Pubs and Bars / A-Z Bristol pub crawl
A-Z Bristol pub crawl: The Cat & Wheel, Cheltenham Road
“Sorry about that, just buying more beer,” said one of the bar staff on a recent Tuesday evening at the Cat & Wheel.
The two customers at the bar only had to wait a few seconds to order as she returned from the other side of this deceptively spacious pub.
After serving their drinks – a pint of Guinness and a half of Wickwar’s Falling Star golden ale – she returned a few minutes later with a Smurf hat over her blue hair, and a few minutes after that carrying a mummy that was going to be part of the Halloween decorations.
Walk in the front door of the Cat & Wheel and turn right and there’s a room with dozens of books and framed black and white photos of the local area on the walls, one of which features the nearby arches with an advert for Bavarian Ales painted on the side of it and a tram trundling by.
Walk in the front door and turn left and there’s a room with a pool table that used to be a cottage.
If you look closely on the outside of this half of the pub, there is a sign where you can just make out ‘Ivy Cottages’ carved in stone, with Ivy Cottages marked on an 1855 map of Bristol before the railway line above Cheltenham Road was built.
You can still spot the original sign for Ivy Cottages on the outside of the Cat & Wheel – photo: Martin Booth
The garden in the Cat & Wheel overlooking Cotham Brow – photo: Martin Booth
The Cat & Wheel is now owned by Wickwar, whose other pubs in Bristol include the nearby Gloucester Road Ale House and Cotham Porter Stores.
The logo of former Melksham brewery Moles – sold to Wickwar in 2017 – is still painted on its front windows, with blood dripping from it giving it an extra Halloween touch on this late-October visit.
As He’s on the Phone by Saint Etienne came on the jukebox, the Guinness drinker at the bar swayed in time to the music, and a new customer with a backpack and colourful umbrella ordered more beer.
The Cat & Wheel, 207 Cheltenham Road, Bristol BS6 5QX
www.catandwheel.com
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more:
- A-Z Bristol pub crawl: The Apple Tree, Bedminster
- A-Z Bristol pub crawl: The Barley Mow, St Philip’s
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