Nightlife in Chippenham

Whoever decided roast dinners should be designated a single day of the week instead of all seven was a charlatan and a coward. Thankfully, there are places like The Pheasant on Bath Road that haven’t succumbed to such whimsy, that instead offer magnificently roasted foods Monday through to Sunday. Better yet, it’s a carvery, so you can gorge on their great home cooking until you can gorge no more, then wash it down with something from their selection of Wadworth ales, a local independent brewery based just up the road. If you don’t fancy a carvery you can go a la carte. If you’re not hungry then simply pop in for a pint; it’s a lovely pub. But, be warned, it can get busy.

The Old Road Tavern on Old Road is a good old fashioned pub where everyone’s welcome to join this wonderful melting pot of locals and contribute to the best craic in Chippenham. The drinks selection is great, and the prices are better. Best of all is the Old Road Tavern’s penchant for putting on events in its fully renovated barn. There’s always some form of live music on. Sunday is folk night, and the pub is a cornerstone of the Chippenham Folk Festival. There’s also a regular comedy night which attracts acts far bigger than the pub has any right to host. When the sun’s out, the beer garden, which constellates around a picturesque old tree, is one of the best places to be in town.

This next one is a bit odd. The Fortune Inn sounds like a Chinese restaurant. Well, it is a Chinese restaurant. In fact, it’s the best in town, and could have easily made our list of places to eat in Chippenham, but it’s here because it’s housed within a great pub on Sheldon Road. You can enjoy a pint in the pub’s main lounge and never guess in a million years that you could go through to the next room and smash through some Szechuan cuisine in an Oriental themed restaurant. Bizarre, but brilliant.

If you’re on the hunt for a more conventional gastropub, the Westbrook is just a ten-minute drive from Lacock Abbey, our top pick of days out in Chippenham. It’s a great country pub with an excellent beer garden and a play area for the kids. The drinks selection is top drawer and the food is even better. Fish is delivered from St Mawes in Cornwall, the steaks are matured for a month, and there’s a full children’s menu for the littluns to choose from as well.

If you fancy some cocktails during your stay at our Chippenham hotel then we’ve already mentioned one great option, Cafe Grounded, among our favourite places to eat in Chippenham. It’s a popular spot on the banks of the River Avon at the end of the High Street, where you can enjoy some al fresco bevs when the sun’s shining and the weather’s warm.

Alternatively, you can cross Town Bridge to Rivo Lounge, another local favourite when it comes to bars in Chippenham. With its vibrant decor and lively atmosphere bustles out onto the street during the summer months thanks to its facade of bi-folding doors. It’s a people watching paradise with a plentiful selection of poisons to take your pick from and a half decent menu of eating if you get peckish too.

One of our absolute top picks for anyone visiting Chippenham is The Three Crowns on The Causeway. It’s a community pub which dates back to the 1700s, with an excellent selection of beers and ciders, where everyone is welcome. The main bar boasts a beautiful fireplace where you can warm your cockles in the colder months, while there’s also a separate snug bar for more intimate conversations. They host four ale and cider festivals a year, as well as gin and wine tasting extravaganzas.

The sun’s gone down, you’ve had a shandy or two, and you’re looking for a bit of dancing, where do you go? e11evn is a couple of doors down from Rivo Lounge. Entry is free before eleven, the music might be a bit cheesy at times but it’s fun, lively and probably your best option unless you fancy hopping on the train to sample the nearby nightlife in Bath.