The next pub on my little day out in Norfolk with Roy and Jen was to the Bowling Green pub in Wells. I had dragged them both to St. Nicholas church in the town, but more about that rather lovely building in another post. Well, possibly. My queue of things to blog about is now expanding considerably faster than my ability to write any of them. At the present rate, the church should appear on the blog sometime before 2034.
The venue has a long history and has been a licensed premises since perhaps as early as the late eighteenth century, so it might be the oldest in the town that is still open. Norfolk Pubs notes that it was owned by the Dereham Brewery, then Steward & Patteson, Watney Mann, Brent Walker and then Pubmaster before it became a freehouse. Planning permission was granted in 1999 to turn the venue into two houses, but fortunately it survived as Wells already has houses and historic pubs are rather harder to manufacture.
I liked all the clear signage and this felt like a traditional pub with some events going on. There was something of a rustic feel, but it was carefully designed and there was also a separate dining area which all looked like someone had thought about rather than assembled together a heap of random furniture over thirty years or something. I like the mixture of high and lower seating and there was a garden area as well for those who like sitting with wasps and pretending this constitutes relaxation.
The interior with its stone floor and although this would have no doubt made a lovely house, it’s definitely better as a pub.
There were three real ales available and also some bottle conditioned beers from East Quay brewery.
I like the clarity of this as it isn’t always obvious where those going into a pub just for a drink are actually meant to sit. A sign saying ‘drinking table’ makes this process much easier and I like precision.
This is the Destiny from the ever reliable Mr Winter’s Brewery and it was clean tasting, hoppy and agreeable. This appears to be a rebrand of another Mr Winter’s beer which makes the process of putting it on Untappd rather more complex than I’d ideally like.
I liked this pub as it clearly served the local community whether they wanted food or drinks, with everything clean, well managed and organised. The venue is well reviewed online and seems a reliable option for food, with rooms also available here for those wanting to stay overnight. It has managed to broaden what it offers without losing the feeling that it is fundamentally still a proper pub, which is not always as straightforward as it might appear.