One of the themes of my blog (along with “Avoid Maidenhead“) is that the explosion of choice is rarely beneficial to quality. One of the best pints I’ve had in recent weeks was in a tourist-driven Spoons that had a minimal, but quality, cask range. The argument for heading for pubs with many pumps seems to be… Continue reading TOO MANY HANDPUMPS – THE CAMBRIDGE EXCEPTIONS
Month: September 2017
WONSTON WINNERS
A few average beers and pubs of late, but I ended the life of GBG17, and completed Hampshire, on a high. Wonston’s eponymous pub is in the mysterious triangle (and virtual GBG desert) between Andover, Winchester and the “posh bits of Basingstoke“. At a push this is Watership Down country, but really it’s where… Continue reading WONSTON WINNERS
HOPPING BACK TO SALISBURY
The pub-ticking, gig-going life can be a bit repetitive. 3 trips to Bristol in a month, 2 to Salisbury in a week. Until the embargo lifts, I don’t even know if I’m visiting pubs not long for this Beer Guide world. Anyway, my last two ticks in Wiltshire’s GBG17 chapter were fairly typical of the… Continue reading HOPPING BACK TO SALISBURY
SALTFORD’S RED HAT MAN WITH COMPLEX BAGUETTE INSTRUCTIONS
Not a post that will detain you long, but I thought Saltford’s Bird in Hand deserved a mention on my blog to illustrate the joyous contrasts you get in English pubs two miles apart. The main A4 through Saltford is the sort of dull parade of shops and Greene King Pizza Pub you travel to… Continue reading SALTFORD’S RED HAT MAN WITH COMPLEX BAGUETTE INSTRUCTIONS
KEYNSHAM – SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE
What an extraordinary place Keynsham turns out to be, hidden between the scary craft of Bristol and the Spoons queues of Bath , and surrounded by garden centres. Home to Keynsham Humpy Tumps (I’m not making this up), Jacob Rees-Mogg and an old Cadbury factory now converted into posh housing. As they say, a heady mixture.… Continue reading KEYNSHAM – SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE
A LONGING FOR LANCASTER
I’ve just discovered a cache of photos from our Easter trip to Lancaster. I might make a post of them, particularly if I can find my notes of Mrs RM’s cutting comments on the town. “It’s no Preston, is it ?” sums it up. Actually, I’d put Lancaster on hold as I was in a huff… Continue reading A LONGING FOR LANCASTER
KENDAL – CATS, DOGS & CHINTZ
Some folk run marathons for fun. It’s much more enjoyable (and better for pubs) to walk the 26 and a bit miles, stopping at Beer Guide pubs on the way. My first walked marathon in 2014 took in Wigan and Cumbria, and included a little stretch from Oxenholme, “Gateway to the Lakes” into Kendal. Some… Continue reading KENDAL – CATS, DOGS & CHINTZ
END OF THE ROAD FOR BBB IN CANS ?
My annual trip to Dorset for the festival of new (and not always obscure) music that is End of the Road ends today. I’ll take in 30 bands, 12 food carts, and be taken for £5.50 a half pint for the Beavertown Cowboy Lightning. But it was worth it. Wish it wasn’t against my principles… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD FOR BBB IN CANS ?
AUGUST ’17 STOCKTAKE – EMBARGO EDITION
Under the “Pub Ticking Blogger” charter I’m obliged to do a monthly post detailing progress, even if I’m in a field, in Wiltshire, without WiFi (as Jarvis Cocker sang). Posting on a mobile phone is the blogging equivalent of pubbing in micros. That internet problem means I’m struggling to update my GBG spreadsheet for the… Continue reading AUGUST ’17 STOCKTAKE – EMBARGO EDITION
DEAD BODDIES IN PRESTON
You’ll know the score by now. I’m in deepest Dorset for the End of the Road festival, seeing if I can eat something from every food outlet. It’s like doing the Beer Guide, but bad for you. So you’ll have to put up with a few short posts ’till Sunday, starting with a pub close… Continue reading DEAD BODDIES IN PRESTON
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