MISSING THE YARMOUTH FERRY

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By 6.20pm I was back in Newport Bus Station waiting for the connection back to Yarmouth ferry.

The No.7 should have got there by 6.54pm, giving me a mad but successful dash on to the boat (which hadn’t started boarding at Lymington that morning till 2 minutes before it left).

We got the learner driver, didn’t we. I’m not saying we were slow, but by the time we arrived the dialling code had changed from 01983 to 01987. I mean, who slows down at corners in the dark ? (joke)

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So, 18:54 ETA became 19:04, and I arrived to find the ship had sailed.

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Come back !

It wasn’t the last sailing, but I’d been keen to get back to Christchurch and catch up on some sleep before the big day ahead with BRAPA.

I did one last check on the King’s Head, just in case anyone had opened it since the morning.

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“Trading as usual”

Nope.

Plenty of ways to waste an hour in Yarmouth, though they looked more bistro than boozers.

Yarmouth pub

Anyway, the Bugle had one of those yellow AA signs; they’re always a sign of a good pint.

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How can you resist

The local CAMRA branch have highlighted the decline in pubs in the Isle, and to be honest none of them were that busy, albeit it was a Tuesday before February half-term.

Half a dozen locals at the bar, but I succumbed to the peace and quiet of the pubbier bit of the dining area with a good but overpriced burger.

Perhaps because it was served in a Doom Bar glass, their house beer from Yates was cool and tasty, an NBSS 3.5 contender for beer of the day.  So good I had a half of Landlord, just as impressive.  Vote it into GBG20 and make my visit worthwhile.

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Proving that Wight had happily returned to 1983, music came from Flashdance (“Maniac“), “Down Under” and Tears for Fears, whose debut album doesn’t get enough plays in pubs. There’s going to be a lot of second-hand copies of Now….1983 on the Newport Car Boot sale in the future.

Good beer to end, a good local Guide to commend to you, and a pleasant little café on the Wight link ferry shared with five foot passengers (a 20% increase on the outward leg).

I’ll do the other seven pubs from Portsmouth, in the sure and certain knowledge that the east of the island will be a bit more boisterous (I hope).

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Anyway, BRAPA next up.

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.

17 thoughts on “MISSING THE YARMOUTH FERRY”

    1. May do that next time, depends if Soton or Pompey have cheaper hotel. Nice drive into New Forest for Lymington, and well linked to train network. OK it’s not the fastest (40 mins) but smooth and pleasant crossing with bottled beer if you want it.

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  3. I never thought until you mentioned it Martin, but there is something about these places, which still have the 1960s AA lantern signs.

    It must say something.

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    3. I suppose that it implies that the building has not had an external make-over for about fifty years at least, and that it has been well-tended during this time, with consistency of undertakings.

      That can’t do any harm, can it?

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  7. “I’ll do the other seven pubs from Portsmouth, in the sure and certain knowledge that the east of the island will be a bit more boisterous (I hope).”
    Well it’s a hope – but I’d heard a rumour that the east of the island is the retirement zone (oh yes and the south is slipping into the sea at an alarming rate – so you may not need to do the Niton one… 🙂

    Thoroughly enjoyed your adventure on the lost island RM – excellent stuff…(though it didn’t sound anything like the place we used to go on caravan holidays to when the kids were young..)

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