21/10/18 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Tewkesbury

Good Beer Guide Pubs - #327-330
Number of Pubs Visited - 4

Surprisingly, Tewkesbury has five entries in the Good Beer Guide.   One of them is the British Legion and not fancying carrying the Bible along with me as my magic entrance ticket, I may have room to add a couple of bonus non-entry pub visits.

The first potential bonus was the oldest pub in Gloucestershire - Ye Olde Black Bear.  700 year old boozer, now closed down and looking quite sad.   Might have had something to do with the final 1 star trip advisor review.

Here's more photos than are strictly necessary.

Unusual Spelling of Gloucester

Ye Olde

Old Dead Pub.

Worry not, the White Bear is just down the way.   But what do you call a road between the bears?

Nice Sign

The White Swan, Bredon Road, Salopian Oracle

CAMRA Winner - The White Bear

Every town has a pub like this... you know the type, the one that's maybe a bit too rambunctious for the time of day.   It's 5pm on a Sunday and there are some very drunk people in here.   Not least the woman who sounded and dressed like Kerry from This Country and demanded to know if I was reading a novel on my phone.

I'd only just sat down to peruse the wares.

We cannot blame the beer for this level of drunkenness - the really drunk ones are on the Cider - hand written bar clips showing the dry or medium varieties.

Judging by my Salopian Oracle, I can see why the locals were on the Cider.

Its not meant to look like that.

As a stranger, I tried to gently ask if it was OK.  The barmaid consulted Ron.  Ron said it was fine.  Ron did not sound like the type of man to argue with.

A two man band start up and as good as they were, it was not really suitable for reading the Sunday Times.   Or novels on phones.

I move on.

The Tudor House Hotel, High Street, Hooky

A veteran of previous Good Beer Guides but lost its place in 2019.   There's a reason for this.  The beer was dreadful and if possible, even more murky than the White Bear.

Two down, Nil Points for Tewkesbury.

C16th, Ghosts, All that kind of stuff

More suitable for reading the ST

The Nottingham Arms, High Street, Butty Bach

More Tradition - C14th

Thankfully, in life, there are some things you can rely on.  Wye Valley is one of those things.   A perfect pint of Butty Bach taken in this tardis like pub that has more length than height.   I avoid head banging on the beams but when a Wagbo lookalike with an electric guitar starts playing over the backing tracks to Toto's Africa, I probably should have started.

You can hear the entertainment all the way down the High Street.

Berkeley Arms, Church Street

Pub Tickers Curse.  The guide says its open 10-11 every day.  Google says its open now.

It's in darkness.

To Tick or Not To Tick?

I was rather looking forward to my Wadworths too.

The bent in windows of the British Legion are peered through.   Two punters stare back.  I decide to try the Bell, superbly located opposite the abbey along a street of black and white buildings.

BL Left - Bell Ahead

The Bell, Church Street, North Cotswold Brewery Mild

Handsome

Not in the guide, but I noticed it immediately as I drove into town from my walk.   It looked well worth checking out.  What did I find?  Apart from the Green King IPA, there was an unusual mild.

Trusting the brewery, I gave it a try, whilst listening to a couple playing the highest scoring game of crib of all time.

I pined to join in the cries of 15-2, 15-4.

The Hop Pole Hotel, High Street, Hook Norton Flagship

A Wetherspoons Under Scaffolding

Well it's not been the greatest of ticking nights.   I may as well end it in a JDW.

In recent months, I have visited Burton, Derby and Coventry on similar adventures and found something joyful in each.  Tewkesbury has been a mixture of permanently closed, unexpectedly closed, two bad pints and pub experiences that don't really match this beautiful, ancient town.

JDW did what JDW does.   Cheap beer (£2.18).  Good quality.  More one armed bandits than customers.

In an unexpected twist, the high tables were spotlessly clean.

A long walk back to the Premier Inn.