The Anchor Inn, Bristol

Well run village local. If you are interested, James Dowdeswell CAMRA book - the Pub Manifesto - was largely based on his memories of growing up here and his dad (who's still the licencee) running this place as a freehouse. Gave him the freedom to sell the beer he wanted - and to launch a brand of whiskies. Typical sprawling village local - a smaller front bar. A rear bar/restaurant (informal). Central bar. Typical wooden furnishings. Bass, Otter and Butcombe available. Sunday lunch was decent and quickly served. If I had 6 friends and had ordered in advance, the Salmon Putcher pie (£72) looked of interest.

A traditional pub in the centre of this small village, it consists of two bars plus a restaurant area at the rear and a good sized garden. On a recent visit, the car park contained both an old tractor in immaculate condition, and some type of armoured vehicle complete with turret and rocket launchers! The lounge area is to the left and is an L-shaped room with the usual generic red patterned carpet on the floor and cream paintwork on the walls as well as a low, beamed ceiling, although for some reason the ceiling between the beams had been painted orange which seemed a little odd. A very large, stone fire-place was to one side, and it looks as though logs would be blazing away in the colder weather. The stone built bar counter was inset with some beer barrel ends and there were a number of water colours on the wall depicting country landscapes. A stone pillar was in the middle of the room. The bar area was to the right and had a few lively locals in, although we did not investigate this. To the rear was a restaurant area overlooking the extensive garden. A river runs alongside the garden, although it is at a considerably lower level and so is not really visible. There was also a sports pitch of some sort beyond this. Beers on tap were St. Austell’s Trelawny, Butcombe and Bass. Ciders were Ashton Press, Ashton Still and Thatcher’s Dry.