Kings Head, Bristol

My second visit to this pub, the first being on the PuG tour some five years ago, back then it was the last pub of the crawl and I remember very little about it. So on my revisit I found a cosy narrow, carpeted traditional pub, the beer selection was also on the traditional side of things so I went for the relatively racey selection of Timothy Taylors Knowle Spring. A pleasant pub.

The Kings Head is a nice looking old pub that is a short walk to of from Temple Meads station. Once inside the bar is to the front left,there is a narrow area by the bar with the rear area being more comfortable and cosy with it being carpeted and having comy bench seating and small stools. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Castle Rock Harvest Pale to see if it travelled well,it did,the other beers were Hogs Back TEA,Harveys Best and Sharps Atlantic. There was decent background music playing. This is a very pleasant and comfortable pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 25/6/2016

Very traditional polished small ale house, complete with snob screen. Decorative architecture and interior, toby jugs, great place for a pint.

Doombar, Butcombe Gold, Cornish Coaster, 6X. Beautiful low-ceilinged dark wood pub, fabulous bar-back with high brass plaques proclaiming fayre in old style ‘Whisky', ‘Cigars', ‘Brandy', ‘Claret'. Narrowish entrance with bar to the right, some bar stools then a partition announcing ‘Tramcar Bar' beyond which is an earlier, preferable era – an enclosed snug mirroring a comfortable first class tram carriage, this area also has a short bar counter. Nice old photos around the walls, hanging jugs, nibbles on bar Sun lunch. Rear door leads straight to Temple church, appallingly abutted by some ugly 60/70s flats. Having just missed closing time Sat nt, we queued with another group for Sun opening, feeling very rough; thank goodness the first sharpener was in excellent shape. Hello to the Scots boys on their way home from the Wales friendly (ouch!), incl Derek from Kelburn Brewery.

The date on the front of this wonderful traditional pub reads 'Circa 1660', making this one of the city's great survivors. Thankfully, the interior remains unspoilt as well, with a fairly unique layout, much of which dates back to an 1865 re-fit. You enter into the front bar area - a narrow space made even narrower by the presence of the servery down the right hand wall. Some limited fixed bench seating at the front provides the only seating options in this part of the pub, which is a bit of a shame, as it would be nice to relax opposite the bar given the attractive nature of the servery. The counter has some nice detailed woodwork running under the bar top whilst the bar back has a number of panels with advertisements for various products including 'Claret', 'Cigars' and 'Mineral Waters'. There is also a much larger panel promoting 'Burton Ales and Dublin Stout' at the point where the servery narrows to accommodate a doorway in the bar back. Beyond, there is a narrow corridor along the left hand side, lined with wonderful old photos and sketches of Bristol in years gone by, which leads you into the 'tramcar snug', which is a fairly unique feature, partitioned from the corridor by an attractive wooden screen. The snug uses long curved banquettes and standard chairs to good effect, creating a comfortable, cosy space that is undoubtedly the best spot to bag a seat. Bell pushes are still visible behind the banquettes and there is a hatch at the end allowing access to the bar. Four handpulls were dispensing Sharp's Doom Bar, Courage Best, Butcombe Gold and Otter Amber - not the most exciting line-up of the day, but I enjoyed a pretty good pint of the Amber nonetheless. This is the only pub in Bristol designated as having an interior of national importance by CAMRA, and it's pretty easy to see why. If you enjoy relaxing over a well kept pint in a traditional pub environment, this is probably the best the city has to offer and it is well worth including on any tour around the city.

I am pleased we got to visit this Camra National Inventory pub on our PG crawl as you certainly couldn't miss this one out. I have to agree with Rex, it would be nice to visit here, when the pub is a little quieter. I went for the Butcombe Gold which was a good pint.

This is the only CAMRA National Inventory pub in Bristol, and it's easy to see why it's on there as you enter. It looks nothing special from the outside, but inside there's a veritable treasure trove of original Victorian features, including a magnificent bar back; bar counter; and the "Tramcar" snug area towards the end of the room. The toilets are pretty much Victorian in their functionality as well, with the "ladies" helpfully having "ladies only" on the glass panel in the door. There are also all manner of bits of bric a brac around the place, including jugs hanging from beams, brewery mirrors, miscellaneous prints, old advertisements and other stuff in the bar back's alcoves. The walls of the narrow passage by the tramcar are covered in interesting prints. There were several ales on, all of which I failed to note. This pub is an absolute must for any Bristol crawl, if only for the chance to see largely unspoilt Victorian fittings (although the building itself predates Victoria by some margin). I would love to visit again to have a better look round at a quieter time.