retiredmartin

16th January 2020

Still on Day 2 of the Great South-West Saunter, now we enter Craft Central.

Incidentally, the traffic must be light at the moment (9.46am on Saturday) as you can apparently do Waterbeach-Falmouth in 5hrs 47. It can take longer than that to get to Cromer.

Sis was staying with Niece and John, but I like my personal space so I went for Telford Guest House in the row of B&Bs above Gylly Beach.
Falmouth is now an all-round tourist draw, the Ramsgate of the West. My most expensive B&B of the trip (£38), in a town filled with parents taking their tousled-haired sons and daughters to interviews at Falmouth Uni. “They’ll never come home” I mouthed to a couple from Antrim.

My two (2) new GBG ticks since my last visit in 2016 are both up a steep hill. Pubs up a steep hill are worth an extra 0.25 on NBSS, just as pubs which offer tasters lose a bit.

OK, it’s not quite Joker steps, but the view down Quay Hill to the, er, Quay, is pretty impressive and I love boozers tucked up side streets.

The Oddfellows’ (plural) is one of the pubs Sis did tell me I ought to do, describing it as “lively“.

Now, your “lively” may be different to my “lively” of course, but Sis is right.

Five at the bar,

1664 half-drunk, mascots by the pumps.

It’s like being in a Bexley boozer before the micros took over.

With Falmouth under a craft wave, it’s an unexpectedly old school beer range. New reader MJC (more jolly Cornwall ?) thinks Skinners skews my tastebuds, and they’re probably right, but I always pick the beer with a cheese holder in front.

The GBG ticker always feels slightly nervous about raiding the free cheese and biscuits and sausage rolls when popping in for a quick half. Which is why BRAPA always stays for a pint so he can tuck in without restraint.

Five mates at the bar, one drinker in the corner on the great seating, “Far Far Away” by Slade and a sense of community pub to treasure. The Skinners Porthleven was OK, a line I could well cut and paste for the next few days.

Pub No.2 was even further up the hill, giving the Seaview a sea view.

I loved this, and not just because they had Pedi on (and Doom Bar).

If Oddfellows’ is community boozer, Seaview is basic rich (i.e. solvent) students pub. Oddly, I can’t think of a Cambridge equivalent. Perhaps the Maypole.

See if you can guess the beer.

You can’t. It’s a Verdant Lightbulb on keg that the two cheery lads at the bar were drinking pints of, and I always follow the crowd.

Chilled but tasty grapefruit murk. An arguable tick, says Duncan.

Mark Crilley will be horrified, but assuaged to hear they were playing I Believe by Tears for Fears, very understated class.

And they had squid.

Is Verdant the new Wylam ?

At this stage, new pubs ticked, I could/should have gone back down the steps to my B&B and worked hard bringing you blog posts.

But it never works like that, does it ?

Down there, somewhere, is the Seven Stars.