A few photos from the home of a real BBB stalwart.
Having described their “fun” pubs as smelling of dead Aardvark, it was time to beat a quick retreat from Skegness. But there is no such thing as a quick exit out of town, as anyone who has enjoyed the A52 to Boston will know.
The OS extract makes it look quite interesting; the WhatPub extract tells a truer tale.
No GBG pubs at all in that stretch, but the Batemans Visitor Centre in its iconic windmill is always worth a stop.
Wainfleet All Saints is an attractive little town in the mould of Crowland, and a sharp contrast to the bungalow villages that dominate much of Fenland. The market place was obviously in the throes of an auction of salvaged John Deere parts.
More traditional machinery on show at the brewery.
A good (comfort) stop, even if you can’t face the Salem Porter at 10am. Last time here the beer was superb, as it can be when pubs sell more than a couple of pints an hour of it (see also: Waggon & Horses, York).
You can walk around the centre for free and imagine what a great proper pub this could make.
I particularly enjoyed the Board Room at the top of the windmill, the open displays of old ledgers and “Spot the Bass bottle“.
Some of the signs would make great additions to a man cave.
Charles and I took turns to be disgusted at the display of old pump clips.
But luckily the pub signs were more benign.
Only now I’m back in Waterbeach do I notice that the Angel Inn in town would have served up both Draught Bass AND Doom Bar. You don’t see much Doom Bar these days.
retiredmartin 
Funny post ! 👍😀 You’re right doom bar has been conspicuous by its absence recently…looks well worth a visit
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I may have getting mixed up. Just I’ve seen Bass 3 times more than Bass in last fortnight !
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Don’t you mean “I’ve seen Bass 3 times more than Doom Bar”?
Friskney and Old Leake two more classic Lincs place names.
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You’re right Mudgie, Bass 3 times more than Doom Bar. Russ unsettles me.
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I’ve got fond memories of getting well oiled with the Bateman family in there. George was still alive then – a proper member of the beerage.
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You ? Well oiled ? Surely not.
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Yes, Mr George and his wife were having lunch in the visitor centre last time I was in Wainfleet, possibly about twelve years ago.,
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That’s false advertising in the first photo. 275 ml is 9.678634 oz, not 9.68. 🙂
“Beer desert”
Yes, but at least they have a spot set aside just for men over 50 to have a Jimmy Riddle (i.e. Old Leake). 🙂
“at the display of old pump clips.”
Not sure if you’re talking about the photos or the clips themselves. 😉
Cheers
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Russ,
But as the contents are probably somewhere between 9.6 and 9.9 fluid ounces that’s probably of little consequence.
The bottle can probably be dated to within a few years given that (a) both the imperial and metric volumes are shown and (b) the Original Gravity was indicated.
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I was half-heartedly taking the p*ss. 🙂
But, on a semi serious note; when did Imperial and US ounces become different? I always thought it was just the gallons that were different but in checking online you can now convert mls to either US or Imperial ozs. That’s a new one on me.
Cheers
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Russ,
Oh, no, I thought we were all dead serious on here.
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“Oh, no, I thought we were all dead serious on here.”
LOL!
Thank God I wasn’t having a sip of beer when reading that! 🙂
Cheers
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A fascinating looking place Martin, but I don’t envy the person whose job it is to dust all those bottles!
Stopped off at Wainfleet All Saints once, back in the early 1980’s. No visitor centre then, but we must have called in at a pub somewhere in the town in order to enjoy a few glasses of Bateman’s “at source”.
I thought we’d managed to avoid Skegness, but looking at your map I see we would have passed through it, on what was a “scenic” journey up to Yorkshire. Definitely didn’t stop there though!
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Full-time dusting job, Paul ! My photos only show the half of it.
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“You don’t see much Doombar these days”
Great ironic comment Martin…even if it is a bit painful…
…but in the unlikely event that there is somewhere in mainland UK which can claim that – let me know – I may move there…
…even if it’s Maidenhead…
…and in the even more unlikely event that you want to see more Doom beer, I can heartily recommend the New Forest area…
🙄
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PS now I’ve recovered from my moment of Doom beer trauma – great post and the Bateman’s visitor centre looks like a real treasure trove.
The old hand pumps on the wall are very interesting – assuming that’s what they are…
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Looks like a lovely place; I must agree, that visitor center would make a great proper pub! Bateman’s is one of those brands I have no impression of whatsoever. Are their beers well liked among fans of the boring brown bitter?
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