And so to my penultimate North Yorkshire tick for GBG22, in peculiar Pickering. The final one, God willing, will be the Slaters Arms in Bradley near Skipton. Fire up the welcoming committee with the Barry Manilow soundtrack. The Black Swan is a quality pub with good beer, but I’m afraid it’s also a little case… Continue reading TAKE YOUR PICK(ERING) OF OPENING TIMES
Month: February 2022
THE 199 STEPS TO A WHITBY TICK
Has anyone ever driven up that lane next to 199 steps in Whitby ? Hard enough for most visitors to walk it, and BRAPA had to moan about the step count last week, didn’t he, but I’d not drive up Church Lane if you paid me enough to afford a room overnight on a Saturday… Continue reading THE 199 STEPS TO A WHITBY TICK
NO FREE PRAWN CRACKERS IN PONTELAND
Leaving Whitburn I contemplated my culinary options. Some folk only read this for my authoritative (if minimalist) views on the best post-pub grub, so here’s fish and chips from Minchella’s Chips in Seaburn. Growing up I’d always believed that the South must have the best fish and chips since that was where the money was,… Continue reading NO FREE PRAWN CRACKERS IN PONTELAND
WHITBURN WINNERS
I first came to Sunderland in Easter 1997. Petrol in Roker was 59.9p a litre, the match with Charlton a sell-out as the move to a new stadium loomed, denying me a vital tick on the way to The 92. It was a year before I made it back to the Stadium of Light. Petrol… Continue reading WHITBURN WINNERS
FULWELL (NEARING THE) END
Suddenly I was within two (2) ticks of completing Tyne & Wear GBG, and all that was needed was an hour on the metro to north Sunderland and then another hour slog in the biting cold along the coast. See, it’s easy. The hardest part was finding a loo at Monument before I jumped on… Continue reading FULWELL (NEARING THE) END
BYKER TREASURE TROVE
From the Heaton Tap I walked the couple of miles down through Byker to the Tyne for my (checks spreadsheet) 69th Newcastle Brewery Tap. Coincidentally, ’69 was the last time Newcastle United won a trophy. Byker itself, between the metro and the river, is a sharp contrast to the pashmina enclave of the Ouseburn valley… Continue reading BYKER TREASURE TROVE
HEATON EYEFULS
Back on t’tram, or whatever it’s called, and a jolly stretch along the North Tyne back towards the Toon. Before jumping off at Chillingham Road. Newcastle feels vast when you’re on the tram. And Chillingham Road, the main drag of studenty Heaton, feels like a different world compared to Byker lying below it. A police… Continue reading HEATON EYEFULS
METRO MAN MAKES IT TO MONKSEATON
Durham in the bag, I reached base camp at 13:30. The Premier Inn just south of Newcastle Airport is your perfect £40 location from which to mop up Tyne & Wear AND that irritating Northumberland straggler a mile over the border in Ponteland. £5.40 for a Metro all-day ticket which will take you from airport… Continue reading METRO MAN MAKES IT TO MONKSEATON
SHILDON TAKES THE TICKERS SHIELD FOR MOST INTERESTING NEW GBG ENTRY
I’m a bit worried how much food is featuring in this blog these days; that’s the influence of culinary Queen Blackpool Jane, I guess. I doubt she’ll need to a report on Shildon, Durham’s famous Railway town. The parmos of Teesside call when she heads back to Middlesbrough. I wouldn’t have needed to drop in… Continue reading SHILDON TAKES THE TICKERS SHIELD FOR MOST INTERESTING NEW GBG ENTRY
CORPORATE HOSPITALITY
Wednesday night is football night in Manchester, as Matt finds himself with three (3) tickets for the hospitality suite at the Etihad. Don’t ask how. Barbers keep secrets. So I get to leave my usual seat in the top tier of Colin Bell stand and join the prawn cocktail plastics in the posh bit of… Continue reading CORPORATE HOSPITALITY
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