Wells, the city, prides itself on being the smallest in the UK. This is surprising as it is, of course, the second smallest city in the UK, London (the City of) being smaller in both geographical size and residential population. I will concede that London may have the larger cathedral but that may be because it is also a lot newer.

In any case getting out of London is a reasonable goal for anybody and getting to Wells is a delight. Having arrived, for some reason I felt the immediate need to head straight back out and into the heights of the Mendips. At about 640 metres altitude on the Old Bristol Road, a longing for a pint of ale and some cauliflower cheese became irresistible and I entered the Hunters Lodge which happened to be on my left, avoiding the four wheel drives (parked every-which-way), some of which clearly belonged to working farmers (the fencing wire in the back is a give-away) and many of which obviously didn't.

Each of the three bars has its own door. The one out the back is used by the local pot-holers (there are cave entrances in the car park). The other two have their doors in the front of what, may I say, is an exceptionally ugly building. The bar area we picked was packed.

The beer is poured from barrels lined up from behind the bar by slightly balding middle aged men wearing knitted vests and conservative knitted ties. The women folk appear to run the kitchen and only help with the beer pouring when things get desperate. The beer is excellent. My lovely companion heard the call of the local cider which was appropriately strong for Somerset: the nice barman suggested somewhere north of 6.5%.

The food was equally good. The cauliflower cheese was properly made and hot enough to heat a small flat. My pasty was still cold in the middle which was unfortunate but tasted excellent. Everything came with hunks of bread and butter. In essence, order what can be microwaved at the last minute–everything is made in house so the range is appropriate to what they can deliver. It is also really cheap.

Going home we headed across country straying from the road. It was the middle of winter and there was a fair bit of snow around. The single best piece of advice is: don't get caught in the middle of the Medips in the evening without a torch–it does get very dark very quickly on the hill side. I can report that it wasn't a problem for us as we weaved our way back to Wells with full bellies and cheerful beer burps.

Getting There: Walk up the Old Bristol Rd from Wells. Stop when you
hit the 640m contour line. It's on your left.

Who should eat there: Cavers, calfers and walkers

Dining Style: Pub grub

Price: £6ish including a pint of beer or cider

Quality: trad microwaved pub food and beer from barrels on the back shelf

Would I go Back: …it's a bit of a hike

Phoenician Trader

Front Page

Back Issue Page