The Crown, Cirencester

Mid-market Arkells house that is quite a pleasant multi-roomer and was notably busy mid Saturday afternoon. Front bar is a plain and open-plan light wood affair but there's some nice areas further back plus a decent rear courtyard. Plenty of staff on and the three cask options (3B, Wiltshire Gold and Hoperation) were shifting. My half of the latter was in good shape (NBSS 3.5). Worth a nose based on this visit. 6.5

The external appearance of this pub promises a traditional town centre pub with a bit of character, but someone has put paid to that by stripping out anything they could get their hands on and making it instead into a modern drinking barn. Of course, it is necessary for someone to pay for this improvement, and my half of Arkells Hoperation IPA was £2 (compared with £1.50 for a similar strength beer at the Wheatsheaf just down the road). The beer, "Hoperation" indeed, was quite at home here, being also a product of modern attitudes to traditional styles. I drank it as quickly as I could - fortunately I was rather thirsty after a long cycle ride in warm weather - and left. Date of visit: 10th May 2018