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