Woolpack Inn, St. Georges, Weston Super Mare

As described by Blackthorne, below, this estate pub dates from the 1800s and is now owned by Butcombe's. There is a large car park at one side and a terraced seating area which, while large, can't really be considered a garden, at the front between the main pub and the restaurant annex. As you approach the pub, the smell of stale chip fat becomes apparent. The main bar is a L-shaped room with the counter at its apex. The is in need of a refresh, while the furniture is dirty and battered. The food is basic pub grub, a bit over-priced. It's very much a locals' pub, with social events such as the Friday night meant raffle being a highlight of the week. When we visited, the sound track was provided by local radio. The beer wasn't well kept – Butcombe's Golden and Original were both disappointing. The annex, The Stable Bar, does restaurant style service, with the added bonus of an occasional carvery. Not a venue of choice unless you live nearby.

Very large, multi-roomed pub just a couple of minutes drive from J21 of the M5. It's got a couple of bars (the "lounge bar" and "village bar") in one section of the pub, and a seperate wing with a carvery area and another bar. I've read about it a few times in Camra publications, but was slightly dissapointed. It's difficult to put my finger on, but something just doesn't quite stack up. It's essentially a community estate pub, but seems as though it's trying to be a traditional country inn. The building itself may be very old, but the decor of the pub seems to be more recent. The car park was very busy early on a recent Tuesday visit, but the pub itself didn't seem to be. Perhaps everyone was in the carvery, we didn't try that bit. A few of the clientelle seemed to be wearing baseball hats, but the pub's in Weston so perhaps that's to be expected. :-) The food was pretty average, nothing really wrong with it (except perhaps the mash which was somewhat stodgy) but nothing particularly right with it either. Having said that, the menu was extensive and reasonably priced, so I suppose you get what you pay for. Staff were friendly enough, but it would have been nice if they'd cleared our plates away when we'd finished eating instead of just walking past several times empty handed. Beer choice was dominated by Butcome, with their bitter, Gold and IPA on tap. Also London Pride and John Smith's (if you count that as a beer). As would be expected, the rather splendid Ashton Press cider was also on tap. In summary, worth popping in if you're nearby and want some basic pub grun, but don't bother going out your way. Other pubs in the Butcombe estate are much better.