I had a drink at the cheap Bristol pub where you can buy three pints for under £10

It’s just after lunchtime, the beer is flowing and the topic of conversation at Bedminster pub the London Inn has turned to Jeremy Clarkson.

The chap in the hi-vis jacket at the table in the window seems to have such a deep knowledge of the Top Gear presenter that he could probably answer questions on him on TV’s Mastermind, but he’s having to convince his friends.

“OK, I like Jeremy Clarkson, he’s a great entertainer but I know he’s marmite. You either like him or you f****** hate the c***,” comes the response, at which point his table of fellow drinkers collapse into rattling, nictoine-stained chuckles and coughs.

Not, perhaps, the sort of language for young ears - and there are no kids around anyway - but you have to be made of pretty strong stuff when you pop in for a pint at this legendary Bedminster pub.

It’s business as usual at the London Inn after a brief closure in April. At the same time, sibling Bedminster pubs the Albert Lounge, Black Cat and Tap & Barrel all closed when the licensee could no longer afford the rising prices and bills, but they’re all back open with new management. Not that anybody will probably notice any real changes at the London Inn. It looks exactly the same as it has for years.

One of the best-looking pubs in Bristol thanks to the ornate Victorian frontage dating back to the times when it was a Georges Brewery pub, the London Inn is one of the last ‘proper’ pubs in Bristol. It’s also one of the cheapest in Bristol, with all prices chalked up on a board outside, directly opposite the local branch of Wetherspoons.

John Smiths, Butcombe Gold, Carling, Foster’s, Blackthorn Dry, Thatchers Gold, Thatchers Haze and Natch are all £3 a pint - prices that give any Wetherspoons a run for its money. If it’s spirits you’re after, three shots will set you back £5. If you’re feeling extravagant, San Miguel is £3.20 a pint and if you’re really flashing the cash, the Guinness and Moretti are £3.40. And, yes, it’s all about the cash as cards are not accepted here.

With those 1990s prices, it’s possible to order three pints and still get change out of a tenner and there aren’t many places left when you can do that - not since The Colosseum closed last week.

One of those old-school pubs where most of the drinkers spend as much time puffing away on the pavement between pints as they do sit inside, the London Inn is very much the last of a sadly dying breed. Walls plastered with old Bedminster photos, there’s a small garden at the back and a pool table in the back room. A small stage in the bar is used for live singers on Fridays, karaoke on Saturday and Sundays, and bingo on Tuesdays.

When the pub reopened after its brief closure, a Facebook message from the new manager said: “I hope you all get behind us and support us in this new venture. We hope to see a lot of locals and also new faces.” With this part of Bedminster covered with cranes and new high-rise student flats being built, there certainly will be lots of new faces in the area soon. Whether they’ll venture into the London Inn is another matter.

London Inn, 1 Cannon Street, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 1BH.