No trip to Wales is complete without a Sunday morning spent watching old boyos downing pints of lager. It’s easy to forget that this simple pleasure was denied to them before Wetherspoons crossed the Severn in the ’90s (and that’s before we get into the issue of Sunday licensing). My correspondent on minor sports tells… Continue reading WELSH SPOONS
Month: February 2017
SWANSEA ON THE RISE
The Gower has the sheep and traditional pubs, but Swansea has the vitality at the moment. Each trip reveals new regeneration projects, while the Swansea Bay lagoon will, reportedly, produce enough power to keep the floodlights on at the Vetch Liberty. Mind you, finishing 17th in the League probably earns you £1.3 billion these days. Talking… Continue reading SWANSEA ON THE RISE
GUZZLING IN THE GOWER
A trip to Swansea for another skateboarding contest; another chance to finish off the little clutch of pubs in the Gower. The skateboarding with fingers event has apparently taken over from an event in Bavaria as the pinnacle of the sport this year, which speaks volumes about Swansea’s cultural renaissance,or perhaps how cheap it is.… Continue reading GUZZLING IN THE GOWER
BASS AND THE PROMISE OF BASS IN GWENT’S TOP PUBS
Gwent CAMRA don’t appear to have a Twitter presence; perhaps Twitter is dead. But their website told me that two recent Pubs of the Year were on my diminishing list of “GBG Pubs in Gwent To Do“. The Clytha Arms , tucked away on a back road between Monmouth and Abergavenney, has been on that list… Continue reading BASS AND THE PROMISE OF BASS IN GWENT’S TOP PUBS
A TINY REBELLION IN NEWPORT
Having had a hissy fit last year when finding Newport closed on Sunday, it’s only fair I should tell you how good it is when it’s open. Starting with the street art. Or, at least, the best suburban garden since Tunbridge Wells. The network of bridges and underpasses was as scary as ever, but this… Continue reading A TINY REBELLION IN NEWPORT
FROTH ON THE BEER
When I confidently called the completion of the Bucks section of the GBG last week I was, I’m sorry to say, premature. GBG completists as great as Duncan and Simon will be familiar with the horror of an Erroneous Tick, in this case due to the belief that Penn was a suburb of Tylers Green,… Continue reading FROTH ON THE BEER
SUP UP YOUR BEER. ETON EYEFULS
The title doesn’t really work with a cannon, but there you go. My last Berkshire pub was in Eton, which must be a first. I remember the Waterman’s Arms, a classic Courage pub in its day, but the Crown & Cushion is a blur. The George must be the first new Eton pub in the Guide… Continue reading SUP UP YOUR BEER. ETON EYEFULS
DOCTOR WHO IN DIDCOT
I was very excited to read on Wikipedia about the modern art installation in Didcot. If you look very closely below you’ll see it in the middle of the photo, between New Look and Store Twenty One. Tim from Newbury tells me this was part of Berkshire ’till 1974, when the local CAMRA branch lost the… Continue reading DOCTOR WHO IN DIDCOT
WONDERS OF WANTAGE
Wantage is an ideal overnight stop for exploring South Oxon, with a couple of great pubs, decent Chinese takeaway and, vitally, a Waitrose. Hotel prices might be described as “ambitious” though; you’re best off camping on this nice bit of greenery; The town itself is neat but functional, pubs apart. Perhaps it lacks the architectural appeal of similarly… Continue reading WONDERS OF WANTAGE
CAMERON-LAND
If Essex is one of my favourite counties for GBG pubs, Oxon is well down the list. Nothing to do with Light Blue/Dark Blue rivalry, I just find the pubs too food-focused, outside a good cohort of boozers around Banbury. 20 years ago, the county was noted for some of the most unspoilt pubs in the… Continue reading CAMERON-LAND
retiredmartin 