Merthyr Bowls Club

With its superb riverside location, top notch Tiff Dwarf green, decent food and amenities and eclectic inner city crowd Merthyr Bowls Club is arguably the pick of venues for a weekend game of barefoot bowls.

Then oldies mix it with hip young things embracing the old-fashioned club scene (which had its 1930s beginnings as a limbless soldier’s bowling club) for a session of cool drinks, food and non-taxing fun. And the club house itself dates back to the early 1950s when it was trucked in as two ex-army barracks and fitted together, complementing the igloo reception centre next door that was a US Soldiers recreation centre during World War II.

Before or after the game partake in the club barbecue or well priced a la carte menu, which includes oysters, burgers, chicken kiev or curry. Or if in a group go for the cocktail menu – mixed platters of nibbles from around the world – kebabs, satay sticks, nori rolls, samosa and bruschetta.

Food and history aside, it’s a great way to while away a lazy afternoon with friends and rub shoulders with the odd celebrity who drops in for a drink or a game.

The menu may have changed since our visit.