“Never write posts after a penalty shoot-out” says the Pub Bloggers Manual. Oh well.
I have a lot of photos and scrappy notes from the Great Penrith, Ayr & Glasgow Campervan Trip of 2018, some of them usable.
Before I start on twenty-three pubs, here’s the quiz.
“What will be the average NBSS score across those 23 ? ” (23 points, obvs).
Paisley residents can’t enter; entries must be received by 3am Toronto time tomorrow.
Anyway, let’s start in Penrith. At the Crown in Eamont Bridge.
We were last here in 2003 when Mrs RM won a luxury hotel break in Glenridding by devising a limerick about handwash (I think), and Penrith seemed a bit earthy compared to the Lakeland villages. I couldn’t even remember if it had a Heron Foods or not.
Five hours up the A14/A1/A66, most of it seemingly on the little bit of A14 at Girton renamed Hell, and around Scotch Corner Mrs RM started to look for somewhere to leave our campervan for the night.
I gave her a budget of a fiver, she got the Crown for free, a nice Thai lady just asking us to park up in their big car park. You’re expected to drink or eat, but Pad Thai for £7 was always going to be a good deal. More pubs should let you camp overnight in their car park.
Despite being set in a pretty village with King Arthur’s Round Table (the actual one), standing stones and a stone bridge, the Crown was very much your Cumbrian community boozer.
We tipped up at 5.30 on Friday. A couple of locals were jossing with the landlord, a proper South Londoner who’d got lost in Shap and never got back to Stockwell.
Look what he had on;
I’m not sure if he appreciated the sincerity of my joy at only seeing one pump in a bar selling mainly Youngers Scotch by the look of it.
And that Gold Wing was “Good”, perhaps “Very Good”. No less a beer sommelier than Mrs RM said so, but then she did get first dib at the crisps. Life outside the Beer Guide.
We asked about food times. I sensed they’d feed you when you turned up. I sensed the Crown was a bit too “earthy” for the Center Parks crowd (spit) who expect named table reservations and stands for their pashminas.
The Gents is spectacular.
We sensed a lively evening when we returned from Penrith Proper, and we were right.
retiredmartin 
I had no idea Youngers Scotch Bitter still existed, let along why it does. Apparently brewed in that well known Scottish town of Bedford, by Marstons/Wells. That pint looks good – wonder how many pubs selling excellent but small ranges of cask are overlooked for the GBG in favour of enthusiast bars packed with pumps?
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Er, loads ;-)))) I guess LifeAfterFootball blog is best evidence. I bet Tynemouth Lodge wouldn’t get in the Guide if it was here !
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You’ve got a point there.
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To be fair, you do still see pubs in Durham in the Guide with just Black Sheep or Wainwright. You rarely see a pub just selling Greene King IPA and Abbot in the Guide.
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Tim used to buy up vast stocks of S&N’s cask Youngers Scotch Bitter to sell in his ‘high street barns’ across the land at 99p a pint but that was nearly twenty years ago. Now it’s Ruddles Best.
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I well remember the Scotch from when I started using Spoons. Those 99p Ruddles pints lasted into the 2000s.
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Marston’s brew ALL Martin’s favourite beers. Wherever he goes, he feels safe that all the ingredients have been sourced at the lowest cost through purchasing in the largest amounts, whatever beer they are brewing in whichever one of their myriad shell breweries. You can’t go wrong.
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“Never write posts after a penalty shoot-out” says the Pub Bloggers Manual. Fortunately after that roller-coaster of a emotional ride, I had no intention of doing so; in fact I was ready for my bed!
Normal service will be resumed tonight.
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In your second photo (not remarking on the first one!) it says “Scotch bitter”. Isn’t adding ‘bitter’ a bit redundant? 😉
“entries must be received by 3am Toronto time tomorrow.”
That gives me until midnight my time. Perfect! 🙂
“Five hours up the A14/A1/A66,”
Bloody hell. That ‘heavy traffic’ time difference is about the same as my 2:45 trip back from Victoria that took 4 hours. 😦
“(the actual one),”
Since it dates from over 3000 years ago that King Arthur certainly had a well kept secret on retaining a youthful image. 🙂
“Look what he had on;”
For a second there I thought you meant what he was wearing. 🙂
“And that Gold Wing was “Good”, perhaps “Very Good”.”
Oh good. I still have time to revise my guess. 🙂
Cheers
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Those timings for journeys without traffic are a bit ambitious – they must assume you take roundabouts at 75mph !
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I would order the Scotch Bitter based on the lovely old-fashioned logo alone. I have to watch myself though, as every time I order London Pride, I take a sip and find myself thinking, “Mark, you don’t really like London Pride all that much. You just like the London Pride logo.” 🙂
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Me too ! One of those beers with reassuringly consistent logo, nearly always disappointed.
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Sometimes it’s the advice “the Pride’s drinking well this evening” that gets pub customers to order London Pride.
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If I was Prime Minister I would ensure all handpumps had a flashing counter to show many pints had been served all day.
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Pickering – back of the antique centre on the main road, think it’s £10.
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I was in Pickering on my honeymoon.
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Good choice. Mrs RM.chose Dunstable and Southsea for ours.
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We stayed in the GBG listed Bay Hotel at Robin Hoods Bay – and I returned there at the end of the Coast To Coast walk.
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Love that pub.
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Only certain pubs can carry off wall art like that 😉👍
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