Small Bristol pub packs a punch with friendly locals and good selection of beer

The clock hadn’t quite struck 4pm, yet three regulars had managed to get inside the tiny bar area at The Butchers Arms already. Meeting their gaze was the manager busy pouring the first thirst-quenching lagers and ciders of the day.

‘I’ll pay for two now,’ says one punter, ‘It’ll save me coming back up in a min’. There’s a brief exchange of banter before all three file slowly outside to find a seat in the smart decking area overlooking the busy A431 road near Longwell Green Retail Park.

Shortly after, another few regulars roll up (two on a bicycle). ‘Ello’ they greet each other as they walk on by through the front entrance, and within 10 minutes this tiny pub has around a dozen locals inside and outside.

It’s not bad early afternoon custom for what must be one of the smallest pubs in Bristol.

From the outside the two-storey detached building appears to be a big pub with a large car park and the decking area out at the front. But walk inside the front door and it’s a snug local with just two small rooms, each with some seating plus a fruit machine.

The small bar area has a good range of lagers on tap from Stella Artois to Carlsberg, then there are three Thatchers; Gold, Dry and Haze. There was also one ale on tap when I arrived; Courage. Also on sale are your usual selection of nuts, crisps and pork scratchings.

Above the bar reads a sign saying ‘there are no strangers in this pub only friends who have not yet met’ - which I thought was quite apt as a few of the locals starting up conversation with me as I satg down outside with a pint of Courage and a packet of scampy fries (£5.20).

The weather was sunny and it looked, and sounded, like none of the regulars were moving fast - which was just as well as news of a serious crash on the A4 Bath Road in Brislington had left the roads around, including the A431, in a state of gridlock.

And watching the world go by (albeit slowly) with my two children asleep, I happily joined them.

The Butchers Arms, 22 Bath Rd, Longwell Green, Bristol BS30 9DG