So, Bristol again. Hmm, seems like only a few
weeks since we were last here, doesn't it? Speaking of which, to save me some work, I
suggest you refer to the Bristol Rovers pub guide now. Go on.
Welcome back. Of the pubs mentioned there, certainly all those in the
centre and between the centre and Temple Meads are equally valid for this fixture. Even
the pubs just north of the centre, such as the Hare on the Hill, the Highbury
Vaults and the Smiles Brewery Tap, aren't out of the question. Alright, so
they're nowhere near the ground, and if you want to be picky, are in completely the wrong
direction from the station if Ashton Gate is where you’re ultimately heading. But,
you know, they're great pubs and if you possess the correct amount of bloody-mindedness -
and the number of a local taxi firm - they're certainly possible.
You also have to bear in mind that there aren’t that many options
closer to the ground. Ashton Gate, though a reasonable ground in its redeveloped state, is
in an odd place. Everything in this perplexing but likeable city is in an odd place.
Getting there isn't easy. The ground sits in the south west of Bristol, south of the
complicated Floating Harbour thingy and the River Avon. We always seem to spend a lot of
time crossing over water and this has the affect of making me lose my bearings. I've yet
to go to Ashton Gate and not get lost at some stage
However, a combination of the Bristol A-Z and the CAMRA Good Beer Guide
tell me there are a couple of pubs on the way, just north of the Floating Harbour. These
are the Bag O'Nails on St George's Road and the Hope and Anchor on Jacob's
Wells Road. I have a vague idea I may have been in these some years ago, the time I risked
a heart attack attempting to keep up with the leaders as we shot up and over nearby
Brandon Hill between boozers. Aghast kids watched us storm past one by one. "They're
having a beer race," one of them decided. I have been in a couple of pubs round here,
that much can't be denied: one was a basic cider house close to the water and the other
all guest beers, food and the wrong shaped glasses, but I'm groping here and I may be
wrong. How vague do you want it?
Definitely around here somewhere and fairly unmissable is the huge bulk of
the SS Great Britain, which provides something of a much-needed landmark. Fans of the
great engineer should also look out for the splendid Clifton Suspension Bridge across the
river to the north.
From this point it all gets a little confusing. Basically you need to go
across the water and head south until you see people dressed in Bristol City shirts.
Natives have a reputation for being less than friendly so discretion is advised. Doubtless
a rather unfair broad sweep of the tarry brush, but I bet they say the same about Burnley.
Heading across the Floating Harbour onto the sort of island in the middle
there’s a pub called the Pump House on Merchant's Road. I once spilled a
teacher's pint over a load of schoolbooks here. It's one of these newish converted places
made out of some old huge building, and it sold okay beer when I last went in there, but
we were in division one then so anything might have changed since.
All this flannel is a way of (not) disguising the lack of drinking
opportunities near the ground. It's best to fill up before you get here. Afterwards,
prepare to take your chances with Bristol's legendarily bad public transport system or
brave the long walk back. I have known there to be masses of football fans waiting the
best part of half an hour only for one of those tiny buses normally reserved for rural
routes on Sundays to show up. The pub near the bus stop got our custom on that occasion.
Unfortunately, I never found out its name.
If you've made the long walk back, treat yourself to a pint or two in the Commercial
Rooms on Corn Street, and think about what a great place Bristol would be if only the
football grounds were near railway stations. Apparently you can take some kind of water
taxi to places from Temple Meads, so that might be something to think about.
Beers you can expect to find include Bath, Butcombe, Courage, Smile's and
Usher's. West Country beer is something of an acquired taste for the Northern palate, but
I think I'm getting there.
