Multi Award Wiiner . . .
Nudged by a car park and Dursley's bus station is the old and lovely Old Spot. Set in the beautiful Cotswolds, actually on the Cotswold Way as it passes through the town of Dursley. The Old Spot is friendly, deeply traditional and one of the must-visits of the county.



CAMRA National Award winner 2007 (Campaign for Real Ale), and Gloucestershire Pub of the Year award winner many times over for its reputation as the epitome of a real English ale pub. With the old English atmosphere of taverns long gone, the cosiness embraces you the moment you walk through the door.

More Beer . . .
As Ric's famous war-cry of "Mooooooore Beer" rings out, you immediately are made aware that this is a drinking pub! The Old Spot offers plenty of real ales (there are 10 hand pumps) all very well kept. As well as Uley's Old Ric, named after the owner, we nomally have at least 8 guest Real Ales on at any given time, mainly from micro breweries, served in five separate drinking areas.




Wine, Whisky and Food . . .
There is also a good selection of fine Wines as well as their famous Whisky collection. If you're feeling hungry, try one of the home cooked meals or a light snack from the food menu and relax in the charm that graces this pub. The wholesome menu is available 12-8pm on weekdays and 12-3pm on weekends.



The secluded garden offers a good sized covered and heated area and a separate boules piste for those of you who'd like to take a breath air outside.




Full of Atmosphere . . .
The interior of the Old Spot is inspirational. There are items of interest all over the place . . . even on the ceiling. An old 'Godsell & Sons' sign dominates one wall and there is also a 'Cotswold Beers by Stroud Brewery' plaque. You can also browse through a selection of books including most of the CAMRA Good Beer Guides from 1976 to the present day. The main beam on the ceiling is adorned with hunderds of photographs that tell the tales of many a fine evening. For a pub named after a rare-breed pig, it comes as no surprise that there are plenty of figurines and pictures dotted around the place, as well as a fair number of old prints and posters - there's even a wall clock featuring two bonking pigs. There are no jukeboxes or fruit machines - just excellent, real beer for the real beer enthusiast.




A Pub for all Occassions . . .
The "Spot", described appropriately by the landlord Steve Herbert as "A Pub of a Thousand Locals", you'll be greeted with courtesy and efficiency and it probably wont take you long to fit in amongst the locals as if you'd always been there. The atmosphere can be really great, whether you are on your own (in which case it wont take you long to get chatting), or as a couple enjoying romantic evening together, maybe with a group of mates out for a (very controlled!) session, or even if you wish to take your elderly relatives somewhere special for a quality meal and some fine wine.



It is no surprise that the Old Spot is the CAMRA National Pub of the Year winner for 2007.



The above ©Line Drawing is reproduced courtesy of local, Phil Grant, to see more of his work, click here.

In the Beginning . . .
Built in 1776 as a farm cottage, when Dursley was a cloth-weaving town, it then became a school and has been an inn for about 100 years.

The Fox and Hounds as it was called then, passed from Stroud Brewery ownership through a short period with West Country Breweries (a merger between Stroud Brewery and Cheltenham Brewery - see below for more info) before it became a non-de-script Whitbread pub for several decades.

The painting to the right, dated approximately around the turn of the last century is entitled "Below Broadway, Dursley" by Percy Ashworth. This view, looking over the town from the road leading to Stinchcombe Hill, will be familiar to many who know Dursley.

The following ©Photograph is reproduced courtesy of David Evans, and
the accompanying text courtesy Andy Barton www.dursleyglos.org.uk.




And then there was Ric . . .
The Fox and Hounds was acquired in 1993 by Ric and Ellie Sainty who bought it from Whitbread, and have since transformed the pub to one of the best in the county of Gloucestershire.



Ric renamed it The Old Spot, after the famous Gloucestershire breed of pig, and the pub has since gained national recognition among ale aficionados, who make pilgrimages to sample the local brews.


And on the eight day, God made Beer . . .
The Old Spot Inn has always had close ties with Uley Brewery, which began brewing in 1833 at (Samuel) Price's Brewery, Uley (shown in a pinting, right. Circa 1850) and after a long break and a lot of work was reopened by Chas Wright in 1985. Uley Brewery's Old Ric (4.5%) is a testament to the friendship between the two. Indeed, the Old Spot has become something of a showcase for the beers of Uley Brewery, including Pig's Ear and Old Ric, the latter named after the owner and former landlord.




A Spot of Heritage . . .

The Old Spot proudly wears its West Country Ales plaques ars a reminder of Gloucestershire's once proud brewing heritage.

West Country Breweries were established in 1958 when the Stroud Brewery merged with the Cheltenham Brewery. By coincidence both the Stroud Brewery and the Cheltenham Brewery first started brewing in the same year - 1760. The date is recorded in the ceramic plaques. West Country Breweries were a large regional company with tied houses extending into Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales. As a result these colourful 'castle' plaques can still be seen as far away as Presteigne in Wales and Marlborough in Wiltshire.


Ellie told the 'Citizen' newspaper in 1997:

Is seems a great pity that Ellie's superb vision and foresight in what makes a great English pub is not emulated by today's pub chains. Take time to read her comments again . . . absolutely brilliant.


And so . . .
The reputation of this pub has grown in strength from a local real ale den in its early days to a more well rounded eatery and hostelry, with a small garden with boules! The bar and lounge are cosy and very popular.

Ric and Ellie now employ live-in managers, Steve & Belinda Herbert so that they can enjoy their pub from the other side of the bar.



Food remains simple and pubby but of very high quality - BLT sandwiches and home-baked pies with shortcrust pastry lids. Friendly, deeply traditional and one of the must-visits of the county.

Contributors:

• Stu the Brew (webmaster & editor)
  
• Steve Herbert, Landlord, The Old Spot Inn
  
• Geoff Sandles (Gloucesterhire Pubs - a History website)
  www.easywell.co.uk/pubs/
  
• Stroud District Council (Visit the Cotswolds website)
  www.visitthecotswolds.org.uk
  
• Richard Moreton (Pubs Galore website)
  www.pubsgalore.co.uk
  
• The Citizen newspaper
  www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/
  
  

The images and quotations have been reproduced in good faith and all credits given if known, but if any copyright has been infringed please contact me and I will remove it from the website.

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