Good Beer Guide geography is a source of amazement to the Royal Society of GBG Tickers.
Exhibit A. Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield. Half a mile from Huddersfield Station
But listed in the GBG under Birkby, to the amazement of the residents of Birkby, if there are any.
Exhibit B. The Culver Haven Inn, Culver Down, Isle of Wight.
3.4 miles out from the castle, and an hour’s walk along the coast path from Sandown, where it’s GBG listed. Still quicker to walk than wait for the bus though.
The walk along the seafront is not a happy sight for fans of the British seaside resort;
I mentioned Withernsea as a comparison yesterday; that may have been harsh on the finest East Coast resort starting with “W”.
But I’m a sucker for coastal paths, and this one promises both cliffs and a GBG tick.
The walk is great, on soft and springy ground, and I bound past some 20-somethings with my customary insouciance, probably getting too close to the edge once or twice.
At the top OAPS were dressed as if for an assault on ben Nevis, and anxious Barbour-class families urged their little Arthur to “come thru’ the gate and get out of the man’s way“.
The wind whipped up and the mist descended as I approached the Culver Haven, and I’d be lying if I told you I found “One of the best pub views in the UK”.
Not a wondrous sight inside, with all tables seemingly set for dining and a plainish conservatory dominating.
On the upside, the barman was cheery and friendly,
and the local Goddards looked OK when he poured it.
Oddly, my notes say “a warm and dull NBSS 3″, which either means I was in an overly generous mood or I thought the Goddards was the problem. Whatever, I didn’t finish it. I rarely do these days.
My next pub was down the hill in Bembridge.
Would I make it before the rains came ?
And before that, could I make it across the field ?
retiredmartin 
“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot” said Queen Victoria of Osborne House, her palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight.
“One of the best pub views in the UK” said Retired Martin of the Culver Haven Inn.
I’m now starting to understand the attraction of the Isle of Wight. .
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I was quoting from What Pub, Paul. I doubt the Queen was. I didn’t quite get it.
Best pub view is the view of the Apne Tandoori as you leave the Coopers Tavern.
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Has it got a roofless outdoor loo with a view of Stockport viaduct?
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I bow to Mudgies knowledge of outdoor loos in Stockport.
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The pubs of Fife have sent the animal assassin squad down to find you.
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I’ve provided the pubs of Fife with more custom than local CAMRA members this year.
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You’ll be getting your award for services to plant pots soon enough.
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Top effort – that’s quite a trip out there. Though the logic of paying a couple of quid for a perfectly drinkable beer then not drinking it (all) may elude some of your readers, especially those from Birkby.
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Logic?
When did logic come into this. And are these folk who demand logic the ones who wander round beer festivals with Panda Pop bottles?
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I’m not sticking up for them, but Huddersfield is only a small town (pop 163k) and I would submit, the town centre consists wholly of that part within or immediately adjacent to the inner ring road. Furthermore, people in Huddersfield consistently refer to the different areas of the town, almost as if they are small villages. For instance, if asked where Magic Rock Tap Room is, a local person would say, ‘Oh, it’s in Birkby.’ So as to distinguish it from Moldgreen or far Town or Waterloo or wherever. Even you southerners say (spoken in a posh southern voice), ‘Oh it’s in Chelsea’, or, ‘Kensington.’ When everyone knows they are just part of London city centre.
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Huddersfield might end at the ring road as far as the town’s residents are concerned but surely a publication such as the GBG is aimed at t’other 99.7% of the population for whom it extends for another mile or so.
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Not even a mile, only 10 minutes walk out of town.
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I suppose if I asked Magic Rock, or whoever they are now, where they’re based they’d say Birkby, then.
Just like Mews/Muse in Wetherby would say they’re in Leeds.
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