Back up the A1 for some more Northumberland GBG action
The day after the hottest day ever (EVER) in Cambridge, I arrived in Amble in a T-Shirt to find everyone in jumpers and raincoats.
Improbably, I’d never been to Amble, just like in the Charlene song.
You’ll know that Seahouses is now Islington-on-Sea (Part IV) with all the Guardianistas in the Ship waiting to see birds on rocks. Amble seemed to be the place for day-tripping Geordies.
Because I can, I’ll call it the Maldon of the North-east. They’ve put some craft huts along the sea front so you can buy tat to take home to Ponteland.
To be fair, you can also buy some nice seafood and nicer coffee, which I did.
I like Amble; it felt like a real place with loads of pubs and modest Italian restaurants.
But I’d come for the pub.
It’s a good job the GBG app directs you to pubs, as this one is tucked away on a quiet housing estate a mile south of the centre.
No it’s not. I got some very odd looks as I walked up to the front door of Mrs Edna Snopplethwaite (possibly an aunt) before realising the Mason’s Arms wasn’t a micropub.
Google Maps corrected the GBG error, and directed me back to a Proper Pub at the foot of the High Street.
I’ve considering telling Amble CAMRA to correct their error, but let’s allow BRAPA to waste a taxi journey first, shall we.
On the plus side, it could be a Sam Smiths, you know.
On the downside, no other customers on Saturday lunchtime and five beers. You’llhave heard of one, at a push.
Oh, I’d picked the homebrew hadn’t I ? Will I never learn.
Warm, foamy, nothingness which I seem to have scored NBSS 2, inexplicably.
I felt sorry for the pleasant barman, required to wear a polo short with the pub name on it, call me “Sir”, and listen to “Uprising” by Muse. Mainly the last one, to be honest.
Back to the puffins.
retiredmartin 
“I never went to Mamble
that lies above the Teme,
so I wonder who’s in Mamble,
and whether people seem
who breed and brew along there
as lazy as the name,
and whether any song there
sets alehouse wits aflame.”
https://allpoetry.com/Mamble
LikeLike
I wanted something to rhyme with Amble but bamble isn’t a word.
LikeLike
Bramble, gamble, ramble, and shamble are about your lot…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Titus Bramble played for Newcastle, didn’t he ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, he played, is about as far as my football knowledge goes, Martin 😀
LikeLike
We call Seahouses and the surrounding villages ‘Jesmond by the Sea’ as that’s where most of our Guardianistas come from. Just talking about house prices in Amble the other day – through the roof. Masons used to only have one or two beers on. That’s progress.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s progress, alright.
LikeLike
When you find a pub like this that has a bunch of “never heard of them before” ales and none of the better known brands, does that mean that they are supported by a customer base that prefers unusual beers? Or are these beers that are in fact well known in this particular location? I’m a bit confused by the economics of it, as it seems the practice would be a bit alienating to the casual visitor.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’d guess that pub doesn’t get a lot of casual trade, Mark, and the locals will be ones who like micro beers.
I hope it got busier later that Saturday, some pubs rely on evening custom.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like a lovely northern pub, but with no day trade and beer stuck in lines all day, even I would be tempted to go for keg.
LikeLike
Exactly. I can only dream of a world where Duncan, Simon and I get a GBG ✅ by drinking keg.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spot on. It’s not on the tourist trail or going to attract the new wave of ‘incomers’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The pub is lovely, but I have to be honest about beer. Turnover is at least half the problem. Compare with Tynemouth Lodge.
LikeLike
I thought Amble was in Ampshire. I’ve never seen any of those beers on a bar before. If they can’t sell them on a Saturday lunchtime when can they?
LikeLike
When will they learn? One craft and one cask at most unless rammed every day
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly.
LikeLike