Green Shoots In Gloucestershire....

It was the start of the new football season, and despite a feeling of concern about our team's prospects for the season, four us had decided to visit our first game, away at Forest Green Rovers, who are based in the small Gloucestershire town of Nailsworth, near Stroud. Following that we were stopping over in Gloucester itself. Here's how the trip unfolded....

Saturday morning started early, with a customary breakfast at the Shay Cafe just down the hill from the home of FC Halifax Town. I was there first, and had virtually finished my dustbin-sized sausage sandwich - well, as much of it as I could eat - when my brother arrived, with the other two arriving a few minutes later. We were going by car, but there were plenty of guys coming in who were going on the Shay to B supporters coach, which sets off from here. There was an air of anticipation for the first match of the season, not all of it positive after a close season which had seen a change of manager, the departure of players who we had expected to be with us this season, some underwhelming recruitment to fill the gaps, and radio silence about the whole situation from the club itself.

Breakfast done, we set off. My brother was driving us given the lack of a suitable train option, and after a few short delays on the M5, we arrived in the former mill town of Nailsworth around 1pm. The town is located in a heavily-wooded valley with steep hills on either side. Car parking in the long-stay car park was free all day so, parked up for the afternoon, we headed off to find a pub. Despite the town's population of around 5,700, there aren't many options there to choose from. However, the Britannia, a large, rambling, Grade II-listed pub about 5 minutes walk away from where we'd parked the car. It seemed on first glance like so many pubs these days that are situated in locations such as this that they would have succumbed to being a food orientated destination, but no. Yes, they served food, but it was very much a place to come for a pint or indeed, live music, as per the chalkboard sign.

With a pleasant lady behind the bar, who chatted to us whilst she was serving our beer, and an attractive beer garden to the front, it was a decent enough place for a pre-match pint. The two cask beers, Purity Mad Goose and Wadworths 6X, were both ok, both NBSS 3 on the former official CAMRA beer-rating system, and we enjoyed them sat in the garden.

The New Lawn, the home of Forest Green Rovers, is situated about a mile away at the top of a steep hill (the only way to get out of here is up a hill, we'd been told by the lass at the Brit). And so, on what was a hot and increasingly humid day, I ordered an Uber to spare us the walk to the ground, which as we saw the slow-moving procession snaking up a seemingly endless slope seemed the sensible option. This was further confirmed when a Town fan who'd joined us just before we left the pub told us that parking his car in a school just down the road from the ground had cost £15! Our Uber was £6.98 for 4 of us! We arrived at the ground, a fanzone awaited, with a food van, beer van, club shop, and a large tent with nobody in it save for a guy playing cover songs to himself. A few familiar faces, greetings, like the first day back at school. Details of journeys down were swapped, where you were staying, or if you were going straight back. Some of us had cans of Budding Pale Session IPA from Stroud Brewery, which was certainly well above the standard you normally get at football grounds. The club is run on sustainable, green principles, which means that, for example, the food offer is vegan and whilst the pizza seemed to be selling well, nothing appealed. Annoyingly, the pork pie I'd bought to counter this the night before, in the Meandering Bear in Halifax, was in my coat pocket in the boot of our Michael's car back down the hill....

Forest Green's chairman is Dale Vince, owner of green energy company, Ecotricity, and his largesse has enabled the club to bring League One football to the smallest town that has ever been in the Football League, although the club then suffered two successive relegations and were now embarking on their second season back in the National League. Under manager Robbie Savage, the former Welsh footballer turned pundit and host of Radio 5 Live's 606 phone in, they had finished just above us, in the playoffs, last season. And so kick-off duly arrived, Town were out of the blocks from the start, playing a committed, direct style, on the front foot, not something we've been used to of late. After 8 minutes, we took the lead, could have got a second, and held it for the rest of the half which seemed to drag on forever. After the break, it wasn't long before the hosts equalised and gradually took hold of the game. Forest Green took the lead, soon it was 3-1, but to their credit Town never gave up, and scored a fantastic goal from a free kick just before the end of the match to make it 3-2 when the whistle blow. But after a less than promising build up to the season, there were enough green shoots to suggest that Town may not do as badly as we'd feared. And then it was time to set off on a long walk back down the steep hill, which took a good 20 minutes.

It didn't take too long to get to Gloucester, just one junction up the M5, and then straight to the Docks area where we were booked in at a Travelodge attached to a large and modern shopping centre. Checked in, bags dropped off, and quickly freshened up we were soon out and off to our first pub. The last time I had stayed here was on a Sunday night a few years ago, when it had not been too busy, but on a warm and sultry Saturday night it was busy as we walked past Nando's and a host of other foodie chains.

Our first stop was Brewhouse & Kitchen, which I had been to last time. This predominantly Southern-based chain has an onsite brewery at each of its locations where they brew both cask and keg beers, which they sell alongside guest kegs from other breweries. The venues I have been to - well, just here and Cheltenham up the road - feature shining and gleaming copper pipes and vessels, loud music, and a food offer of burgers and the like. We all got a pint of the Citrus Pale, a very insipid 4.5% pale ale which had absolutely no character or real flavour, and I felt it was a case of dumbing down cask ale, a bit of tokenism to keep a sector of the beer market on side. Even given the fact it was in good condition, it was not an enjoyable drink (NBSS 2). The positive was we got a seat overlooking the Sharpness Canal, which was originally built to connect Gloucester to the River Severn and hence the sea. 

It was a short walk to our next stop, a modern bar set in one of the warehouses that ring the historic docks and marina. Dr Fosters, no doubt named as a nod to the famous nursery rhyme, is situated in Kimberley Warehouse, and had been empty for several years, before being restored and re-opened by the current owners in 2024. It consists of a ground floor bar area with stone floors and cast iron pillars. an adjoining conservatory overlooking the quayside, whilst upstairs is a popular restaurant. There were two beers on hand pump, from which we all chose HPA from Wye Valley, which was a pleasant and refreshing improvement from the previous pint we'd had (NBSS 3). We enjoyed our beers in an outside area to the side of the bar. It was an attractive enough place but lacked a real pub atmosphere and unless you were dining here I would say it's more a place to call in for one rather than a place to linger.

It was another short walk to the next pub, which was situated in a Grade II-listed former merchant's house which was built in 1848, with a downstairs outside area on a terrace overlooking the marina. This was the Hop Kettle, one of a few places that the eponymous Swindon-based brewery operate. I have had their beers before, first at the Tiny Tavern in Lincoln and then in nearby Cheltenham last year, and both times they have been ok. This time, the beer I went for, Neonate, a 4.5% session IPA was ok also (NBSS 3), but I have to say that on my limited experience with their beers a pattern is emerging of competent, but not outstanding beers.

The boys relax before heading into the Hop Kettle

It was a little bit further to the next pub, away from the docks and in to the town centre, on to Southgate Street, which whilst it had its attractions, also had some establishment blasting Shania Twain out at ear-splitting levels, which didn't impress me much, surely some breach of environmental health laws there! We walked down past Gloucester Cathedral, where it seemed there was an ABBA tribute band performing. The cathedral is a stunning building, the cloisters of which were used for filming in some of the Harry Potter series of films. Here is a lovely, historic, and quiet part of Gloucester, with lots of lovely old buildings as well as the cathedral itself.

A few shots of Gloucester featuring the Docks and Cathedral

Through the cathedral grounds and then out through an archway, it was then just a short walk to the 4th pub of the evening which was situated on a quiet street corner. The Pelican Inn is a multi-award winning traditional family-operated alehouse which is run by Wye Valley Brewery. This historic pub dates from 1679 and is Grade II-listed, and rumour has it that some of the beams in the pub are timber from Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind, which was originally known as the Pelican and may be the reason for what is an unusual pub name. It is traditionally decorated throughout and features 4 regular and up to 5 changing beers predominantly from the Wye Valley range, 6 craft beers on tap, and further beers are available in cans. It also offers a range of up to 12 ciders for which the pub has also won awards. It was quite busy inside so we took our beers out into the pleasant beer garden out the back which was also quite busy on what was still a warm and stuffy evening. I had gone for another HPA, which was the best beer of the evening (NBSS 4), cool, refreshing, and full of flavour, and when someone suggested another pint here I had no hesitation in requesting another of the same. A timeless classic, the Pelican was the best pub of the evening and is an absolute essential place to visit if you are in Gloucester.

The Pelican

We re-traced our steps and headed back through the cathedral grounds where it seemed the ABBA concert had finished as people streamed out of the cathedral itself and disappeared into the evening. It was only a short walk from there to the next pub, which was situated down an alleyway off Westgate Street.

The Grade II-listed Fountain Inn dates from the 17th century and was built on the site of an old alehouse which is known to have been there in 1216. At the end of the alleyway is a lovely courtyard which is full of flowers and not surprisingly all the tables were occupied this evening. We walked in to the pub where the main bar features wood-panelling and a large stone fireplace but it isn't as attractive as it should be, if that makes sense. There are 6 beers on hand pump, 3 regulars comprising the 4.8% Jail Ale premium bitter from Dartmoor brewery, St Austell Tribute, and Landlord (you can't go anywhere!) from Taylors. From the guest list I went for a pint of Fortitude from Bristol Beer Factory, a 4% traditional English bitter, amber in colour, with Maris Otter malt  and English hops, which I rated as a 3 on the former CAMRA National Beer Scoring System scale. We sat inside where there was not much atmosphere and the bar staff seemed a bit miserable, a complete contrast to last time when the landlady had been chatting to all and sundry, and took me on a guided tour of the pub. Maybe it will be better another time. 

The Fountain, with a photo from my last visit

Back on Westgate Street, it was just a short walk to our last pub of the evening for a quick half before we went in search of some much-needed food. Turning off on to Bull Street, we immediately arrived at the Drunken Duck, which is the smallest pub in Gloucester, with one small room downstairs, another larger one upstairs, and seating outside at the front. It was busy with a lively atmosphere when we walked in. The pub serves 4 beers on hand pump, with a house beer brewed by Butcombe, and 3 guests. There were also some craft beers available, and overall the beer choice here was more interesting than elsewhere we'd been over the evening. I went for a half of Beyond the Firs, a 4.8% American Pale Ale  from Suffolk's Burnt Mill Brewery which, in their words, has "a grist of extra pale and oats" ... giving... "a lean malt profile. Hopped in the whirlpool with Citra & Centennial. Dry hopped with Citra, Centennial, Idaho 7 & Simcoe for bright tangerine and grapefruit aromas with a subtle piney bitterness." It was very good (NBSS 3.5), and an excellent way in which to conclude the evening's drinking, in one of the best pubs we'd visited. 

The Drunken Duck

We finished our beer, went back up Westgate Street, and turned back on to Southgate Street, where Shania Twain had been replaced by dance music, equally loud but with a pulsating beat that you could feel. Shortly afterwards we came to a fast food outlet, where we dined in on smash burgers and chips, much needed after a busy and sweltering day. We made our way back through the quietening streets to our Travelodge in what had been, despite the defeat at Forest Green earlier, a great day out in Gloucestershire....

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