On A lovely sunny autumn day, we weren’t the only people who thought it was time to get out into the fresh air.

When we reached the Cross Guns some of them had even decided to eat outside, but we felt that was taking things a bit too far. Or perhaps they were more enthusiastic walkers than us and felt they were too muddy!

As you can reach the pub on foot along the canal towpath or one of several footpaths, on bike or even by boat, as it sits next to the aqueduct on the Kennet & Avon canal over the River Avon, that was perfectly possible.

Inside the low-ceiling pub is very traditional, with beams hung with horse brasses and an impressive collection of what my gran called guzunders.

The beer is from Box Steam Brewery, but I’m not an ale fan so I tried Toodle Pip, a lovely pear and apple cider, which was almost clear in colour and wonderfully refreshing.

There are several menus to choose from, and it took us a while to make our choices. Wanting to try something a little more adventurous than pub grub, I plumped for the panfried monkfish in coconut and coriander sauce. I was a bit disappointed when it arrived to find it served on the bone, as it would have been nicer if the sauce could have soaked into chunks of the fish. The garden pea and salad accompaniment, including coleslaw and chunks of raw onion, seemed to sit oddly with the rice.

My daughter is a lover of spicy food and chose the Cajun chicken and chips. Here the sauce was great, but the meat itself was quite hard to cut and chewy. Good chips though.

We had to wait rather a long time for the plates to be cleared, and despite asking for a pudding menu, it took some time to come, and then even longer for the waitress (who did seem to be the only person serving inside the busy pub) to take the order.

However, the puddings, although a tad pricey at £4.50 a pop, were the highlight of the meal: a lovely apple pie with homemade pastry and a generous dollop of ice cream, and a sticky toffee pudding which came swimming in a moat of cream and was light and full of flavour. Our food bill was £33.45.

* Open 10am-midnight. 
* Food served daily noon-9pm (9.30pm Friday/Saturday). 
* Children and well-behaved dogs welcome.
* Walkers, boaters and cyclists catered for.
* Terraced dining garden.
* Car park on the Westwood side of the aqueduct, some parking by roadside on the Turleigh side.