- Host:
- Miss Nicola King and Mr Ben Lord
- Where:
- Tetbury Road
- Cirencester
- Gloucestershire GL7 6NZ
- Telephone:
- (01285) 770259
- Facilities:
- Architectural Interest
- Car Park
- Garden Or Patio
- Restaurant Or Dining Room
- Pub Food
- Skittle Alley
- Function Room Available
- Overnight Accommodation
- Caravans
- Map:
The Thames Head Inn, Cirencester
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The single most common topic of conversation at The Thames Head is not sport or politics, but the source of the River Thames. The pub is named after the spot, about half a mile away, where the river begins its 154-mile journey to London Bridge - or does it?
The source is disputed, though a large panel putting forward the evidence and even a statue of Old Father Thames himself shows the strength of the local claim to it.
The Thames, though, is just a trickle here and it is not the river, but two other transport routes, that have put the pub on the map. Until Dr Beeching wielded his axe in the 1960s, the pub was next door to Tetbury Road Station and with that gone, the car now brings almost all visitors to its doors. Otherwise it is a rather isolated spot.
This is a welcoming pub renowned for its good food and it has an attractive layout with a large central bar surrounded by various nooks and crannies and a non-smoking area.
The Thames Head has undergone a total renovation in the last five years, adding four beautifully decorated rooms in a barn conversion at the rear of the pub. Three of the rooms have four-poster beds, and they all have en-suite bathrooms, colour TVs and tea-making facilities.
Since 1989 Arkell's beers have been another reason to make a special journey to one of the brewery's unspoilt havens.