THE SNJ has teamed up with Stroud CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) to highlight some of the fantastic pubs in the area.

Some members of the group regularly meet up for walks and pub visits, and we will be featuring their Strolling With Chums reports here.

Strolling With Chums lunchtime report by Bill Hicks

Six of us for lunch at the Bear Inn, Bisley

Three ales on the pumps:

Hobgoblin IPA - 4.5% - Wychwood

Golden Best - 3.5% - Timothy Taylor - £4.00

Ferryman - 4.2% - Exeter

We drank the Golden Best repeatedly which was tasty and beautifully kept.

The food was excellent and reasonably priced.

Four of us plumped for the liver and mash special, one went for chicken and another for pork fillet.

All the meals came with very generous communal dishes of beautifully cooked vegetables. Menu details are on their website.

Of course, we ordered a side dish of chips in order to apply the Willoughby Chip Scale rating which came out at a solid WCS 8.

Veteran pub diners though we are, we were impressed.

The front-of-house service was very friendly and attentive and the chef himself came out to check that we were enjoying his labours.

The beer was irreproachable and the food excellent. The place was warm and welcoming and full of character.

Bisley is a lovely little Cotswold village surrounded by glorious countryside.

We strongly recommend a visit.

See: http://bearinnbisley.com

The Bear Inn is situated in Bisley, which is located within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and there are lots of lovely walks close by.

These include the Bisley Circular Walk, a 19.5 kilometer loop trail that features a river, and a beautiful 1.8km lake walk around the Miserden Estate.