August is the cruellest month. I expected the new Beer Guide last Friday, but I now won’t see it till I get back from End of the Road festival next Monday. Simon will have completed it by then. Helped by a blitz of the Welsh coast in our campervan, 51 new Guide pubs were visited… Continue reading AUGUST STOCKTAKE
Month: August 2016
PETROL GIRLS & ST. RADEGUND
You’ll have noticed I’ve spent the last few days in Cambridgeshire. This isn’t because of any Damascene conversion to the beauty of the Fens, but because I’m sitting by the door waiting for the new Beer Guide. In torment. This is my emergency supply for stressful situations; To take my mind of the fact that… Continue reading PETROL GIRLS & ST. RADEGUND
SOHAM – A TASTE OF HONEY
First things first. Best wishes to Norwich United’s Andy Eastnaugh for a quick recovery from the sickening injury that brought a premature end to my Non-League experience yesterday. Not a good way for anyone to spend their 30th birthday. The collision happened straight from the kick-off, bringing an understandable abandonment after 16 seconds. I’ll be back… Continue reading SOHAM – A TASTE OF HONEY
(NEARLY) TOP 100 PUBS – PINT SHOP, CAMBRIDGE
Mrs RM had put up with me trudging round with her in the electronics section at John Lewis (Robert Sayle to me), so she felt she’d earned something strong in Pint Shop. Cambridge’s craft place is the one she picks when we’re out, in the same way my sister has always ended up in Falmouth’s… Continue reading (NEARLY) TOP 100 PUBS – PINT SHOP, CAMBRIDGE
EXEBRIDGE & THE CASE FOR ABBOT
It was a flying visit to Exmoor, but long enough to establish that any tourists there were could be found walking to the Tarr Steps. I’m joking of course, no-one walks that far these days, and there are killer snakes out there. Actually, they were all looking for the lone open pub; that turned out to… Continue reading EXEBRIDGE & THE CASE FOR ABBOT
EXMOOR CLOSED FOR SUMMER
It’s a dozen years since we last visited Exmoor, other than the odd trip to Minehead. Our son is staying with a mate in Bridgwater, so we’ve pitched up near Dulverton, to the north of the National Park. There’s a pub on our doorstep, but that’ll have to wait for the photos to upload. It’s a… Continue reading EXMOOR CLOSED FOR SUMMER
OAKHAM v SAM SMITHS IN PETERBOROUGH
Greater Manchester, Newcastle and Cambridge seem to have the best quality beer, looking at my scoring over the years. Peterborough has rarely let me down either. The city has had half a dozen reliable Beer Guide pubs of some character for a decade or more now, all scoring highly for quality and pubbiness (even the… Continue reading OAKHAM v SAM SMITHS IN PETERBOROUGH
ON THE KEY KEG AT PETERBOROUGH BEER FEST
Beer Festivals don’t feature heavily on my itinerary , (IndyMan and Manchester Fest apart, and I need little excuse to visit the 1st City). My disinterest in Fests is largely a simple matter that they’re not pubs, and pub life is what my travels are about. I also don’t need a choice of more than… Continue reading ON THE KEY KEG AT PETERBOROUGH BEER FEST
ELLESMERE RETURNS
There used to be a number of places you could rely on being Beer Guide entry free; Letchworth, Port Talbot, Coatbridge. Then along came Wetherspoons and ruined it for everyone. Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA doesn’t have a large allocation in the Guide anyway, and the largely rural area up to Whitchurch remains resolutely un-touristy.… Continue reading ELLESMERE RETURNS
NO NEED TO BYPASS TARPORLEY
My earliest experiences of Robinsons pubs were the slightly run-down but cheery places in the Dark Peak, close to the train carriage B&B at the Little Mill in Rowarth. It wasn’t just the cheap beer that impressed in the unknown lands of Marple Bridge and Romiley; some of our group had never seen a hill before,… Continue reading NO NEED TO BYPASS TARPORLEY
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