Young BRAPA is gorging on Gwent at the moment, so I know he’d want to see what a fully pinked Welsh county looks like. I completed Glamorgan back in July at one of the dullest pubs in the Guide, but a quick look at the OS extract for St Athan reveals hidden depths. Here, a… Continue reading GLAMORGAN HAD FALLEN
BASS AND CARLING BY THE JUG IN PORTHCAWL. BUT NOT FOR ME.
Closing in on the last knockings of Glamorgan now, with a trip to the Skegness of the West. Well, actually Porthcawl isn’t that exciting, so perhaps it’s more a Felixstowe. Does Felixstowe have a hotel with Bass ? The Lorelei had been taunting me for some years with itr’s offer of all day seaside hospitality… Continue reading BASS AND CARLING BY THE JUG IN PORTHCAWL. BUT NOT FOR ME.
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF IN PENCOED
A reminder to those of you asking where all the close-ups of Welsh strict Methodist chapels from this trip are; sign up to be a Patronised reader to get that content. The Welsh week wasn’t entirely without fraught moment, the Little Penybont Arms in Pencoed deciding to be unexpectedly shut. After reading through the Facebook… Continue reading PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF IN PENCOED
14:08 : YSTALYFERA FEAR AT THE WERN FAWR
Yet ANOTHER Welsh village that only the Welsh can pronounce, and Wiki tells me that 1,812 of Ystalyfera’s population of 3,019 speak Welsh, so they’re fine. I know we need the big map to see where Ystalyfera lies, on the edge of the Valleys but a safe distance from That Merthyr, but it’s the Ordnance… Continue reading 14:08 : YSTALYFERA FEAR AT THE WERN FAWR
“Those were the days, my friend”. Pubbing Pontardawe.
The great mid-July conquering of Glamorgan continued with a trip to Pontardawe, which I have on occasion confused with Pontardulais, with disastrous results. I know you only read this rubbish to equip yourselves to visit obscure Swansea Valley towns, so you should know that Pontardawe is famed as the birthplace of this McCartney pro·tégé. Mary… Continue reading “Those were the days, my friend”. Pubbing Pontardawe.
(STILL) A TOP 100 PUB – THE PILOT IN MUMBLES NAILS IT
Well, you can’t walk six (6) miles to the Mumbles and NOT have a Bass at the Pilot, can you ? The Pilot is closer in feel to the tightly knit streets rising to the hills than the smart new bistros lining the sea, and looked absolutely gorgeous as the sun set over Swansea Bay.… Continue reading (STILL) A TOP 100 PUB – THE PILOT IN MUMBLES NAILS IT
SUNSET OVER THE MUMBLES
Blimey, we live in a beautiful country, don’t we ? Or perhaps I just got lucky with the sunshine this summer as I homed in on GBG glory. The walk from Swansea Uni to the Mumbles in mid-July was as good as it got, particularly with a Bass stop on the way. This is what… Continue reading SUNSET OVER THE MUMBLES
WELSH BASS ALERT
See how it glows ! Ian “Bassman” Thurman deserves some sort of award, perhaps a rescued Bass glass, for his tireless work in documenting Bass availability across the nation. Over recent years I’ve come across more Bass in Welsh GBG ticks than anywhere, with a lot of those Derbyshire pubs that Life After Football visits… Continue reading WELSH BASS ALERT
DON’T BE COY ABOUT COYTRAHEN
Welsh pubs may not always be open, but at least in Glamorgan they’re often an uphill walk away from a railway station with at least one train a day. Coytrahen doesn’t trouble Wikipedia, which makes me wonder what my occasional £3 donations are for, so I suspect the Nicholls Arms is its highlight. A Cardiff… Continue reading DON’T BE COY ABOUT COYTRAHEN
PONTYPRIDD, NOT MUCH MORE THAN A QUID
BRAPA is currently terrorising South Wales on his “Gwenty’s Plenty” tour, an attempt to squeeze 20 pints into a week without getting distracted by Newports cultural offer. Back in July I was tormented by the nagging suspicion I’d already been to my Pontypridd target. In 2014, just before my birthday (22/12) I’d spent a terrific… Continue reading PONTYPRIDD, NOT MUCH MORE THAN A QUID
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