The Old Fox

To call The Old Fox a ‘bikers pub’ would be an overstatement. Although it is favoured by the biking fraternity, who frequent the place en masse from time to time, it is fundamentally a pub open to all. It may not be the most glamorous of venues, but it possesses a friendly enough atmosphere, and houses a broad selection of alcoholic beverages. I’d recommend popping to The Old Fox for a quiet pint or two at lunch time; the atmosphere is relaxed and the food (your usual pub grub) is reasonably priced and tasty. And if you like a game of pool, the pub has a pool room which is usually empty in the daytime. This venue also has the added bonus of space — unless there is an influx of bikers on the scene, feeling claustrophobic in this pub would be well nigh impossible.

The phrase ‘biker pub’ conjures up ideas of angry men dressed in black leather and glasses hurled around. A visit to the Old Fox, however, shows that the reputation of places like this is a bit out of kilter with biker culture these days (in this particular part of Bristol at least).
For me the best thing about this place is that they’ve got a big old Harley sitting in the bar, something to admire as you have a pint. The clientèle is made up in part by bikers, but this is just another locals pub really. This means quiet most of the week with things picking up on the weekends.
When they do live music things do get a bit more lively. It does show that it’s not a dedicated music venue at these times, but an enjoyable night of music can certainly be had. Prices are all right and there’s a good range of beers. All in all a fairly decent but unremarkable pub, apart from the bikes, that is.

This is a bikers pub at the top of Gloucester Road. Living just up the road, for most of my youth I thought this was definitely a place to be avoided, and was quite intimidated by the large number of bikes that are often parked outside it at a weekend, however, my young opinions were totally unfounded.
It’s actually a really decent pub, with the clientele perfectly friendly and welcoming. It’s honest — there’s no frills and fancy decoration — they know what they’re about, which is primarily bikes, good music and beer. There’s a pool table and dart board for entertainment, and they often have live music — I’ve seen Live Zeppelin, Bristol’s tribute act for Led Zeppelin play there in some incarnations a couple of times, and they seem welcoming to bands. So if you’re after beer, some good old style blues, and generally a good old style honest pub this does the trick.