Surprisingly, this is the first Bass pub I’ve reviewed, and on National Bass Day no less. I have visited the Sandringham a number of times before; it’s my pub of choice if I have an hour or so to spare before a film at Showcase Avonmeads. This was a late afternoon Saturday Easter Bank Holiday visit, and the pub was crowded. Both rooms were busy, with the jukebox up loud, and got turned up further when In the Navy came on. Although the atmosphere was positive and lively, I have always felt a little on edge in the Sandringham. On a previous visit it featured some of the most blatant devil’s dandruff use I’ve ever seen, which leads me to think that some of the characters in there might be a bit volatile. That said, I’ve had a few games of darts against strangers in there too, who have always been friendly and gracious in victory or defeat (usually victory). It is most likely a case of being more of a regular and knowing who the characters are, as well as being a recognised face yourself.

Bass is served in Bristol style, using an electric pump and with not a fleck of foam. Also right to the brim, so that the meniscus is bulging over the top of the glass and it can’t be picked up off the bar without spilling. Personally, I like a bit of head on a beer, although I have to say the Bass in the Sandringham goes down very nicely so I can’t complain. Although there were a few pints of lager/Guinness knocking around, most patrons were drinking Bass or the other proper Bristol pub perennial: cans of Natch.

Unlike most of the rest of the pubs I’ve reviewed so far, darts isn’t a secondary consideration at the Sandringham. The back room has four boards, all set up with plenty of room and of high quality, despite plenty of use. While I don’t think any of the pubs I’ve reviewed so far have dartboards purely as an accessory, they are often tucked out of the way such that it makes playing a normal game quite difficult. On arrival the first two boards were occupied, so we settled on the third.

The board itself is unbranded, but has nice thin dividing wires, and I thought it threw like a Blade 6. The lack of branding means it’s slightly less obvious that it’s been rotated, but from the picture you can see that the 7, 3, 14 and 13 segments have been used as the 20 at some point in the past. However, the board was still great to throw on, taking the time to rotate the board frequently greatly increases the life of a board, and the enjoyment of throwing on it without having your hard-won treble 20s sliding out onto the floor due to the battering it’s taken. I didn’t check the other two boards, but the final unused board was of a similar standard.

I still haven’t followed through on my threat to bring a measuring tape to check the oche, but with the care taken to regularly rotate the board, I suspect the set-ups are all correct. It’s definitely roughly the right distance, and the board was the right height using my head as a measuring stick. The board we were on was definitely the third best in terms of the oche, as the desire path to the loo cuts diagonally across the room from the entrance, which avoids the first two oches but bisects the latter two. Generally people would walk behind the oche, but a few would nip through between throws. For scoring there are chalkboards and chalk galore, although not the only white powder present as mentioned. The chalkboards are patterned into four columns, allowing you to enter your score and new total for double checking your maths if required.

All in all I enjoy playing in the Sandringham, the fact that I can almost always get a game of darts there is a big positive. I’ve never felt uneasy with the darts players, just a few of the characters swaggering in and out of the bathroom to top up on beak. This was a particularly auspicious visit to get a few Bass in on National Bass Day and have a few legs with a mate visiting from Inverness.