BREATHLESS IN BETHESDA

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Nearly all CAMRA branches have parts of the patch it’s difficult to get to.  Even in Stockport, actually getting to Wythenshawe in one piece has its challenges.

Bethesda* on the “historic” A5, seemingly built personally by Thomas Telford, isn’t hard to get to, but Y Sior is an awfully steep climb from the High Street.

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Dashed red line is Craft Exclusion Zone

Mrs RM waited at the foot of a hill that rivalled Lincoln or Shaftesbury.  And admired the scenery over a bag of Haribo she’d nicked off our sons.

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It was worth the breathless scamper to the hamlet of Carneddi.

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You know you’re at a proper boozer when they keep the Burtonwood livery, like they do in St Helens.

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A proper community pub surviving on entertainment rather than food, and an exemplar of pub seating. My sort of pub.

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A proper Welsh beer line up as well, and a barman who took the time out to ask what I thought of the very tasty Purple Moose (after I flashed my “Beer Communicator” card).

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Bethesda looks a well-churched, and extremely well pubbed village, though perhaps lacking the middle-class gastros that Guardian reading families en-route to the fastest zip line in the world might look for. This corner of Wales is fast becoming the adrenaline capital of the UK, as Mrs RM found out last year.

Betwys for the tourist, Bethesda for the toper.

 

*I admit it. I always thought it was Bethseda.

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

15 thoughts on “BREATHLESS IN BETHESDA”

    1. I really do !. Pedantry welcomed on this blog. Notably, you’re the only person (again) to pick that up, Mudge.

      Sherborne is the home to the famous Digby Tap, but otherwise flattish. I’m off to a music festival on Cranborne Chase, just down the road from Shaftesbury next week, so no excuse.

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      2. If you have time Tisbury is a short spin from Cranborne Chase and has three solid boozers – the South Western Hotel,The Bennett Arms and the Boot Inn.The Bennett in particular has an extensive range of beers including their own stuff and the Boot is worth going to just because it has the crankiest publican around.And his wife was the first mounted policewoman in Brighton.

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      3. Tisbury s great. I drove past there on Saturday on way from Stourhead to Salisbury. Been to Boot and Bennett, thought crank was compulsory trait round there.

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  5. For those of us who are only beginners in the language, please could you provide phonetic representations of the names of the towns and villages. Bethesda is a real challenge.

    Is the flag Cornish?

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  6. Not been to that part of the world for a long, long, time, following an incident in a pub where a mate stuck 10p in the bandit while the old gadgie who had been feeding it for ages went to the bar to get some more change. My mate dropped the jackpot (only two quid in them days) only to receive a tirade of Welsh language punctuated at very regular intervals with full weight English swear words. We weren’t laughing at him, or his misfortune. It was just the fact, as highly intellectual sixth formers, we couldn’t believe they had invented a language but forgot to include any swear words! The rest of the locals and the landlord didn’t quite see it that way and we were asked to leave.

    Do they still do the flip from English to Welsh when strangers walk in the pub?

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    1. I must be very lucky, Richard, as I’ve never had anything but a friendly welcome in Welsh pubs (bar those at Ninian Park). Go to West London/Surrey borders if you want to feel like an unwelcome stranger !

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