Simple Pleasures

Because of the recent resurgence of Covid-19, my partner and I have made a collective decision not to travel outside of Gloucestershire if we can help it. Instead we spent Saturday, enjoying our local surroundings and visiting a few pubs. We decided to walk to the Jolly Brewmaster, an excellent back street pub in Cheltenham. On our way, we stopped at a park and sat in the warm autumn sunshine, and chatted for a while. We spent several minutes watching the antics of a squirrel who was busy collecting nuts, gathering food for the winter no doubt.

We then continued our walk to the Jolly Brew, as we call it. When we arrived it was closed, but would be open in a couple of hours, so we walked in the direction of Bath Road to do a little shopping. On our way there we discovered an area called the Norwood Triangle, which was once a tram route. The area was improved in 2010, with the help of lottery funding. We also noticed a house with a plaque on the wall, on closer inspection we discovered that the house was once a pub called The Railway Inn. It has been converted into an HMO by the look of it, the original etched windows have been retained, which is a nice feature. The funny thing is, I have lived in and around Cheltenham for nigh on 40 odd years, and have only just discovered the existence of this former pub!

The former Railway Inn

We continued our walk to Bath Road, and stopped at The Exmouth Arms for an Arkells 3B, which was in excellent condition. After a little mooching around some charity shops, we headed towards The Jolly Brew. It was empty when we arrived, but by the time we left it was pretty busy. We sat in the beer garden which has been adapted for socially distanced drinking. The pub has won quite a few Camra local pub of the year awards over the years, and it is easy to see why. They always have an interesting selection of ales and ciders, served by friendly and knowledgeable people. It is good to see a back street pub that is still thriving in these difficult times.

The Jolly Brewmaster

Out and about in Oxfordshire

Back in September, I travelled to Oxfordshire using the recent addition to Stagecoach bus service the 835. I originally wanted to go to Swindon, but at the last minute I noticed a bus to Oxford appear on the horizon. Service 835, used to be operated by Pullhams coaches, which I used a couple of times to travel to Witney. There has been a lot of chopping and changing of bus services in my locality, over the last few years. Normally I would buy an Explorer ticket that covers the whole of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and parts of Wiltshire. The Oxford service has a different system, so I bought a Day gold, I'm glad I did because a day return would have been quite restricting. I decided to take my “proper camera” which has had little use this year. 

The Day gold ticket enables the passenger to travel to many areas of Oxfordshire. The 835 travels to Oxford Via the A40, it passes the Burford roundabout and travels through Witney to get to Oxford. On my first journey using this service, I stayed on the bus until it reached Oxford, the only downside of this service, is that it is infrequent.

As the bus arrived in Oxford, I noticed a picturesque looking pub in dappled sunlight, so I gingerly crossed the road to photograph it. I googled some information about the pub, which I frequently do to pass the time whilst on long bus journeys, and walking around seldom visited places. The Eagle and Child has a distinguished history, apparently C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien used to visit. The pub is closed at the moment, but with such a unique history, I'm sure it won't be long before it reopens. 

The Eagle and Child, Oxford

Walking further into the centre of Oxford, it soon became apparent that they take social distancing and mask wearing quite seriously. I guess they need to, with so many buildings in close proximity to each other! After attempting to photograph a few pubs, I decided that the centre of Oxford, might not be the safest place for a photographic expedition, so I limited the amount of time I was there. Quite a few of the pubs in Oxford have tables and chairs in the street, some of the streets are closed off at the moment. One of the pubs I managed to photograph was The Plough at 38, it has recently re-opened, after being closed for 95 years. For many years, the building was occupied by Austin Reed, until they went into administration. It really is heart-warming, to have some positive news about the hospitality industry in the current climate.

The Plough at 38, Oxford

Another pub that I photographed was The Red Lion, a rather splendid curved building, with a traditional pub exterior, I really enjoy photographing this type of pub. I ventured as far as the internal entrance, to have a swift half, but I was a little deterred because of the rigmarole you had to go through, just to buy a drink, so I decided against it. On reflection, they were probably right to take all these precautions. I tried to take some more photos of the pub, but the sun did a disappearing act. Normally, I try to take photographs of pubs without people in the foreground, but the best photo I took, had a lady wearing a mask. As this is an important historical time we are living in, the photo represents an interesting record of the events of 2020

The Red Lion, Oxford

It was quite a few hours to wait for the bus back to Gloucestershire, so I caught the S1 bus service to Witney. On the journey out of Oxford, I noticed a large pub called The Seacourt Bridge, which is in Botley. I googled it and discovered that It was the last remaining pub in Botley. At this point I didn't get off the bus to photograph it. The bus continued to Eynsham, passing a roadside pub called The Talbot Inn, which looked picturesque with the sun upon it. But I stayed on the bus, until it reached Eynsham village. I immediately got off, and caught the bus on the opposite side of the road, heading back to Oxford.

The Talbot Inn, Eynsham

It was a short journey, because I got off at the Talbot Inn to photograph it. I also went inside to have a much needed drink. The Talbot is an Arkells 3 star hotel and pub, with picturesque views of the River Thames. I sat outside and gazed at the river for quite some time, it was quite relaxing. I then caught the bus back to Oxford, to photograph The Seacort Bridge. From the photos I have seen of the interior of the pub, it looks quite impressive with it's traditional bar and stained glass embellishments above it. I didn't go in, because it is not really my kind of pub – it is family orientated, so it would have been a little shall we say, noisy! The photographs I took of the pub, had every element of clutter imaginable – including an electricity pylon in the background! I did manage to cut out the bus stop in front of the pub though.

The Seacourt Bridge, Botley

After this amusing interlude, I caught the S1 to Witney, but got off at Eynsham village again, to have a look around. It is quite a pleasant place, but like Oxford they were taking social distancing quite seriously. I took a few photos of The Red Lion (which was closed at that point) and The Jolly Sportsman, which has a traditional exterior. Unfortately the photos I took were not that good, so I have omitted them from this post. I would have liked to have called in for a drink, but I wanted to make the most of the time I had left, and the light that was available.

The Red Lion, Eynsham

Time was getting on, but there was still quite a long wait for the 835, so I travelled back to Witney and caught the bus to Woodstock. This is the beauty of purchasing such a versatile bus ticket, you can cover quite a lot of ground in one day, and you can plan another journey, whilst you're travelling on the bus, driving through yet to be discovered areas. On the journey to Woodstock, I passed a few interesting looking pubs – The Masons Arms in North Leigh, and The White House in Bladon. I stayed on the bus, had a brief glimpse of Woodstock, and travelled back to Witney again. A while later, I caught the bus back to Gloucestershire, whilst planning a return trip to Oxfordshire.

 

One step beyond

Last week I did something I have never done before, I cycled into another County –Worcestershire to be precise . As I have mentioned before, during the lockdown I became very unfit (I was unfit anyway). So recently, I have been gradually increasing the length of my cycling journeys. There are obvious benefits to cycling instead of using buses all the time, the main benefit is it is very good exercise. In recent times bus travel, has become a bit of a chore because of the wearing of face masks, as I have said before, it is not healthy to wear them for long periods of time.

I wanted to photograph the Teddington Hands, which is close to a very busy roundabout. As I have cycled here before, it wasn't too difficult, so I photographed it, but decided to see how far I could cycle afterwards. I cycled to The Beckford Inn, dismounted and took some photos, I have never been in this pub before, I have seen interior photos and it looks really nice but I decided to carry on with my journey. I cycled towards Ashton-Under-Hill, where there is a pub called The Star Inn, which we visited back in 2014. It felt so amazing cycling into another county, I let out a cheer when I saw the road sign for Worcestershire! At this point though, it was becoming quite nerve racking, cycling along such a busy road, there were huge lorries driving passed me. When I reached The Ashton-Under-Hill turn-off, I decided to go back the way I came, it was getting late and I didn't want to cycle in the dark. I decided to start much earlier in the day, for my next journey.

The Teddington Hands

The Beckford Inn

A few days later, I decided to cycle to Conderton and Kemerton, which are on the border of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. As I have mentioned in my previous post, village pubs need our support during these difficult times. I cycled into Conderton, and dismounted to photograph The Yew Tree. I first came across this pub, when I was travelling on the 540 bus service to Evesham. It used to be a Wadworth pub, but it has recently changed hands. The pub looked quite picturesque with the sun on it's facade, I photographed it and decided to call in after I had cycled to Kemerton. I continued with my journey, and arrived in Kemerton to photograph The Crown Inn. It was closed, and at this point the sun was playing hide and seek, so it was difficult to take a reasonable photo. After that, I cycled back to The Yew Tree.

The Yew Tree, Conderton

I was quite impressed with the safety precautions the pub had implemented, A hand wash dispenser was easily accessible as you walk in the front entrance. I was pleased that there had been a sympathetic refurbishment of the interior of the pub, it is much as I remembered it. The ales on offer, were Doom Bar and HPA. I ordered a drink, and went to sit in the rather pleasant beer garden, I stayed there for quite a while.

Afterwards, I cycled back towards the Beckford Inn junction, but instead of going home, I noticed a road sign for Great Washbourne. I had previously looked on a map, and noticed that Little Washbourne was not far away, there is a pub there called Ye Olde Hobnails Inn. It closed for a while back in 2019, but it has thankfully reopened again. I cycled towards Great Washborne, along a country road It seemed to be taking quite a while to cycle to the Hobnails, I wasn't quite sure where it was. I ended up in Alderton, where there is a pub called The Gardeners Arms, we have been here before. I didn't stop to photograph it though.

I remembered how to get to the Hobnails and cycled there, the sky was looking a little ominous by now. I only managed to take one or two photos of the pub, because the road was so busy, they seem to have built a new wall next to the pub since my last visit. I would have liked to stopped for a drink, but at some point, I would like to go there with my partner, it seems like a nice place to have a meal. Maybe we will go there in the not too distant future.

Ye Olde Hobnails Inn, Little Washbourne

The new normal!

It has been an eventful month or so since my last post, quite a few ups and downs but I will not dwell on them. My partner and I have been to a few pubs since my last post, most of them are observing social distancing, and managing the new guidelines quite well. But there are a few establishments, who are making it unnecessarily complicated to enter their premises just to have a drink. You would think they would be more accommodating in these uncertain times.

The first pub we visited, was The Malborough Arms in Cirencester. We were very impressed with the precautions taken, by the staff, yet they have still maintained the laid back atmosphere of the pub. The Malborough has an outside space, but it it is an enclosed courtyard. We spent a considerable length of time here, and were relieved to be out and about doing what we love. A week or so later, we went to the Twelve Bells in Cirencester. They are fortunate to have a reasonably sized garden, with a temporary marquee in place. This is another pub that we were quite happy to linger in, we had a very nice lunch here.

The Malborough Arms, Cirencester

We took advantage of the Eat out to help out scheme, on my birthday in August at the Kings Arms in Prestbury Cheltenham. The pub closed in 2019 and for a while the future was uncertain, because the building needed maintenance. Fortunately Raymond Blanc added this place to his portfolio, and has certainly raised the standards. I have very fond memories of this pub, I used to live in this area as a child, and must have passed it countless times, whilst shopping with my Mother. It wasn't until my late twenties, that I started going there with family and friends, it was a much more down to earth boozer when I first visited, it even had a pool table. The pub had associations with the Jockey Fred Archer, there used to be a whimsical sign on the front entrance of the pub which mentioned him. Looking at recent photos of the exterior of the pub, I think the sign has been removed, maybe it is inside the premises? 

The Kings Arms, Prestbury April 2020

Whilst we were in the area, we also visited The Plough, which is in Mill Street, a hop skip and a jump from The Kings Arms. We have visited this pub on many occasions, it is a characterful pub, with a really large beer garden. The have had some really good beer and cider festivals in the past, hopefully it won't be too long before they can have them again.

The Plough Inn, Prestbury 2011

On Saturday, we cycled to The Mill Inn at Withington which is about 6 miles from Cheltenham. The journey to the pub by cycle, is certainly an endurance test, there is a very steep hill that we ended up walking on instead of cycling. But it was well worth the effort, because The Mill Inn is a delightful country pub, with an extensive beer garden and the River Coln running through it. We had a lovely lunch, and I got to taste my first fruit beer. According to my partner, Withington used to have a railway line and station. You can still see part of the railway bridge, further on up the road from the pub. It was dismantled because of the cost of maintaining it. We walked a little further from The Mill Inn (having left the bikes in the car park) and had a look at the former Kings Head, which has been closed for a few years, it is a shame to see it unoccupied and unloved. It does look like there might be some sort of building work going on there though.

The Mill Inn, Withington

Samual Smith's organic strawberry fruit beer

It was nice to see The Mill Inn so busy when we visited, village pubs are community assets and deserve our support to help them continue to survive, especially in these difficult times.

Tales of the unexpected!

On Saturday I went on one of my favourite bus journeys, to Swindon I have travelled there quite a few times, to photograph pubs. I will write a more lengthy post about pubs in Swindon at a later date, but for now I will concentrate on my unexpected excursions to other areas, surrounding Swindon. I did have a reason to travel to there, it was to purchase a surprise for my partner, I could have done all of this in my own locality, but then I would have missed out on this excursion.

Just before I clambered aboard the bus to Swindon, I put on the obligatory face mask, I took 3 masks one for the outward journey, another for entering any retail establishments, and one for the return journey. I'm glad I did this, because the journey is almost two hours long – far too long to be wearing a mask. I arrived in Swindon, and caught the number 7 service to Highworth, a place I have never been to. On the way to Highworth, I stopped off at a retail park to purchase the item I wanted. The whole experience of shopping and dining out in post lock down conditions, is a nightmare, but I will save my thoughts about cashless payments for another occasion.

After that ordeal, I walked back to the bus stop and considered going back to the bus station, but I decided to get my moneys worth with the Explorer ticket I had purchased. Some of my most enjoyable expeditions have happened this way – no planning what so ever, just allowing the bus to take me to wherever it is going. The first pubs on the bus route, were The Dockle Farmhouse (Wetherspoons) and The New Inn, which are next door to each other in Stratton St Margaret. It is unusual to see a pub next door to a Wetherspoons, which is still surviving, but both pubs cater for a different clientele. Wetherspoons is fine, but I try to patronise a wide variety of pubs.

One of the most frustrating aspects of travelling by bus, is the lack of time to stop and take photos. I was on a tight schedule, because the bus service from Swindon to Gloucestershire stops after a certain time. Quite often I have to decide which pubs I can stop and photograph, because of time restrictions. Continuing on the journey through Stratton St Margaret, I noticed a uniquely named pub called The Rat Trap which is unsurprisingly, an Arkells Pub. I really wanted to photograph it, but decided to continue to Highworth. I'm glad I did, because Highworth is a delightful little market town, the market was just finishing as I arrived. The centre of Highworth is compact, with characterful shops, pubs and hotels.

I attempted to photograph a pub called the King and Queen, a rather large pub in the High Street. I was thwarted in my attempt, because of some cars were obscuring the features of the pub. This is another obstacle which photographers have to deal with, rows of parked cars do not make an attractive composition. Another reason why it would not have been a good photo, is the sun was in the wrong position, it was one of those days when the weather was not going to cooperate. I had the same issues with most of the pubs in Highworth, but I did manage to photograph The Saracens Head Hotel, and I apologise for the quality of this photo. I wish I had brought my “proper” camera, rather than having to resort to the camera on my phone, but it would have been too cumbersome lugging it, and other items on and off the buses.

The Saracens Head Hotel, Highworth

Time was marching on, so I caught the bus back to Swindon, however I got off at Stratton St Margaret to photograph the Rat Trap. The weather continued to be uncooperative whilst I attempted to photograph the pub – at least the sun was in the right position! The pub is quite picturesque, but composing the photo was difficult, because of the yellow markings on the road outside the pub, they were a distraction. I crossed the road to photograph the rather interesting pub sign, it gives you an insight into the name of the pub – the landlady Fanny Stroud, is pressing two difficult customers into paying for their drinks. Apparently this is how the Speed the plough pub, earned it's nickname!

I would have liked to have gone into the pub, because of it's interesting history, and favourable reviews, but time was of the essence. Instead I travelled back to the bus station, and boarded the bus back to Gloucestershire.

The Rat Trap, Stratton St Margaret

I really enjoyed my day out to Highworth and Stratton St Margaret, but I found it a little hard going because I am not exactly fit at the moment. A long bus journey  like this, is not really recommended under the present circumstances, some of the buses were a little over specified with passengers. Wearing masks for this length of time is not healthy, even though I discarded the first mask – in a bin I might add, not carelessly dropped on the pavement! Lets hope that I have not brought back an unwanted souvenir, it has been reported that there is a high Covid-19 infection rate in Swindon at the moment!

https://www.arkells.com/pub/the-rat-trap-stratton-st-margaret.htm

Strange days

I have had an interesting but disturbing day today, with a little bit of unintentional black humour thrown in. I will try to mention a pub at some point!

My intention was to take a moderately long distance bus journey to Gloucester, I was waiting for the bus but it didn't arrive, so I walked to another bus stop. I suddenly heard a commotion coming from a short distance away, a man was shouting for someone to call the police. When I turned the corner, I saw three police officers restraining a man on the ground. This came as a bit of a shock to me, because I live in a sleepy village in Gloucestershire – not London or New York! With the death of George Floyd still fresh in my memory, I approached the scene and asked what was going on. Why did I do this? Because I saw someone being restrained against their will. The officers looked at me as if to say why was it any of my business. Then one of them asked if I knew the man, I said I didn't. The man being restrained, suddenly piped up with “I'm God” or something like that. It suddenly dawned on me, that maybe this man was being restrained for his own protection. He thanked me for intervening, then said one of the officers didn't believe he was God! I quickly left the scene after that!

I caught the bus, and arrived at my destination some time later. I decided to buy some sandwiches, so went into the local supermarket. On my was to the checkout, I saw some hand wash and face masks in a packet, I put them in my basket and paid for them. It wasn't until much later, that I discovered that the masks were made in China!! Oh the irony! I got some of life's trivia out of the way (i.e. paying bills), then I caught another bus to another destination. It was whilst on this bus, that I overheard a conversation which has made me think about the pandemic. The person in question, managed to get on the bus, without a face mask – they said they were exempt for some reason.

This of course, caught my attention. They were discussing the legality of the wearing of face masks, and other issues concerning the pandemic. I found myself inwardly agreeing with much of what they were saying. It may sound like a conspiracy theory, but I have always believed there is more to this pandemic then we have been told. I often wondered what the Government and other authorities would be doing, whilst the majority of us were imprisoned at home for several weeks. I think part of it is to do with preparing Britain to become a cashless society. Also to ensure that everything has to be done over the internet, from banking to filling in an application form to work in a charity shop – I kid you not, it happened to me today! What a bleak prospect.

During my travels by bus today, I noticed a new development at Gloucester Quays, there is a new Beefeater in town (whoop-de-do). It is not the fact that it is a Beefeater that surprised me, but where it is – it is on the former Baker's Quay site. This fine old building was partially destroyed in a fire a few years ago. They have renovated it to incorporate some aspects of the old building, I have a photo of it before It was fire damaged, I will post it when I have photographed it in it's present incarnation.

Baker's Quay, Gloucester 2015

Beefeater August 2020

Roaming around the Forest - Part One

One of my favourite excursions in Gloucestershire, is to The Forest Of Dean. The area covers 42 square miles and takes in parts of Herefordshire (notice that I am using imperial measurements instead of metric, I can be difficult like that!) One of the aspects I enjoy about the Forest is the natural beauty. There are several bus routes into many parts of the Forest, but some of them are infrequent and stop after a certain time. It has been several months since I have visited, and I believe some of the bus numbers have changed. A good place to begin an exploration into the Forest, is Newnham on Severn – well it is as good a place as any!

Newnham on Severn

Most of the buses to the Forest can be caught from Gloucester bus station, the bus to Newnham takes in Westbury-On-Severn, Blakeney and Lydney amongst other places. Just before you arrive in Newnham, is Broadoak and The White Hart Inn. The pub benefits from having some spectacular views of the River Severn. When I first visited this pub in 2014, it was a little on the shabby side and painted a rather unflattering mustard colour. The interior was dated, but quite cosy, an unusual fixture is a well inside the pub, and the times for the Severn Bore were listed on a notice board. I have never seen the Severn Bore, I hope to one day. The pub is now under new management and has undergone an extensive refurbishment, and has been painted grey.

The White Hart Inn, Broadoak Newnham On Severn 2014

The White Hart Inn 2017

The village of Newnham is just a short bus ride from Broadoak, it is a very distinctive place, and has lots of character. There are businesses and amenities in the village, but the bus service stops before 7pm, or at least it did when I attempted to stay at a B&B once. That was an adventure in itself, quite a quirky place with eclectic furnishings and bric-a-brac – which is typical of Newnham. The next pub on the itinerary is the Railway Inn, which can be found along Station Road which is just off the High Street. The Railway is a good old fashioned pub, with friendly talkative locals. They have a beer garden, which is useful in the current circumstances. They did have an Indian restaurant on the premises, I am unsure if this is the case at the moment. The pub did close for a while last year, but has thankfully reopened.

The Railway Inn, Newnham On Severn 2015

There is a rather good Micro pub in Newnham called The Black Pig Ale Bar, it is situated in the beer garden, at the back of The Ship Inn pub which has now closed, and is to be converted to a shop, coffee shop and cafe. A similar conversion was done on the George Hotel in Newnham, which is now a cafe and community hub. It is a sympathetic conversion of a former pub, if only other conversions could be the same. I wonder what they will do with the former Victoria Hotel, which has been closed for many years, work seems to have started on some sort of development.

The Ship Inn, Newnham On Severn 2015

The George Hotel, Newnham On Severn

Just like many areas in Britain, Newnham has lost a fair few of it's pubs, in fact The Forest of Dean seems to be a more vulnerable area than other parts of Gloucestershire. Maybe it is because some of them are not on a bus route, and are difficult to get to. Many of the Forest pubs have limited opening hours, some of them don't open till the evening. I am really concerned for the future of these pubs

Paradise Postponed

The lock down restrictions were eased even further on Saturday, when many of the pubs reopened in Britain. Not all of them reopened, there are some that have worrying not reopened – even though they have a beer garden. The pubs with gardens that have reopened, have strict guidelines – you have to book tables in advance, and time slots for when you can visit a pub ect. My partner and I, are currently self isolating because we are awaiting the results of a covid-19 test, so our return to any pub has been delayed. I'm not sure if it wise to visit pubs at the moment anyway, regardless of the results of a test. 

One of the places I am missing most at the moment, is Weston-super-Mare, it is one of my most favourite places in England. I went there a couple of times as a child with family and friends, but it wasn't until a return journey in 1995, that I fell in love with the place. I had recently watched a programme about Birnbeck Pier, and how it had fallen into disrepair – it closed in 1994. So I travelled by train to see the Pier and become re-acquainted with Weston, and so began a lifelong love affair! I love some of the quirky architecture, the shops and cafes, Sand Bay and Kewstoke – and the sea (when it is in of course, they don't call it Weston-super-Mud for nothing!)

I have been back to Weston many times since 1995, sometimes for a day trip, sometimes to stay. Back in the 1990's, I used to stay at youth hostels, but I could never sleep very well, so I began staying at that marvellous British institution – the good old B&B. The oddest experience I had, was a few years ago when I stayed at a guest house, that was unstaffed and had a card entry system. Which was all very well and good, until I woke in the early hours, to find the front door wide open! Unfortunately The B&B, is another institution that seems to be disappearing, Locking Road In Weston used to be crammed with B&B's, now there are very few of them.

Birnbeck Pier September 2019

A photo of the Pier, taken from an open top bus.

18th July 2020

I realise that this post had very little to do with pubs, but it is my blog and I reserve the right to go off on the odd tangent now and then! Just for the record, we are a covid-19 free household. Phew!

A time to reflect

We are now in the second week of the easing of the lock down measures in England. Many non essential shops have reopened, and the traffic levels have returned to normal levels – unfortunately. It has been announced over the weekend, that pubs will reopen on the 4^th July, or at least those with beer gardens, where social distancing can be observed. I will admit that the lock down was tough, especially when we were restricted to one hours exercise and essential shopping trips, but there were also positive things that happened and I would like to reflect on those.

My partner was able to tidy his back garden, and create a vegetable patch. The garden is looking great now with vegetable almost ready to eat, and flowers in full bloom. During the lock down I rediscovered small independent grocery stores, which were a handy source for toilet rolls, and plants. The whole experience of using these stores was one of the things I hope to continue to do. I ventured out late at night on a few occasions for short walks, it was an eerie, yet peaceful time walking in complete silence, with no traffic in the background.

I am a little saddened by the passing of a brief moment in history, when we were all “in this together.” We had the opportunity to change our lives for the better, but few of us took that opportunity.

Back Street Pubs

One type of pub, that is particularly at risk of being lost forever, is the back street pub especially after the pubs reopen. They used to be the heart of the community, but the days when there was a pub on every corner have long gone. I could compile a list of the back street pubs that are at risk of closing forever, some of them were hanging by a thread even before this crisis happened, I really fear for many of these hidden gems.

In this post I will begin by featuring a back street pub that was close to my heart.

The Cavern, New Street Cheltenham

The Cavern was one of the oldest pubs in Cheltenham, It was a coaching Inn when it originally opened as The Compasses in the 1820's. In more recent times it was a popular venue for live music, and was known as the place to go, to listen to Country and Western bands. It briefly went under the name of Nostalgia in the 1990's, but reverted back to The Cavern. My Mother was a a Country and Western music fan, and often attended various gigs that were held there, I would sometimes accompany her, but it wasn't my type of music. The proceedings were often hosted by Dancing Ken, a local celebrity who raised money for charity. He was also a member of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party, so Screaming Lord Sutch would make the odd appearance!
The Cavern closed for good in April 2010, one of the reasons why the pub closed, was it became a victim of the smoking ban. The pub lay empty for a number of years, but work began to convert it into flats in 2016. There was a painted sign advertising Cheltenham Ales on the side of the building, but that seems to have been plastered over. The building is now known as Compasses House – a reference to the original name of the pub.

The Cavern in 1999

You can't really tell because of the quality of this photo, 

but there is a young sapling planted next to the bench 

to the left of the photo. Keep an eye on that sapling.

The Cavern in 2011

The Cheltenham Ales sign

The Cavern in 2016

Compasses House 2020

Remember the sapling by the bench? 

It is now a splendid Silver birch.

The Sherborne Arms, Sherborne Street Cheltenham

I only visited this pub on a few occasions, it was a fairly down to earth back street boozer. I distinctly remember my last visit, because I was ill with food poisoning the next day. It was either the food or the beer! In 2011, the pub was notable for employing the youngest landlady in Cheltenham – she was only 21. Later in 2011, the pub closed for good. It remained empty until 2014 when work began to convert it into a flats, but the skittle alley was left standing. When I was photographing the pub a week ago, I noticed that houses are now being built on the site of the skittle alley. All I can say is whatever outside space they have, must be minuscule!

The Sherborne Arms in 2011

A view of the skittle Alley and the back of the pub, in 2014

The Sherborne Arms in 2014

33 Sherborne Street 2015

New builds on the former skittle Alley in 2020

21st June 2020

There is a backstreet pub that I would like to mention, which I am concerned about. But I will wait until July when the pubs reopen, before I make any further comment. 

A short diatribe about Clutter!

One of the best purchases I have ever made, was my bicycle in 2018. To be honest I haven't used it as much as I should have, until the lock down was slightly adjusted to include unlimited exercise. I can't tell you how much I am appreciating this extra time that we have been given.

Today I have been out on my bike, with my “proper camera” for the first time this year. The main purpose was to photograph an estate pub, but the sun was in the wrong position, so I abandoned that plan. I did however, manage to photograph The Midland Hotel, which is a pub near Cheltenham Spa railway station. I have photographed this pub, many times before, but last year the pub's exterior, was given a facelift which includes a spectacular mural. You can find all kinds of murals around Cheltenham and Gloucester, they really enhance the surroundings.

The Midland is slightly difficult to photograph, because it is on a slant. I have always thought that the design of this pub, with it's set of steps in front, looks out of place in Cheltenham. It is the kind of architectural feature you would expect to find in somewhere like Bristol. I've noticed that they have installed an ugly telegraph pole next to an equally unattractive street lamp by the pub. Which brings me on to an annoyance often associated with pub photography and photography in general – street furniture, or clutter in other words.

“Picture” the scene, the weather is great, you've travelled quite a distance to photograph a subject, and you get in position. You spend a little while trying to get the best composition (or in my case ages, standing like a lemon until the conditions are right!) You take what you believe are a great set of photographs, you travel home and download the images from your camera. You are poised ready to start editing the photos, when you notice the following items – huge refuge bins or litter bins, lamp posts, telegraph poles with masses of cables – in one case electricity pylons (I know they are not street furniture, but they are still intrusive), and street signs Many a glorious composition has been ruined with these unsightly additions. Whilst it is true that I could always photograph the subject from a different position, the original one is more than often a better composition.

After I had finished photographing the Midland, I cycled along the Honeybourne cycle path which I haven't used in years, so all in all it was an enjoyable few hours in the sunshine.

The Midland Hotel in 2011

The Midland Hotel, May 2020

A close up of the mural

Note the clever way, in which 

the artist has incorporated

the vent on the side of the building, 

into the mural. 

His signature is also incorporated.

There is some information about the mural, in the following link.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-50331739

The Midland Hotel in 2017

The Midland Hotel May 2020

I did not want to publish this photo because of the recent addition of the telegraph pole, 

but it gives you an example of my issues with unsightly street furniture.