The Trotter Inn, Crickham

Isolated, very cosy & eccentric pub in the middle of nowhere. Excellent Jukebox (John Lee Hooker, Doors, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Guns n Roses), big open fire, loads of stuff on the walls (old hunting traps, paintings, stuffed birds etc). They serve a couple types of Butcombe, which is decent. They probably do local cider, not my thing though so can't say for sure.

The bar staff are always really cool, they'll always wait for you to finish your game of pool before closing (been drinking there on/off for 7 years, only ever been told to get out once, by some new guy who we never saw again). Pool table, fruit machine, jukebox & dartboard are in a seperate room which is pretty cool, you can be a loud drunken pool player with your mates without offending the regulars too much - although everyone is really friendly anyway, interesting characters with interesting stories. Demolition man is a legend! They have a ridgeback dog called Clyde who's friendly but not soppy.

There's a large beer garden with swings & stuff for kids. from the car park you can see for miles, when it's on you can see the glastonbury festival glowing in the distance.

Never encountered racism there like the first reviewer mentioned, I go there with my Syrian-American mate and nobody seems to care. It is very dark inside though, but that just adds to the cosy feel.

So yeah, if you a decent ale & a game of pool in a cosy, unpretentious pub that has a lot of character, The Trotter is a safe bet.

4 Dec 2008 15:31

The Strawberry Special, Draycott

Good atmosphere, cosy feel, they serve butcombe, pride etc so all good in that department, friendly clientele & bar staff, excellent selection of bar snacks, landlord sometimes does trays of roast potatoes and leaves them on the bar for people to help themselves to. Usually stays open as long as you want to stay, all in all a decent pub, certainly better than the red lion

28 Sep 2008 15:37