Kings Arms Bradford on Avon
THIS IS WEHERE THE LINKS TO ALL THE PUBS WILL GOWe even detected a wry look in the eyes of the Salisbury taxi driver seated in an old 'black cab� as we asked to be taken to the Hotel. Its location is excellent, close to Salisbury�s beautiful Cathedral, consecrated in 1258 and graced by the tallest spire in England at 123 metres. St. John�s Street, formerly part of the old High Street, assumed its present title in the 18th Century. The Hotel might be older, its coach arch carries part of a seventeenth century man trap, so the King could be one of the Stuarts, Charles I or II or James I or II. The King�s Arms Hotel is currently owned by the Suffolk Brewers, Greene King and there is some evidence of refurbishment beginning to take place, though the Hotel was still open to visitors. We went to the empty reception, turned left into a yard where Laurie asked a seventeenth century throw back if it was possible to get a drink. 'Go round the other side� came the reply. However all doors facing St. John Street were locked though peering in tables were laid and a couple in some intimacy could be discerned in the bar. Undaunted Laurie retraced his steps, passed Reception and followed the signs to the Bar where a lady was being comforted, or giving comfort as a male caressed her breast whilst a second man engaged in somewhat desultory conversation. Maybe this is what the Brewers mean when they pronounce on their website, 'For those that are looking for that extra little something, you'll find it at a Greene King Inn". Without embarrassment or concern the lady asked. 'What do you want dear?' A drink was the reply and her comforter, left his warm embrace to go behind the Bar. 'What do you want?' 'A beer, draught beer�?
'Beer? We got Lager, I tell you what, why don�t go down the road to the White Hart, they have real ale there�.
With that we left. Failed at the first attempt
, the first King�s Arms we had entered, potentially home to 'Abbott Ale�, 'Old Specked Hen� and even 'Ruddles County� yet all we were offered was lager. Undaunted we continued with the itinerary prepared before the trip. We crossed New Street and walked along Catherine Street, stopping to ask a Traffic Warden, in mid issue of a ticket, if he could confirm to us we were heading towards Fisherton Street. He was very clear, 'Turn left at the next junction and head straight for Woolworths, turn right to the corner with Barclays Bank where you turn left into Bridge Street and then onto Fisherton Street�. The route crosses the Wilshire-Hampshire River Avon, (Avon is a Celtic word meaning river), draining from the Salisbury Plain, Vale of Pewsey, southwards to the English Channel at Christchurch.
Our next King�s Arms was 99, Fisherton Street, a street that celebrated itself as the home of specialist shops. The pub proclaimed its origins with a sign above the door 'Circa 19th Century� suggesting the 'King� was probably Edward VII (1901-10), though inside was a portrait of Henry VIII (1509-47) aged 54, a rather poor copy of Holbein�s portrait of 1536.
A sign outside the pub announced 'All Beers £2.50� and it was pleasing to see on offer Ringwood Best Bitter. We were the only customers in the Bar and the barman proclaimed that the 'Beer would be lively� as he had just put it on. This pint was far from the beer that took Ringwood to the Bronze medal in the 2005 Munich Beer Festival, it was flat, cloudy and unappetising. The d�cor of the Pub reminiscent of those Care Homes where the only provision for clients is chair in which to sit whilst watching television. In this case, the colours were gingham, yellow and green checks on chairs with wooden frames. The pub is owned by Enterprise Inns, a chain based in Solihull in the West Midlands with about 7,000 tenants. We had planned to have some food at the Pub but were informed that as yet food was not an option, though might become one as the kitchens were to be refurbished.
It was intriguing to speculate if there was a particular gender issue in the pub. The toilets were clearly marked as 'Ladies� and 'Gents� but for reasons that escaped us the former required an additional to remind customers that a Ladies Toilet is one intended for Ladies. Maybe because close to the Kings Arms was an 'Adult Shop� that displayed its sensitivity to potential clients by advising that:
