The Bear

Great location and reasonable price

Room was clean except carpet that had lots of different small objects not vacuumed up. (Staples, small stones, etc) Had expected to have an option for breakfast but for the 2 nights o was there there was no breakfast. Rear door (out of pub hours) did not seem to properly close/lock. Tv remote did not work well Shower gel was not great and stored on the floor of the shower Room was good size and attractive. Bathroom also

The room was clean enough but felt poorly maintained. Broken window pane, held together by, looked like sellotape, one window was difficult to shut, with, literally, an antique lever device. Needed to shut,despite heat, to deaden the (understandable) noise from Saturday night karaoke. It did stop at around 11:00pm. Single paned old windows, probably conservation reasons. Curtains didn't keep out light in mornings (ok if one's an early riser but not if trying to rest after a tiring journey. Sink needed unblocking, very slow to empty and plumbing randomly made a drink dripping noise from somewhere, up through plughole & overflow. It also couldn't contain the spurt from the cold water tap, which shot out of the basin and over the wall. For the price, it would have been good to have a basic ensuite loo and shower, rather than a shared loo with shower & a second shower only cublicle, down the corridor. The loos, etc appeared to be cleaned daily. Nothing appears to have been done, or upgraded since my last stay, three years ago. Just needs some TLC. The beds were comfortable and other facilities in the room were basic and fine. It's a great, friendly pub and the staff were helpful, beer good, food I remember as very good, I used to live in the town. I did try to book elsewhere but only the Bear had a vacancy, for which I was grateful. It was an unplanned visit, as I had come to view flats which were available for a move back.

Parking was only ok because we arrived late in the day on a Saturday and were able to park on the street outside for free. Any other day and I think you’d have to pay to park on the high street. The room was nice and the bed was comfortable. Only stayed one night so no complaints. Pinos across the road was excellent for dinner.

We were on a cycling holiday and the staff were really helpful! Letting us store our bikes in the tea room, the cooked breakfast there was great too!