9th January 2020 None* of the Surrey GBG entries will appear in my long-delayed book, “101 places every American should embarrass themselves in“. But they’re certainly more picturesque than the “Tap & Turtle” or “Hop Cellar“, and often look like free house even when, as with the Barley Mow in West Horsley. they’re owned by… Continue reading “PADDY HASN’T BEEN IN FOR TWO DAYS”
Month: January 2020
GREAT BOOKHAM – WISH YOU WERE HERE
9th January 2020 Surrey. Underrated county, overrated beer, BRAPA-unfriendly pubs in waiting. Fourteen new entries in GBG 20, the usual mix of Michelin stars, micros and posh mummies and daddies. Great Bookham is a pleasant but safe bit of suburbia next to the mighty Leatherhead, but it does have Box Hill and a string of… Continue reading GREAT BOOKHAM – WISH YOU WERE HERE
TONBRIDGE NOT TUNBRIDGE
8th January 2020 Yes, January 8th was a long day. It ended, as all good things must, ten miles away from my in-laws in west Kent, a few yards from where Mrs RM has been turning computers on and off in Sevenoaks. Sevenoaks is nearly a GBG-free town this year. Just the venerable Anchor, a… Continue reading TONBRIDGE NOT TUNBRIDGE
NO SOLITUDE IN CLIFTONVILLE
8th January 2020 More posts brought to you under “contractual negotiations” as I’d never choose to tick micropubs in Thanet for a living, would I ? Thanet though, always worth a visit. I’d walked past Banks when I was in Cliftonville (not the Belfast one) last time out and assumed it was a trendy bar.… Continue reading NO SOLITUDE IN CLIFTONVILLE
WHAT THE DICKENS ! A BROADSTAIRS BEAUTY
8th January 2020 Well folks, I’m writing this in the Sandringham Hotel in Weston-Super-Mare, and I’ve just been to the worst Wetherspoons in the country, which is more exciting than the biggest. Old Mudgie will know which one I mean. Next up on my Thanet Thrust was Broadstairs, the national capital of Dickens tat. It’s… Continue reading WHAT THE DICKENS ! A BROADSTAIRS BEAUTY
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WETHERSPOONS
8th January 2020 The month really kicks off now, with what seemed like a week in north Kent. You’ll feel like you live in Ramsgate by the time I catch up, and that’s no bad thing. If Lincolnshire is a tough county to crack logistically, in Kent it’s the threat of more indistinguishable micros that… Continue reading THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WETHERSPOONS
HI-VIS HIGH JINKS IN THE TOLLEMACHE
6th January 2020 Grantham sports pubs in the Guide are well and good, but it’s blokes in Hi-Vis jackets in Spoons you want. Before we get to the climax of any trip to Grantham, a quick look at one of the GBG stalwarts in a reliable but little-changing town. “Cosmopolitan and contemporary” says WhatPub of… Continue reading HI-VIS HIGH JINKS IN THE TOLLEMACHE
GRANTHAM IS THE APPLE OF MY EYE
6th January 2020 And so to my night in Grantham, my first since Beerheadz to finish the GBG for Lincs. An underrated town, despite being home to the guy who invented gravity or someting. A quiet Monday in Dryanuary is a good time to explore its charms. I have no idea what the 1855 is… Continue reading GRANTHAM IS THE APPLE OF MY EYE
BASS TRAIL WOES AT WELBOURN
6th January 2020 Day 3 of the East Coast Challenge, as I complete Lincolnshire GBG20 with a night in Grantham. Always a hard place to come and get a result, even when you’re starting in the Fens rather than Paisley, Lincs also has the worst beer of any GBG county outside Fife, and that’s a… Continue reading BASS TRAIL WOES AT WELBOURN
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
4th January 2020 Cleethorpes. OK, you’re worryingly close to Tom Irvin, the mastermind behind “BRAPA”, but what a town. “The rich mans’ Grimsby‘ say some. ” Where? ” say others. An astonishing town, say I. And I’m always right. Two station bars, a classic Sam Smiths, a Bass stronghold, and the Nottingham House, which speaks… Continue reading MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
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