I’m in Berlin for a couple of nights with my son while he shops for some specialist miniature skateboard equipment. Hardly any pubs for me ! It’s our 2nd trip, and the continued revitalisation of the eastern part is startling. I reckon Boxhagen Street in Friedrichschafen is as dynamic a street as I’ve seen, standing… Continue reading TOURIST BERLIN
Month: August 2015
OPENING TIMES
Visiting all the pubs in the current Good Beer Guide is a long-term project. Aside from the logistical issues associated with lack of public transport or cheap hotels, one of the big challenges is the heavily restricted opening times of quite a few GBG entries. It is clearly the right of every pub/club/off-licence/greyhound racing venue… Continue reading OPENING TIMES
EAST RIDING
I’m finally on my cheap night out in lovely Hull visiting the couple of new entries, if the Adelphi will ever open. Despite a reputation on a par with Stoke, I rate Hull very highly for it’s gorgeous old town, museums, and a varied collection of boozers and cafe bars refelecting it’s history and student… Continue reading EAST RIDING
REAL ALE AT THE ETIHAD
Real ale is a reasonable expectation in many lower league grounds (Durham CAMRA is a particular champion of their County’s teams), where clubhouses are free to all. I can actually only recall a couple of league clubs where handpumps were a feature in the halftime catering; at Colchester’s new ground which had an attractive cask… Continue reading REAL ALE AT THE ETIHAD
BRAKSPEAR ORDINARY
On long walks I tend to stick to halves, and a dull half can be a very depressing experience. The most impressive beers I’ve had in halves tend to be the stronger pale beers such as from Oakham and Burning Sky. Bass and Harveys are definite pint beers. Brakspear, despite it’s change of site, continues… Continue reading BRAKSPEAR ORDINARY
A WALK TO THE PUB
My main ambition on retiring was to get fitter and visit the places (not all pubs) in the UK and abroad I hadn’t managed. In the last 6 months I’ve increased average daily miles walked from about 10 to 15, with quite a few 25 miles days recently. There is no doubt that it’s easier… Continue reading A WALK TO THE PUB
SCOTLAND (SLIGHT RETURN)
Life’s not all beer and skittles etc. After a fantastic couple of long walks around Glasgow and Edinburgh, today I have a 4 hour walk around Corby. Nowhere in Britain is without merit, and Corby has the UK’s premier skatepark which is what drags youngest son here on a regular basis. It also has some… Continue reading SCOTLAND (SLIGHT RETURN)
DUE A DEUCHARS ?
Final thoughts on Scottish pubs, before I turn my attention to how I get to the Aberdeenshire pubs by public transport. When I first spent significant time visiting Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2000 (cheap Ryanair to Prestwick), Caledonian Deuchars was ubiquitous and clearly being drunk in decent volumes. It had the sort of growing reputation… Continue reading DUE A DEUCHARS ?
ALECHEMY
I’ve just completed my day’s 26 and a bit mile walk around Edinburgh, which as well as confirming it and Glasgow as world-class cities allowed me to do a quick comparison between their respective pubs. Both cities have about 25 pubs in the current Beer Guide, those allocations reflecting tourist numbers and population. In Glasgow… Continue reading ALECHEMY
FALKIRK REBORN
There was much criticism of the sustainability of Millennium funded projects (Earth Project and the Public primary exhibits) but they certainly produced a range of cultural developments that got me exploring industrial towns throughout from 2000 on. It has sometimes seemed to me that in Scotland new cultural attractions have been hogged by it’s big… Continue reading FALKIRK REBORN
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