BATH
trail 2 - lower trail
Bath is a large city in Somerset with a population of about 89,000 augmented by over a million staying visitors a year and a further 3 million day visitors. These tourists are attracted by the historical and cultural activities in Bath.
The Romans built baths and a temple here and Bath Abbey was founded in the 1600s. Bath’s real rise to prominence was in the Georgian era when the spa waters were believed to help cure disease. During this time the Georgian city was built and the population increased, and Beau Nash organised the social life for the city. Jane Austen famously lived here in the early 1800s.
Among the sites to see are The Assembly Rooms, The Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey and The Roman Baths. Bath is also a centre for retail therapy should it be required. There are also two open top bus tours and the Bizarre Bath walk is good evening’s entertainment.
Bath has a wide variety of pubs catering for all tastes ranging from Cocktail bars to old corner beer pubs; four storey monsters to four tiny rooms; touristy places to locals only (preferably); young and old.
25 pubs split into two rings of 13/12 and each trail will start from the Pulteney Bridge - the one with shops on it - that crosses the river Avon
BATH - lower ring (BLUE ICONS)
Bath lower ring (Blue icons)
From Pulteney Bridge walk directly away from the bridge towards the city centre. Turn left at the top and then go quickly right up a lane called Northumberland Place and on the right is Coeur de Lion. Continue up the lane to Union St and turn left walking down and then right at the crossroads. Just along here is The West Gate. Continue along West Gate and at the end follow the road round to the right and walk up and past the Theatre Royal on the opposite side. On the corner opposite is Gasgoyne Place and round the corner is The Canon.
Walk back to the corner again and diagonally opposite is the Theatre Royal and down the lane beside it is Garrick’s Head. Continue down this lane and turn right and there is The Griffin Inn on the next corner. Continue up Monmouth St and turn left and walk down to the next corner then turn right and The Bath Brew House is across the road a few steps on. Just on from here is The King of Wessex and a bit further on at the opposite corner is The Trinity. Continue down James St West and after crossing Avon St, just beyond the corner, there is the beer garden for The Cork.
Exit by the garden and continue down James St West and turn up the second on the left (first left takes you back to The Cork front entrance) and swing quickly right alongside of Hobgoblin (was closed) on Lower Borough Walls. Walk along to The Lamb and Lion. Continue along and follow the road round to the left. Turn right down the lane at the side of Marks and Spencer walking down to the end and turning left through an arch into Abbey Green where The Crystal Palace (not visited) is.
Go down the lane in the far-right hand corner (to the right) of Abbey Green and at the end of it is The Huntsman. Along from the front of The Huntsman is the final stop at Ale House.
The Ale House has the gardens and river in front of it so by going along to the left you can reach Pulteney Bridge.
Coeur de Lion
Coeur de Lion (Abbey Ales) is a single roomed pub with 5 tables and claims to be the smallest in Bath although there is also some seating outside and an upstairs room for food. The attractive servery is against the far wall. It has bench seating with cushions and small red stools, with red carpet and furnishings. The window overlooking the lane is Victorian stained glass. Lunch time meals and family friendly.
Good Beer Guide 2021
Have a pint here
Real ale: Gold Hill (Keystone); Bellringer; Bath Best; White Father (all Abbey Ales)
Lager: Leffe; Prevha; Budweissser
Cider: Thatcher’s Gold
The West Gate
The West Gate has a relatively small traditional looking frontage but inside it opens up and is a gastro pub. At the front of the room there is a little seating and then two steps to the main body of the pub and the stairs to upstairs. Once in the main body the ceiling is low while the long wooden servery is on the far-right wall with seating opposite it. The room then opens out as it turns to the left, where an atrium lets in light from way above, and there are two sizable rooms for drinking/dining in. The flooring shifts from wooden to carpet (well-worn in places) and the furniture becomes more cushioned.
Have a pint
Real ale: Amplified; Trooper; Dirty Rucker; Liquid Sunshine
Bitter: Camden
Lager: Amstel; Becks;San Miguel; Stella; 13 Hop; Hoegarden Guinness
Pub Jukebox:
Alcohol themed music to listen to while you browse.
tonight the bottle let me down - Elvis Costello
The Canon
The Canon is spread over two floors. It has moved on from previous life as an Irish pub though it is still aimed at youth and sports fans in the evening and food and families earlier. There is also a good range of ales and ciders. Downstairs is one large room with the large servery on the back wall with an ale menu on wall to match with pumps. The tables are dining hight with small armchairs but not crowded together. There are some tall tables nearer the bar where the floor is tiled. Rather than wood.
Have a pint here
Real ale: Hobgoblin; Werrd; NZ Pale (both Electric Bear); Oz Bomb ; Boomtown Brown (both Arbor;)
Keg: Punk; Mosaic (Adnams); Blue Moon
Lager: Carling; Coors; Stella; Estrella; Peroni
Cider: Real - Bee Sting; Pear and Raspberry; Lemon and Lime (Lilley); Fruit Bat; Golden Pheasant
Thatcher’s Gold Guinness
Garrick’s Head
Garrick’s Head has been the pub beside the theatre for 200 years. It was originally Beau Nash’s house. There two outside seating areas are opposite the pub and directly outside of the pub. When entering the left side is a restaurant and the right is the lounge bar. The semi-circular servery is placed in the centre wall so the restaurant can have a small servery as well. The bar part has wooden floor and wooden tables around but not overcrowding the room. Interestingly 6 silver(?) slavers on the wall beside the fireplace. Why?
Have a pint here
CAMRA Good Beer Guide
Real ale: Inspiration; Intrigue (both Plains); Palmers 200; Exmoor Ale
Lager: Birra Moretti; Amstel;
Cider: Golden Pheasant; Thatcher’s Gold Alhambra Milk Stout
The Griffin Inn
The Griffin Inn has a traditional look to it but inside it has been tastefully updated while still keeping a traditional feel. The front room has seating either side of the door, including round table and armchairs, and the curved servery on the back left wall. the tasteful updating consists of light blue walls, dark blue woodwork, red chairs, metal stools (hate them) and beer coming from taps on the wall. Through from this room, and up a few steps, is a similar sized room with the emphasis on food.
Have a pint here
Real ale: Landlord; Butcomble Hakka; Ramsbury Gold;
Lager: Veltins; Becks; Summer cascade
Cider: Illford; Midford Milk Stout
PUB QUIZ
What flower is thought to be named after the Duke of Cumberland following his victory at Culloden?
Answer at foot of page
The Bath Brew House ★
Bath Beer House is also the James St Brewery microbrewery in the centre of the city. Enter by the door to the pub or up the alleyway to the large beer garden. Once inside the doorway there is seating either side of the door although the large space with banquette seating to the left is reduced due to the storage of ingredients for making beer. The actual brewing can be viewed on the wall opposite the window through windows. The seating to the right is a mixture of sofas and chairs. The tables are a mixture of round, hexagonal, rectangular, cases and boxes. The servery starts half way into the room on the left wall with seating opposite. The room continues with a large Smokehouse dining area to the left-hand side and entrance to the big beer garden on the right. The whole feel is to be one of rustic shabby chic with wooden, floor, servery, gantry, parts of ceilings and up to dado line after which it is stripped back brickwork – because it is such a large open space it all seems to work without being overpowering.
Stay for a few but avoid the Jane Austen beer flavoured with Earl Grey tea – sorry guys.
CAMRA Good Beer Guide including 2023, 2024
Real ale: Jane Austin; Emperor; Gladiator; Lupus; Hedgehog’s Snout; 12 Apostles (Bristol Beer Factory); Cascade (Gloucester); Wiper & True pale ale
Lager: Amstel; Birra Moretti;
Cider: Symond’s Founders; Thatcher’s Gold Ostarious Dark Porter
The King of Wessex
The King of Wessex is the local Wetherspoons. It is a large long room with the servery to the front left. Unusually it has a queue system using barriers for food and drink, those wishing only drink are relegated to the left-hand side of servery just beyond a pillar. Not a very inspiring ‘Spoons with the tables dominating the room. There is a slightly raised are at the far end but it is unusually samey
Have a half pint
Real ale: Ghost Ship; Ruddles; Abbot; Doom Bar; New Realm Pale ale
The Trinity Inn
The Trinity has some seating outside on the pavement. Entry takes you to a small room with the servery on the right and some tables on the left. beyond this area are two other spaces. On the left, opposite the entrance and up a few steps is a room with tall tables along the wall and a pool tables. The right-hand space, opposite the servery, has a large mantelpiece on the far wall with bookcases either side. This is a carpeted area with five tables which is set up to look like a sitting room. Karaoke, live music and BT & Sky sports . The pub has dark wood flooring, white walls and dark red ceiling.
news
Have a pint here
Real ale: Tribute (St Austell); Atlantic (Sharps)
Lager: Carling; Stella
Cider: Natch; Thatcher’s Gold Guinness
The Cork
The Cork, Bath - front
The Cork, Bath - downstairs rear garden
The Cork, Bath
The Cork has a street level bar and then down stairs another bar and outside patio area at a lower street level. The top bar is wood dominated with a variety of seating and tables including school desk tables and sixties styles. Seating is either side of door and middle while the servery is to the back on the left-hand side. Off of the lower bar are a conservatory and the outside garden. Pub has two party pods which come with own karaoke system
Have a pint here
Real ale: Up Pompeii (Bath Brew House); Pendulum (Castle Combe ); XT17 (XT brewing ); Forerunner (Bristol Beer Factory )
keg: Shaft Porter(King St Brewery ); Lucky Jack
Lager: Birra Moretti; Amstel; Heineken; Erdinger
Cider: Symond’s Founder; Lilley’s Apple and Pear
The Lamb and Lion
The Lamb and Lion is a food and sports bar. Servery is opposite entrance and goes to the left and curves round to right to give a lot of room in it. Some seating to the right but the large area is to the left with a mixture of high and low table. Large garden round to the right.
Have a half pint
Real ale: London pride; Lancaster Bomber; Butcombe Bitter;
Bombardier Burning Gold (3 off!)
Bitter: Punk; John Smith; Blue Moon
Lager: Peroni; Stell; Carling; Carlsberg; Amstel
Cider: Thatcher’s Gold; Strongbow dark fruit; Lilley’s Strawberry Guinness
PLACES TO VISIT WITH PUBTRAILS
The towns and villages highlighted on this web site have a wide variety of pubs and beers in them. All of the places are great to visit, whether for a day or longer, and most have tourist attractions for all of the family.
There is a large variety of pubs throughout the different towns shown below. Some you may wish never to visit again but even discovering these can be interesting. There are pubs that you would not take your wife into. While some you could not take your girlfriend into. A few you would not take either into. However, most of the pubs are very pleasant.
HOME MAP of places visited
Alnwick Ambleside Anstruther Bakewell Bamburgh Barnard Castle Bath Berwick upon Tweed Birnam & Dunkeld Bourton on the Water Bowness on Windermere Bridge of Allan Chester Chichester Dunblane Dunoon Edinburgh Ely Fort William Glasgow Gourock Greenock Helensburgh Inverness Kelso Keswick Knaresbourgh Largs Linlithgow Lyme Regis Melrose Montrose Newton Stewart North Berwick Norwich Oban Pebbles Penzance Portree Pitlochry Quorn Richmond Rothesay St Andrews Seahouses Seend Shrewsbury Skipton Stirling Stratford-upon-Avon Stockton Heath Whitby Windemere Whitstable York
The Huntsman ★
The Huntsman is a Fullers pub with outside seating either side of door overlooking pedestrian area. Inside there is a small snug like room to the left with seating all around. There is some window at high bench to right. Further the pub opens out a bit and the servery is on the right hand side with seating around opposite servery and at far wall. Light brown servery with blue tiles below. Dark blue wood to dado and dark green paint above. Restaurant upstairs.
Family and dog friendly - Dogs welcome if owner on lead
Good Beer Guide 2023, 2024
Have a pint here
Real ale: HSB; Oliver’s island; London Pride; Summer ale (Fuller’s); Honey Dew
Bitter: London Pride
Lager: Frontier; Peroni; Veltins
Cider: Cornish Orchard; Thatcher’s Gold
The Ale House
The Ale House is a corner pub with the door on one of the corners. It looks a small one roomed pub with a little wear and tear on the wood work and well worm wooden floor with a comfortable feel to it. The purple painted servery and gantry are to the right and there is a large mirror above fireplace on the not very far wall. There is dark wood to dado and white above with line drawings of Bath. Downstairs is another bar where magic tricks can be seen.at the Sleight Cellar Bar open Thurs, Fri & Sat evenings
Has a regionally important historic interior,
Have a pint
Real ale: Atlantic; Gem (Bath Ales); London Pride
Bitter: John Smith
Lager: Organic Heles; Amstel; Fosters
Cider: Stowford press; Guinness
“Dear alcohol, We had a deal. You would make me interesting and a good dancer. Well I have seen the video! We need to talk.”
— Seaside poster
ANSWER: Sweet William