

The Castle is a great pub with amazing rooms, we have filmed the inside and some of the food. Well worth a visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqR-mJkQ954

This is a good sized pub at the top of a rather steep hill. Worth the hike though if you're feeling energetic. There's a good sized main bar with a black slate tiled floor, a long bar and a real fire (even on a lovely sunny spring afternoon, which was odd!). Also a smaller rear bar that looks to be more geared up for dining, and a good sized beer garden and patio (although there were rather too many noisy toddlers running round for my liking). Decent food menu that's a cut above your usual “pub grub” menu, but not some poncy gastropub stuff either. We had a very nice burger with a good wedge of Stilton, and a fish pie. There's an extensive wine list on a blackboard and the rather unusual beers were Keystone Large One, Flatcapper Ale, Barbury Castle and Yeovil's Posh IPA. The only cider was Stowford Press.

Shabbily renovated, poor selection of beer, staff lack personality