Bishops Tavern is the sort of place I would typically avoid, preferring any one of the number of independent pubs up Gloucester Road over a Greene King. However, I spotted a dartboard through the window and therefore decided to make a trip. The board is next to a large window, with the oche parallel to the pavement outside. It’s bright and a good spot for people watching. The beer choice was mostly a standard selection of lagers and IPAs, there was nothing on cask when I visited, I’m not sure if that’s standard. I opted for a pint of Schneider Weisse, which I was surprised to see but went down very nicely.

The board is a fairly cheap Winmau Pro SFB. It has round wires and a few staples (despite SFB standing for staple free board). It’s also in decent nick, with no worn-out segments or hard spots. I only played in the daylight, but there is a dedicated light above which I’m sure would illuminate the board adequately.

The oche is a mat, but it is broader and flatter than the typical mat you see. It also has the nice addition of having a checkout chart. This is particularly useful for intermediate players looking to improve their route to a double. I have previously threatened to carpet my house with checkout chart mat so I’ll never be without a checkout route again. The checkout table is particularly comprehensive, with routes for three darts from 170 and routes for two darts from 110. As usual it has the steel tip and soft tip oche lengths. I didn’t measure the length, but the board was the correct height and the mat was flush below the board.

There is a chalkboard to the left of the board, suitably far away that one could score without being in danger from another player throwing darts. It’s also a good sized board, meaning low scorers such as myself don’t need to write particularly small. Also, plenty of space for a big game of halve it. When I visited it was being used by Melissa to announce her birthday.

All in all it’s a nice dedicated darts area. When I have walked past on nice days in the summer the windows are fully opened, which I assume makes it a pleasant place to throw some arrows. However, there are often a lot of people smoking outside, so it may just transport you back to pre-2007. I’m also not sure if you could have a casual throw at busy times, certainly when big sports games are on the place fills up including the oche area.