Happy Doom Bar Day.
I thought you’d like to see Mrs RM’s coping mechanism, which at least supports a beleaguered and misunderstood homebrewer from rural Aberdeenshire.
My coping strategy is this blog, and the Jamaican patties our local shop has started stocking.
More increasingly random highlights packages from underrated towns for you.
I chose Wrexham/Wrecsam from results to the classic search request,
“Old Boys drinking beer through a straw”
The other places that pop up with that treat are Hull and Dalkeith. Read what you like into that.
Denbighshire, as historic county obsessives know it, has all the most interesting place names.
Wrexham has the deep joy of being situated between the posh but dull dining pubs of the Dee Valley and the rather more earthy boozers of the ironworks towns.
There’s just enough architecture to justify a stop en route to the honeypots of Rhyl and Flint.
But is there enough for American pubmen?
Well, there’s a Joule.
And a proper workingmans Spoons.
And a shiny modern bar with Welsh microbrews and naff slogans on the wall.
The Horse & Jockey was always worth a look, but it’s years since I popped in there.
Not convinced?
What do readers of retiredmartin really want ?
Ember Inns in Wrexham suburbs, that’s what.
In Acton Park I noted that beer through a straw in full effect and
“Ladies dressed as Cher c.1977 taking over the dining area (normally that’s the whole pub). Several of the Acton Park Shaggers had clearly already arrived in town.”
I wonder how the Acton Park got into the Guide?
Not a great deal else in town, though I did rate King’s Noodles highly.
Take your life in your hands and venture towards Chester and the pashmina lands of Lavister, where the Nags Head has stolen on of the Kelpies from Falkirk.
I enjoyed the isolated Griffin at Trevalyn more.
A rare Monday opener, drinking in the porch, flagstones, friendly pub cat. Mudgie would love it.
To the industrial west you get better scenery, aqueducts and earthier pubs.
If they’ve survived, of course.
I’d head to the King’s Head in unpronounceable Bwlchgwyn for the Big Hand and homemade lunches.
You don’t get views like this when you’re walking off Jamaican patties in Waterbeach.
50% of American pubbers resist going into a Joules pub. #BRAPA fact.
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Doom Bar Day? It’s actually National Bass Day today.
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I can assure you I nominated today as National Doom Bar Day 10 days ago, and I’m quite an authority on these things. I have readers in American Samoa, you know.
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great photos in this -love the cat & the porkpie hat -I think they are quite cool on some older chaps (not sure If Mr Sharp could carry one off though )
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Richard pulled off that look, mind he was a mere snip of a lad.
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Here’s the rite of apotheosis, of the pork pie hat
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Is that the 12″ ?
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I am truly flattered, that anyone thought that it were possible that I’d know that, Martin 😀
But I don’t.
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I assume my readers are all experts in their field, though it appears some aren’t aware of National Doom Bar Day.
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Well, I’d venture that Proper Pork Pie Hats are only made in Melton Mowbray.
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The building in picture II is actually the former Border Brewery.
Never actually been to Wrexham town centre – maybe I should try to rectfiy that once the lockdown is over.
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I had a feeling that the photo was the old Border Brewery, but thought that if I waited, one or other of the Mudgies would know for definite!
I never thought much of Border Ales, but was still sorry to see them go. Didn’t Marston’s buy them out?
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Marston’s did indeed buy Border out for their extensive tied estate, they shut the brewery shortly afterwards.
“And it’s Border Bitter
Border Bitter for me
It’s by far the finest beer
The world will ever see”
We sang. Rubbish of course, it wasn’t great, but we were young.
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High Street, the Parish Church and the two remaining Victorian covered markets are worth seeing. The Royal Oak on High Street (Joules) is a decent pub but all the others are a bit out of town, the Griffins of Gresford and Trevalyn, the Pant Yr Ochain, the Black Lion, Bersham and the Bridge End & Wynnstay (Robbie’s!) Ruabon.
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After the mirror factory this is what Wrexham’s famous for ;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horse-owner-took-pony-to-pub-129608
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Stay classy, Wrexham
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1. The Acton. A Bass pub back in the day (late 70s) where my mates and I drank Stones and chatted up girls. Innocent days before Ember Inns. Our regular pub if we weren’t going into town to the…
2. Nag’s Head, as featured in photo II. One of the only real ale pubs in Wrexham in the late 70s, being the Border Brewery Tap. No chatting up girls ☹️, just playing pool ineptly.
3. North & South Wales Bank was the actual Midland Bank in my day. Remember going in there to write cheques for cash, only way before ATMs. God, I’m old.
4. Just along from the Golden Lion, another Bass pub down a corridor. Considered sophisticated, God knows why.
5. Horse & Jockey. Thatched. ❤️❤️❤️
6. Royal Oak (Joules) Yet another Bass pub back in the mists of time.
7. Griffin, Trevalyn. Summer pub, bit of a walk from home but lovely, lovely when you get there. Check out that tiled floor, pure pub perfection.
8. Kings Head, easily pronounceable Bwlchgwyn. Oh God, that view.
Oh Wrexham, I thought you were a shithole and I couldn’t wait to leave, but… but…
And there’s always the Bass mirrors 😂
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The Bass mirrors museum is almost as good as that Spoons museum in Wolverhampton that Paul got banned from.
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