GLOUCESTER.

Beers available Arkells 2B; Arkells Kingsdown; Fullers London Pride; Others. Extensive menu but not available evenings when visited. Breakfast interesting especially the re-fried potatoes served with the bacon and eggs - is this a local specialty? Reasonably priced accommodation in refurbished hotel, £38 per night for an en-suite room. Hotel is situated close to the waterways museum and the city docks and is also handy for the city centre. Quiet for a Saturday evening when visited though it could have become busier later. Public rooms consist of a lounge plus bar - the latter adorned with many pictures of horses (possibly due to the landlords obvious interest in racing). Friendly and obliging staff especially in assisting with details of Gloucester's first Real Ale Festival - held nearby in a marquee. The hotels parking facilities are good with its own barrier controlled car park adjacent. Accommodation here.

Beers available were: Hall and Woodhouse Tanglefoot; Wadworths 6X; Donnington BB; Hook Norton Best Bitter; Smiles Exhibition and others. Varied selection of food in a section of pub sandwiched between entrance to car park and skittle alley (luckily no-one had hired the lanes that night!) Friendly staff though food average and service a little slow. Comfortable accommodation in hotel with own separate entrance. Fairly spacious en-suite rooms. This Wadworths pub is situated on a main road 3/4 mile south of Gloucester City Centre and is easily accessible. A good choice of real ales with at least 6 beers on at any one time. Private car parking is extremely limited although there is plenty of room on the main road outside. Friendly locals keen to recommend other good real ale pubs in the locality. The pub has a large 'L' shaped lounge with piped music restricted to the bar area although the choice of beers means that after pint number 4 you tend not to notice it.

A minimum of six cask ales ALWAYS available accompanied by the award winning Black Rat cask cider. They specialize in providing a wide variety of beers from small regional brewers as well as some better-known National brand leaders. They also hold a beer festival on the last week of every month, when one of their local small independent brewers is chosen and up to six of their ales sold. Sensibly priced quality bar food is also available lunchtimes and evenings. This is England’s Oldest established Galleried Inn, dating from 1455 this makes it Gloucester’s second oldest building - second only to the Cathedral. The New Inn is an old black and white building with internal courtyard and cafe style seating out front. CAMRA members can now get a 25% discount on room rates at weekends for 2004.

Other Pubs to try in Gloucester.