The not disagreeable entrance to the coach station, which is more a lengthy piece of landscaped road than a conventional station but it all looks rather nicely done. And let’s be ridiculous, not everywhere can be as lovely as North Walsham’s International Bus Interchange.
Swindon glistening in the sun.
I got there half an hour early in case I couldn’t find the stop, but the coach was already parked up. A woman pushed past me in the queue and I swore at her in my mind, annoyed if she took the emergency exit row seat. I like to think of myself as a patient and generous person (well, sort of), but there are limits, and those limits are legroom related.
She didn’t take it, so diplomatic relations were restored.
The coach wasn’t overly burdened with passengers, there were about fifteen of us.
The journey was without incident, the driver made some announcements and a woman played her phone loudly because seemingly no form of public transport is complete without someone deciding that everyone else needs to experience their media choices.
And safely into London Victoria coach station in all its greyness.
The rail fares from Swindon into London were ridiculously high, so I was pleased that this coach was rather more affordable at around £12. Everything went to schedule, the coach was clean, the seats were comfortable, the temperature met my expectations and I had plenty of space in my emergency exit row seat, so all to the good. But this was the third National Express journey I had taken in a weekend and the passenger numbers seemed lower than would even make the journey viable.
I popped into the Sir Daniel Arms pub in Swindon for a quick coffee (well, eight of them as I like to test the caffeine infrastucture of the venue) before my National Express coach to London. I had thought that I had written about this JD Wetherspoon venue before, but it has transpired that I haven’t. Although I did mention it in June 2018 when a group of us visited it before walking the Ridgeway.
I’ll take the history of the pub’s name from the chain’s website:
“This modern building stands on the site of a row of small shops, 1–10 Fleet Street. They served the adjacent railway village which was built by the Great Western Railway in the mid 19th century. The row included the Sir Daniel Arms, which traded until the 1980s, and was named after Sir Daniel Gooch. He proposed that the Great Western Railway Works should be built in Swindon and then ran the works which subsequently dominated Swindon for nearly 150 years.”
A bit of JD Wetherspoon bling. Incidentally, I don’t have a carpet photo, but there’s carpet in this one so that will have to do. I appreciate that this may disappoint the more carpet specialist readers of this blog, assuming that there actually are any. There are two floors to the venue, although the upper floor is closed off during quieter periods.
To help with the lack of photos, here’s a steak pudding that I had in February 2026 at the pub, namely as this venue is at the lowest price band for the chain for this was only just a little over £6 for the food and drink. I don’t claim that it’s a great meal, but for the price it is very hard to complain and so I don’t.
Anyway, onto the reviews as I like browsing through them and this venue is a little towards the higher end of the ratings on Google.
“The main reason for this negative review is how disgusted I am with the service received by what I assume was a member of management. From the moment we arrived she was rude and continued to be for the duration of our visit. I’ve just passed by driving test so surprised my mum with a trip to Swindon for her birthday so this was supposed to be a lovely day, yet her attitude to my mum and I was appalling. It was so bad, two ladies actually approached my mum to ask if she was okay out in the toilets as they were concerned.”
I always wish reviewers would give a hint about how the situation began. It feels unlikely, although not impossible, that a staff member simply appeared from nowhere and selected a customer for a sustained campaign of discourtesy. There is usually a prelude to these things. That said, surprising one’s mum with a birthday trip to Swindon after passing a driving test is an act of confidence, and I respect the ambition.
“Pint if thatchers tasted like water and exactly the same with the Stella, got it changed but still tasted the same, won’t be going back anytime soon”
I would like to note that Thatchers is meant to taste like that, but that would appear to be too churlish.
“I went in with my assistance dog got a drink for me and bowl of water. Then had a manager come over telling me unless had a uk pass couldnt come in and was refused another drink. Wouldn’t mind but we sat outside so was no where near people eating . Disgusting the way was treated. My dog had jacket and lead stating what he was with Canine Partner jacket and lead and lanyard. Disgusting how weather’s poon treated me”
The chain is being questioned over this at the moment and now genuine assistance dogs are potentially being refused because some people have pretended in the past that their dog is an assistance dog when it is no such thing. Sub-optimal for all concerned.
“Unbearably loud music on the weekends”
I’m with the customer here, it’s one of those Lloyds venues and I’m aware that it gets far too vibrant on a weekend….
On the real ale front there were seven available, from breweries including Twisted, Hanlons, Hop Union and Phoenix, all at their low prices of under £3 a pint. I was on coffee rather than beer because I had a coach to catch and sometimes even I make decisions with a vague nod towards responsibility.
Anyway, it’s all cheerful and the coffee is suitably cheap and reliable, so what more could I want.
I’m not sure anyone will notice unless they’re particularly avid readers, and there’s a limited number of those, but I’m jumping around a little with these posts to try and get to the end as I’m now on the next trip. This is the constant difficulty of running a travel blog at my level of international glamour. Sometimes one has to write about Swindon while mentally being somewhere else, which is probably how a lot of people experience Swindon anyway.
Anyway, this is the Ibis Budget in Swindon, the first time that I’ve stayed there. In a rather sub-optimal manner, there was no staff member at reception and I had to trek around to Holiday Inn Express to find someone. I’d note that I’m aware that they are different chains, but previous guests have said that they’re sharing receptions to a degree.
After I located the receptionist I was pleased to be told that my room had been upgraded. Now, this is all a bit relative, I had booked a thrifty room with no window and I was allocated a room with a window. I have not included the window in the photo, perhaps because I didn’t want to show off too much.
I liked the carpets in the corridors, but I should probably get out more. There is something worrying about reaching the stage in life where hotel corridor carpets become worthy of comment, but at least it shows I am still noticing the world around me. Not necessarily the important parts of it, but parts nonetheless.
The restaurant menu.
Apparently it’s open 24 hours a day although since I couldn’t find a reception in the evening, I’m a little sceptical about getting a chicken curry and a pint at 03:43.
Breakfast was included in the room rate and was quite basic, although it happened to suit my needs entirely. If you like ham, yoghurt and burnt bacon, then this was a winner and those are elements that suit me.
It worked for me and I went through a lot of the hotel’s ham and bacon offerings. The coffee machine was broken and they had run out of orange juice, so I opted for apple juice as I’m flexible like that. I like to think of myself as adaptable in moments of crisis, provided the crisis is relatively small and involves chilled breakfast beverages.
It wasn’t busy at breakfast and I’m not sure that it was very busy anywhere in the hotel.
I’d note that they probably need to make these automatic doors easier to operate as they’re not automatic and require the pressing the button on the left hand side. I have no idea why they’ve made it that complex and that’s confused numerous reviewers and it confused me. I accept that confusing me is not necessarily proof of poor design, but when several other people are also baffled by a door, perhaps the door needs to take some responsibility.
Get healthy when staying at Ibis Budget…..
I found this a slightly odd hotel which doesn’t sit entirely well in the Ibis Budget brand. I’m not sure that they should have joint receptions with other chains, I wouldn’t expect Travelodge and Premier Inn to share reception desks. The restaurant area needs some investment and the breakfast was a little odd in its selection. The rooms with no windows don’t really feel appropriate even for Ibis Budget, although I would have been content with one. However, there weren’t any internal or external noise disturbances, the room was clean and I liked the breakfast as burnt bacon and a heap of ham works for me.
I haven’t posted any progress photos from the Anglia Square demolition over recent weeks as there hasn’t been much demolition going on. The big challenge now is taking down the 1960s modernised Sovereign House building which has the problem of being asbestos ridden. They have made a little more progress taking down these buildings at the very rear of the site, by Pitt Street, which I hadn’t realised at first were part of the overall project.
I’m not claiming that this is riveting viewing, but it’s a reminder of the dangers of going outside in a pub beer garden. In this case, the Bath Brew House.
I’ve been to Bath Brew House before, but it was before I was Untappd and it was before this blog, so it’s like it didn’t happen…. Anyway, it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and so I thought I’d visit it again to restore order to my historic record.
Some of the real ale selection. There have been beers brewed on the premises since 2013 when they started with the Emperor and the Gladiator, with a rather more extensive range available now.
The bar area which all felt suitably on-trend and CAMRA note that a modernisation has just taken place. They add:
“Formerly the Metropolitan, and before that the Midland Hotel, the whole building underwent a major refurbishment in the summer of 2013 and re-opened as a brew-pub in September of that year.”
The rear of the venue and there’s also a large external garden area for those who like sitting outside with lots of insects.
My first half was the Caesar Golden Ale which was clean, light, slightly thin but had a pleasant enough flavour.
And my second beer was the Deus which was creamy, chocolatey and slightly sweet.
There was something of a bee incident outside, but I’ll post a separate video about that, which should increase the excitement no end. I appreciate that this may not sound like premium drama, but we all work with the material available to us. Some travel writers have mountain rescues and political upheaval. I had some bees.
All told, I rather liked this pub, it felt a little over-staffed (which is an observation rather than a complaint), but the service was efficient and the ale selection was suitably interesting. The online reviews are reasonable and I hadn’t realised at the time that the pub is operated by Youngs, I had thought that it was a free trade pub. Anyway, the drink prices were reasonable, there were numerous power outlets and the surroundings were comfortable.
I like quirky and interesting venues, so this micro-pub seemed appealing as venues that have accepted their own size limitations and have a desire to become intimate have a certain charm. Not that I want to be overly social though, there are limits.
The beer menu was above the bar and there were some tempting little numbers there, especially some of those Jester King options. The service was friendly and engaging, although it was particularly busy when I was there. I might have engaged more with the owner who served me, but he overcharged me and so I felt that the bond was broken. Trust is a delicate thing, especially when it has been placed under pressure by the cost of a small imperial stout.
I opted for this one, the decadent Doom Forge (2026) x Figure 8 from Jester King, which was very smooth, rich, dark chocolate taste and some coffee to add to the mix.
I initially had to sit at the bar as there were no seats available, although there isn’t exactly much space at the bar either. There was a music theme to the venue as well, but I ignored that as I couldn’t see anything from the Wurzels which felt like a bold omission.
Some customers rearranged themselves around the venue and so a table became available at the rear. The entire limits of the pub are in the above photo and the toilet arrangement was quite, er, contained as well.
It’s a comfortable environment though with a friendly service and decent choice of beers. This whole arrangement feels very Bath, an air of quality, decadence and rarity. Although having noted that, I then went to McDonald’s for a snack, but I try not to be overly predictable. The venue is very well reviewed with just one negative review, which is from someone barred for antisemitism, so hard to fault the owner there for just wanting some standards and no hatred. I’d come here again and I’ll forgive them the 50p overcharge.
These are the Parade Gardens in Bath and I thought that they looked surprisingly busy given that there’s an admission charge to enter them. Or, at least, I thought there was a charge and then I noticed that the ticket booth was closed. It’s in a decadent location, the gardens sit beside the River Avon and look across towards Pulteney Bridge. And, as they were free, I decided to investigate.
The history goes back to the early eighteenth century, when the area was laid out in 1709 as St. James’s Park, linked with the Assembly Rooms built for fashionable spa visitors. This was the Bath of Beau Nash, promenading, social display and people taking themselves very seriously in wigs, the Richard type middle class of their time only probably with more powder and fewer computers. A gravel walk known as Harrison’s Walk was laid out along the edge of the site and the gardens formed part of the wider pleasure-ground world around the Abbey, Terrace Walk and Orange Grove. In 1824, when the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution was built on the site of the former Assembly Rooms, the gardens became known as Institution Gardens, because nothing improves a garden quite like giving it a name that sounds as though it may require a committee. Unfortunately, the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution was demolished and is now under a road system, but I’m sure that it was nice when it lasted.
The gardens changed again in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as Bath remodelled the surrounding streets, demolished buildings and adjusted the relationship between the gardens, Grand Parade and the river. Historic England notes that they came into council ownership in the 1930s and were laid out as a municipal park in 1933 to 1934, which gives them their more formal public garden character.
It is a rather lovely place, although they’ve decided to start charging for the toilets but that feels like a fair deal for allowing free entrance to the gardens. I was able to find a bench to sit down on to enjoy the lovely views, albeit they were primarily of my phone, but it’s nice to be in nature when looking at my phone as doom scrolling is better surrounded by trees. I did wonder for a while why no-one was sitting on the benches here, but I realised that they were in shade and the cold which probably suited me more than most as I’ve developed to be fonder of the refrigerated section of horticulture. But it was all a very lovely little pause in the heart of Bath and that view of Bath Abbey in the above photo was agreeable.
When I was in Bath, I thought it would be sensible to tick off a few more Good Beer Guide pubs in my ever failing quest to visit them all. I didn’t pick a great time to do as it was hot, it was a Saturday, Bath were at home playing their rugby thing and so the city was busy. But research requires bravery at times, and I am nothing if not heroic when faced with the possibility of sitting indoors with half a pint.
Anyway, before I get further distracted, this is the Raven on Queen Street which has four bars across six different rooms and although the upper floor is more for dining, drinkers are welcome throughout.
The Raven’s history stretches back from uncertain Roman and pre-Roman origins to a site that was part of Barton Farm’s farmland in the 17th century, before appearing on a 1735 map as a narrow garden, apparently lower than the surrounding streets and now forming part of the building’s underlying structure, in a pleasingly Georgian “just build upwards and hope nobody asks too many questions” arrangement. By 1800 the site was occupied by tradesmen including John Jarvis, a calenderer, and Thomas Trendell, a grocer, before the Carnall family butchers were associated with the address in the early 19th century.
The move into licensed trade came in 1864, when Thomas Toleman took over the Bazaar Wine Vaults from Charles Wright, who was described as a wine merchant to the Royal Family. The premises later became Fuller’s Wine Vaults, then Hatchett’s Wine Lodge, with Second World War pilots from a nearby airfield said to have used the pub and left messages on the upstairs ceiling, sadly painted over in the 1960s. It later became a city centre pub favoured by Goths and bikers, opened as The Raven in 2004 and expanded in 2022 by taking over the adjoining building.
There were ten real ales available including their house beers of Ravens Gold and Ravens Ale, brewed by Blindman’s Brewery. There were also beers from Stonehenge Brewery, Exeter Brewery, Frome Brewery, Otter Brewery, Sandstone Brewery, Goffs, Bowland and Wharf Brewery, so that’s a fair number.
I went for the Lyra’s IPA from Sandstone Brewery and it was citrusy, well rounded and had a decent flavour. I hadn’t had a beer from Sandstone before, but they’re based in Wrexham and have been brewing since 2008.
The food menu has pies and sausages at its heart, which is never a bad start. There is also quite a broad selection beyond that, and the pricing wasn’t unreasonable for the location. The team members were friendly, the service was efficient and it wasn’t quite as busy inside as I had expected. Certainly, in my humble view anyway, a well deserved entry in the Good Beer Guide with its beer, history, character and atmosphere.
It’s not entirely optimal to approach a railway station and see that it’s a bit shut and there are people milling about outside.
It either meant that someone famous was there or the bloody railway network had broken again.
It soon became apparent that this was another Network Rail debacle.
But, having noted that, I like a bit of drama in my life. I am not seeking genuine peril, civil disorder or an unscheduled night on a station concourse. Just a little deviation from the norm, that sort of thing.
The difficulty was that I did actually want to get to Swindon, which is perhaps not a sentence people write very often. Indeed, most people spend their lives trying to avoid needing to get to Swindon, and yet here I was, standing outside a closed railway station, regarding it as a cherished destination.
At least I could see the entrance now, it’s a bit like seeing a lifeboat on a slightly sinking ship.
The police told people not to push, although by trying to hear what they were saying they pushed forward. Fortunately, I am sufficiently well built that it is quite hard to push me very far. I have many flaws, but being easily displaced in a railway related crowd is apparently not one of them.
There was more vibrancy to the arrangement at this stage. By vibrant I mean a combination of confusion, annoyance and the need for signage.
So near and so far from entering….
I was let through soon after this and was rather pleased as I did need to get to Swindon at some point as it was getting late and there was no alternative way of getting there as taxis were over £125 and there weren’t any buses. Praise to the British Transport Police and the station staff who were doing their best to manage the crowds and entry onto the platforms with some rather difficult circumstances.
