Heading south-westward to Devon, we made a brief lunchtime stop in the Wiltshire town of Warminster.
So, what have I learnt about the place?
Warminster is home to around 17,000 folks.
The Town Park and Soft Play Centre get kept off the top spots on Trip Advisor's attractions list by nearby Longleat house and safari park.
And Warminster has a spectacular history of UFO sightings.
Pub-wise, it has two entries in the 2021 Good Beer Guide.
We set off for the first and found it well and truly closed for business. Which I would have been well aware of, had I actually done my research beforehand.
Shame... the Organ looked to be a great pub, handy for downing a few pints whilst your shoes were repaired by Nick next door.
A very trustworthy name for any craftsmen, if I say so myself.
The Organ was a historic pub which was closed for 93 years until re-opening in 2006. It managed 14 more years service before the last pints (for now...) were pulled in December 2020.
So, having failed at the first hurdle, we ended up in Wetherspoon's.
We 'end up' in Wetherspoon's rather a lot.
A very trustworthy name for any craftsmen, if I say so myself.
The Organ was a historic pub which was closed for 93 years until re-opening in 2006. It managed 14 more years service before the last pints (for now...) were pulled in December 2020.
So, having failed at the first hurdle, we ended up in Wetherspoon's.
We 'end up' in Wetherspoon's rather a lot.
Dating back to 1732, this was once one of a number of coaching inns that lined the town's main thoroughfare.
Although we didn't have any problem grabbing a table it was pretty busy with a Saturday lunchtime crowd - a wide range of punters, from the old boy nursing his pint, to family diners, to Warminster's youths getting told off for some half-hearted mask wearing.
Most of the beers were the Spoon's core range, but there was one hand-pump serving a local ale from Westbury's Twisted Brewery.
No indoor photograph of the Bath Arms - the general lay-out and proliferation of dividing screens separating the tables wasn't designed with pub-blog pictures in mind.
Instead, here's a picture of another Warminster closed pub, the Old Bell Hotel, which I thought looked quite splendid with it's arcaded frontage...
We stepped into the public bar, occupied by a dozen locals and one dog.
The punters mainly seemed to be contentedly supping Thatchers Gold, whilst no-one paid any attention to the racing drivers whizzing around Monaco on the spectacularly big TV.
There are usually two permanent ales from the local Wessex Brewery on offer, but on this occasion the choice was a rather uninspiring Tribute or Abbot Ale.
Not fancying either I plumped for the strong and vibrantly coloured cider from the Weymouth Cider Company...
Not fancying either I plumped for the strong and vibrantly coloured cider from the Weymouth Cider Company...
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| Tizer? |
Our stop in Warminster was a brief one, just breaking the journey. Hence only setting foot in the two pubs and looking wistfully at the Organ, wishing it was still open.
Back on the road and onward to Devon, from where I'll shortly be reporting on what Dartmoor looks like in the rain.
Back on the road and onward to Devon, from where I'll shortly be reporting on what Dartmoor looks like in the rain.
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