Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eat and drink · Lechlade-on-Thames
The Trout Inn
A family-run pub by St John's Lock at St John's Bridge, Lechlade, recorded as an inn by 1692, with a riverside garden and fishing rights on the Thames.
Walker-friendly · Family-friendly
A family-run pub by St John's Lock, for a drink in the riverside garden or a meal by the log fire in winter. It closes on Mondays.
- Good: Riverside garden by St John's Lock
- Good: Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes marked on the menu
- Good: Two miles of its own Thames fishing
- Worth knowing: Closed on Mondays
- Worth knowing: Emails not checked constantly; phone for same-day questions
About
The Trout Inn is a family-run pub at St John's Bridge on the Faringdon Road, under a mile from the centre of Lechlade, beside St John's Lock and its statue of Father Thames. The pub's own story traces it to the medieval hospital of St John the Baptist by the bridge, dissolved in 1472. The record is firmer from the 17th century: an inn at the bridge was called the Baptist's Head by 1692 and had been renamed the Trout before 1831. It still holds fishing rights on two miles of the river, though not from its own land; on the south bank between the lock and Lechlade a bailiff collects fees in the season.
The menu runs from sausage and mash to steak and grilled trout, with mains from about £16.50 to £24.50, pizzas and a children's menu. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes are marked, and specials are on the board above the fireplace. Lunch and dinner are served Tuesday to Sunday, and takeaway is available in limited slots if you ring to book.
In summer there is a riverside garden, a marquee and a separate garden bar; in winter, a log fire in the main bar. The pub puts on music, theatre and other events through the year. It is on the circular walk from Lechlade to St John's Lock, which makes it a natural stop for walkers on the Thames Path.
Opening hours and season
Closed, opens Tue 10, 11:00
| Mon | Opening | Food served |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 14:00, 17:30 to 20:30 |
| Wednesday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 14:00, 17:30 to 20:30 |
| Thursday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 14:00, 17:30 to 20:30 |
| Friday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 14:00, 17:30 to 20:30 |
| Saturday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 14:30, 17:30 to 20:30 |
| Sunday | 12:00 to 21:00 | 12:00 to 15:00, 17:30 to 19:30 |
Evening closing may change with the weather and how busy it is; bank holiday and seasonal hours can differ.
The details
- Food
- Pub classics · Pizza
- Serving
- Lunch · Dinner · Sunday lunch
- Dietary
- Vegetarian dishes · Vegan dishes · Gluten-free dishes · Children's menu
- Features
- Garden or terrace · By the water · Open fire · Bar · Live music · Events and meetings
- History
- An inn by 1692 (the Baptist's Head); the Trout before 1831
Photos
The Trout Inn, Lechlade 
The inn in snow 
The inn on a winter evening Photo: Jennie Rainsford, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The riverside garden
Location
Places to stay nearby
-
The New Inn Hotel
Hotel · Lechlade-on-Thames
A 17th-century coaching inn on the Market Place in Lechlade-on-Thames, with thirty rooms, a restaurant and bar, and weddings.
Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
-
Bridge House Campsite
Camping · Lechlade-on-Thames
A small family-run touring and camping field on Thames Street, Lechlade, a short walk from the river and the town, with 42 pitches and three bell tents, open from late March until it closes for the winter.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Plough, Kelmscott
Pubs · Kelmscott
Kelmscott's village pub, a listed stone inn dated 1690, a few minutes from Kelmscott Manor and the Thames Path, serving British pub classics, breakfast and Sunday roasts, with a garden and eight bedrooms.
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The New Inn Hotel 0.9 km away
- Bridge House Campsite 0.9 km away
- Lynwood & Co, Lechlade 1.0 km away
- New Wave Brasserie and Bar, Lechlade 1.0 km away
Sights nearby
-
Father Thames and St John's Lock
Sight · Monument · Lechlade-on-Thames
Raffaelle Monti's reclining river god, modelled in cement for the Crystal Palace in 1854, beside St John's Lock below Lechlade, the first lock on the Thames. He lay at the river's source from 1958 until vandals drove him here in 1974. Grade II.
-
Halfpenny Bridge, Lechlade
Sight · Bridge · Lechlade-on-Thames
The single tall stone arch that carries Thames Street over the Thames at Lechlade, built under a turnpike Act of 1792, with a little square tollhouse on its corner. Named after the halfpenny walkers paid until 1839. Grade II; free.
-
River Thames at Lechlade
Sight · River · Lechlade-on-Thames
The young Thames at Lechlade, where the Coln and the Leach join it and the old Thames and Severn Canal met it at the Round House: long the head of the navigable river, with the Thames Path past Halfpenny Bridge to St John's Lock.
-
St John the Baptist, Inglesham
Sight · Church · Lechlade-on-Thames
A tiny church by the Thames at Inglesham, south of Lechlade, saved from Victorian restoration by William Morris: box pews, medieval screens, seven layers of wall paintings and a late Saxon Madonna and Child. Grade I; Churches Conservation Trust, open daily.