Bath time - complete and unabridged version

I finally made it to Bath last Friday, having been thwarted three weeks previously by named storm Eunice. It was almost four decades since I was last in the city, which is obviously far too long, and despite the heavy rain that greeted my arrival, it was good to be back and renew my acquaintance with this lovely old spa town.

I journeyed by rail, from Tonbridge, via Charing Cross and Paddington. Arriving at the latter and admiring Brunel’s magnificent glass-roofed train-shed, was a reminder that the station was another place I hadn’t visited for many years either. My Advanced Ticket stipulated travel on the 10.32, but as I stood eyeing up the departure board, flat white in hand, it became evident that this service would not be leaving on time. 

Fortunately, the delay which was due to “operational difficulties,” was only 10 minutes, and as soon as the platform was announced, I joined the scrum rushing to secure a seat on the train. I had a seat reservation, although it was unclear from both the ticket, or the ridiculous pictogram, just below the luggage rack, whether seat 76 was a window or an aisle one. I decided it was the former and settled down to enjoy the journey 

Reading was soon reached, as was Swindon, and as the train headed towards the next stop (Chippenham), I noticed that the rain, that had been forecast, had indeed arrived. It had been sunny when I’d left home, a couple of hours earlier, but rain it was and as we headed further west, I realised it was probably in for the day. 

The train arrived at Bath, only five minutes behind schedule, and after
donning my hat, and zipping up me coat, I headed off, down into the city, heading for my first port of call. I was due to meet up with a select few members of the Beer & Pub Forum, and the pub I was heading for was actually the second one on the itinerary. The early birds of the group  started off at the Crystal Palace, one of several Fuller’s pubs in the city, but the timings were such that I would join the others at the Coeur de Lion.

This, little gem, is tucked-away down a narrow side street, close to the abbey, and is the only pub in Bath that I remember from previous visits to the city. The Coeur was a Devenish house back then – a lone outpost for this regional brewery, based in Weymouth. Unfortunately, the company got into financial difficulties in the mid 1980’s and after a succession of owners, closed 10 years later. Today, the pub is owned by Abbey Ales, a local brewery based in Bath, and a local success story, as today the company owns four pubs in the city, including a couple of real classics.

I found the Coeur without too much trouble, but after stepping inside from the rain, and looking around, I could see no sign of the people I was supposed to be meeting up with.  I was conscious of the fact that I didn’t have anyone’s phone number – slightly surprising as I thought I had Martin’s. I did have the Tapatalk app on my phone, as this is an application that seems to be favoured by the Beer & Pub’s Forum. I’d tried connecting with the app whilst on the train but needed a password to access my account. The password, of course, was in a book, back home, which just goes to prove that such things really are the bane of modern life.

 

Returning to the Coeur de Lion, I noticed a sign in the corner that pointed to an upstairs room, so after climbing the steep and rather narrow stairs, I was relieved to discover Martin, Frome Jon and Oxford Nick sat around a small corner table, tucked away in the corner. There was no bar upstairs, so Martin very kindly nipped back down to get me a swift half of Bath Ales Best Bitter. Shortly after, he had to repeat the exercise for Mick aka “Citra,” who arrived about 5 minutes later. It was a shame in some respects that the Coeur had been so crowded, as I was unable to take any interior photos, and for my part, it would have been good to stay for another; this visit to Bath being the first time, I’d tried Abbey Ales. The food also looked good, although straight after arriving in the city, was a little early to be tucking into a full-blown meal – more about that later!

However, with all five members of the party now assembled, it was time to move on, and the pub we were heading to was an absolute corker. First licensed in 1760, the Star Inn retains many of its original features, including 18^th Century bar fittings and wooden benches. There are four small rooms, with bench seating around the walls, wood panelling and open fires. The smallest room has a single bench, usually occupied by the pub's older customers

The Star remains a classic example of a multi-roomed English public house, that is virtually untouched by time. The pub is featured on CAMRA’s National Inventory of historic pub interiors, and is famous for its Draught Bass, served direct from the cask, and poured from a jug. As we walked in and made our way to the room at the far left, the pub certainly didn’t disappoint. 

Given the Star’s reputation for Bass, it seemed rude not to give it a try, and ordering by the jug, seemed the way to go. The option was either three- or four-pint servings, so three of us opted for a three pinta. I remain unconvinced that drawing the beer off into a jug, and then poring it into the customer’s glass, makes any difference at all, but as Martin remarked, it is a nice piece of theatre.  In over 40 years of drinking, I can only think of one other pub that used this practice, and that was the Ram's Head (Owd Tupps) at Denshaw; a 450-year-old inn, high on the moors above Oldham and Rochdale.

Back in the 1970's, the pub stocked Younger's XXPS Scotch Bitter, direct from casks kept behind the bar. In order to achieve the thick creamy head beloved by northern drinkers, the bar staff would draw some off some beer first into a large enamel jug, and then pour it from a height of around 10"-12" into the customer's glass. XXPS has long since been discontinued, and looking at the Ram’s Head website, the pub is now a rather upmarket “gastro-pub.” The cask beers today are now served by traditional hand-pump, rather than the time-honoured way that is still retained by the Star.

Two three-pint jugs of Bass, between five people, worked out at just over two pints each. Other beers were available, including Bell Ringer & White Friar from Abbey Ales, Dark Star Hophead, and Wye Valley Butty Bach. Most of us stuck with the Bass, although Mick gave the Butty Bach a try. I was getting peckish by this time, and in need of something to soak up the beers, I grabbed a cheese and onion bap, just to keep me going, little thinking that would be the only solid food (apart from a packet of Pipers Crisps) to pass my lips.

It was time to move on, but I was really glad we called in at the Star, to enjoy and appreciate a bit of our fast-vanishing pub heritage, as well as the chance of crossing another National Inventory pub off the list. It wasn’t far to the next pub, and as an added bonus, the rain had eased off as well. The Bell which, although different to the Star, still proved to be a real cracker. I thought I had carried out my research for the Bath trip quite thoroughly, but it wasn’t until just now, when I logged on to the pubs’ website, that I realised this was the famous music pub, purchased in 2013 by around 500 of its customers, fans and workers, and run as a cooperative. 

It is also the pub with the black & white photo of some of these owners, leaning out the windows, along with a group of musicians posing with their instruments, on top of the flat roof extension, to the left of the main building. Free live music sessions are held at the Bell, three or four times a week, and because of this, the pub gets endorsements from no lesser luminaries than Robert Plant and Peter Gabriel.I really must pay better attention next time, as even more of a lapse in research was the presence of a pizzeria in the garden, offering freshly made pizza. NOBODY mentioned this, even though I am sure the subject of food had been raised. Paul was hungry, and a nice helping of freshly made, sourdough pizza, at that stage of proceedings, would have been gratefully appreciated!

The beer offering WAS much more obvious, and with the Bell offering seven different cask ales, no-one was likely to be disappointed. I particularly enjoyed a fine pint of Nine Lives Porter from Parkway Brewing Co. The internal layout of the Bell consists of a lengthy, single bar at the front, with a raised area, which acts as the stage, at one end. There is also a small Back Bar, used mainly for practice and open-mike, music sessions.

We stayed in the Bell until just after 4pm, as that was the time the next
pub opened. Just a short walk away, the Brewed Boy is a crafty paradise, serving up to 10 craft beers on Key keg, plus a large assortment of bottled and canned beers. The place looked like it might have been a shop in a previous life, and with both space and seating at a premium, we were lucky to get a seat and a table.

It was pleasant and bright inside and as Frome Jon knew the owner/proprietor, that helped things along. I had a rather nice Milk Chocolate Stout, from Imaginary Friends – who thinks up the names for these breweries? A few of us then helped Martin finish a can of Blueberry Weisse from Pastore – a mixed-fermentation sour and wild brewery based in his former home village of Waterbeach. This quite challenging beer is a Berliner Weiss style of beer, and if you have ever tasted one of those you will know how sour they are!

We headed back into the city centre after, I was looking for a pub that served food, although some of the others were considering the Old Green Tree. Again, I hadn’t done my homework properly, as if I had, I’d have know the latter was another CAMRA National Inventory pub. I missed out there, and so did my companions, so apologies to all for allowing my stomach to dictate the choice of pub.

We ended up at the Raven, a pub recommended by Mrs PBT’s niece. It was a nice place, but rather crowded. It was Friday evening though, and given the large student population of Bath, not entirely surprising. We managed to bag a table, but with a 20-minute wait for food I began to doubt I’d have time to eat a meal, and then find my way back to station. It wasn’t quite the ending I had in mind, but there is a strange relationship between beer and time whereby the later seems to speed up, as consumption of the former increases.

Although I had a rough idea of the direction to head in, I wasn’t 100% sure of the way. I was booked on a train with a specific departure time, so I didn’t want to miss it, so reluctantly I said a hurried farewell to my companions and headed off in the general direction of the station. It was dark outside, which made it difficult to read the map, and I had to stop and ask a few people, along the way. I dived into a Sainsbury’s Local and picked up their £3.50 Meal Deal, which I just had time to eat on the platform, before the London train pulled in.

I bumped into Martin briefly, at the station. He was heading in the opposite direction, back to his overnight accommodation in Bristol, no doubt in readiness for some more GBG ticking the following day. It has been good to catch up with him again, and also to meet the “southern contingent” of the Beer & Pubs Forum. It had been good too, renewing my acquaintance with Bath after a gap of nearly 40 years. I won’t leave it so long next time!