THIS week, I decided to go in search of an old fashioned drinking pub, and so I found myself at The Bell in St John’s.

The Bell is an historic and well established pub in Worcester, and I was not disappointed.

Inside, the pub is clean and nicely decorated, with quotes on the walls including Compton Mackenzie’s “Love makes the world go round? Not at all, whiskey makes the world go round twice as fast” and a quote from another of history’s great minds, Homer Simpson: “Here’s to alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

At first I was slightly unsure of the kind of reception I would get as a non-regular, but the bar staff were friendly and the locals didn’t mind me being there, so I sat myself down in the window with a beautiful view of St John in Bedwardine Church across the road.

The bar is well stocked, with a good selection of reasonably priced beers.

Because of the hot weather, I decided to go for a pint of Thatcher’s cider, always welcome when so many pubs stock bog-standard Strongbow.

At £3.10 my drink was reasonably priced and thoroughly refreshing on a sweltering late-spring day.

The Bell is full of nice, small touches to make you feel at home. All the seats are arranged facing into the centre, meaning you are not shoved away in a corner, and there is plenty of space to sit and have a drink or two in peace.

Though the pub does not serve food (crisps and nuts aside) that doesn’t really matter. If you go to the Bell, you do so for a drink, and not to eat.

There were two TVs at opposite ends of the bar, one showing the football and the other MTV (I will leave you to guess which one I chose).

The pub had a warm and friendly atmosphere, with regulars and staff joking and chatting freely.

From earwigging a couple of regulars who were sat next to me, I deduced that there is a skittles alley and regular live music, showing that The Bell is what a good pub should be, a place for the local community to meet and have a good time, something which seems to be disappearing from our towns and cities with the rise of the dreaded chain pub.

Even as a non-regular I felt that this was a place where I would be welcome again to come and have a drink or two, something you do not always find when you go to small local pubs such as this.

It was no surprise, doing my research into the Bell Inn, to find that it came third in the Worcester News’ annual Pub of the Year competition.

The staff and management have outdone themselves in refurbishing and revamping the pub, making it a fantastic place to go for a drink, a rare example of a true drinker’s pub.

One negative point, which is not the Bell’s fault at all, is that parking is an absolute nightmare, but that is just St John’s in a nutshell.

So if you are looking for a quiet place to go for an afternoon pint, or some live music on a weekend, you cannot go wrong with paying a visit to The Bell Inn.

SCORES:

Atmosphere: 7/10

Decor: 8/10

Staff: 9/10

Drink: 7/10

Food: N/A

Prices: 8/10

Overall: 8/10