Back to the Devon posts; I hope to finish them before September brings us a new GBG. Some of you have complained about the maps, not having a clue where places like “Chulmleigh” and “Kings Nympton” actually are. Join the club. Forget your clotted cream and Bass from the jug, this is the REAL Devon.… Continue reading CHULMLEIGH WARMER
Month: August 2020
IF THE BEER’S GOOD, TELL THEM
I need to take a break from these Devon posts, and bring you the culmination of my mini-break in The North, possibly my last before it’s locked down forever. Tonight, at the 3rd time of asking, I finally managed a beer in Helperby. Every year the GBG gives us ONE pub that torments us with… Continue reading IF THE BEER’S GOOD, TELL THEM
NO STANDING AT THE BAR
Devon was a test of the pub ticker’s art. Hours spent on Facebook, Bing Maps and National Rail, confirming opening hours, the existence of bridges over rivers, and the local line from Exeter to Barnstaple. If you’re prepared to walk uphill in 30 degrees you can reach some of the more remote GBG pubs from… Continue reading NO STANDING AT THE BAR
NO BOOKING REQUIRED IN GEORGE NYMPTON
I know some of us are more naturally positive about the return of pubs than others, just as our views on Covid risks vary. BeerMat is always hopeful, and his latest piece is evidence that things are returning to some sort of normality; Note, however, that the scene above shows blokes drinking Carling. You might… Continue reading NO BOOKING REQUIRED IN GEORGE NYMPTON
CHITTLEHAMPTON HI-VIS
Before we restart, what’s this ? Two more days to make further inroads into Devon, armed with a coffee soaked list of pubs. In 2020, it’s all questions marks and reminders to book first. But, to be honest, it was easier than I’d expected. Harder spelling the place names correctly. A typical inland Devon village… Continue reading CHITTLEHAMPTON HI-VIS
BYE BYE BIDEFORD
No, there’s no railway line out of Bideford. In 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies costed reopening the Barnstaple to Bideford route at £80 million, which is about half BRAPA’s beer budget for completing the Surrey GBG entries. This chap, closed the line in 1965, presumably in response to my birth, and the trains… Continue reading BYE BYE BIDEFORD
BARNSTORMING BARNSTAPLE
I only managed 25 ticks in Devon and Cornwall but I feel like I’ll be blogging ’till Christmas. And I need to get out again this week or all last week’s good work will be wasted as I strive to get 97% completion before the new GBG is out. The bus pulled into Barnstaple, but… Continue reading BARNSTORMING BARNSTAPLE
THE TARKA TRAIL
I really didn’t want to write about the White Lion in Braunton. Think of it as contractual obligations, like a 1978 Steve Hackett album. It’s certainly an hour between buses back to Barnstaple I’ll not get back. But at least it gave me a tick, and the vital information that the Tarka Trail is a… Continue reading THE TARKA TRAIL
LEAVING THE BIG ISSUE IN THE WELLINGTON
Still in Ilfracombe. The Quay was TOO busy; the Old Town deserted. Cheered, I bought Big Issue for £3, Jarvis Cocker making his 317th appearance on the cover of that highly readable paper. For the first time, closed shops and pubs outnumbered the open ones. A shame, as Fore Street is marvellous, and I’m sure… Continue reading LEAVING THE BIG ISSUE IN THE WELLINGTON
ILFRACOMBE TOURIST BOOM
After my Ilfracombe cream tea I walked up Hillsborough, the hard way (straight up, not the zig zag path). It’s not as well-pubbed as the area round the Sheffield Wednesday ground, but it raises the heart rate and the view are better than from the Leppings Lane stand. With its tremendous calf-stretching ascent and wondrous… Continue reading ILFRACOMBE TOURIST BOOM
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