A night in Carmarthen and with two (2) ticks in the bag by 18:00 I was at a loss what to do ? A train trip to Llanelli ? A curry with cress ? A tour of the Bethel chapels ? How about a pre-emptive tick of the town’s craft bar ? Shamefully, I once… Continue reading CRASS, CWRW, CARMARTHEN
Month: May 2022
DENYING I’M “A CAMRA” IN THE STAG & PHEASANT
Go on, lease the Queens, someone. It was in the GBG last time I was here, and could be again with Doom Bar and a mobility scooter outside. My second GBG tick (yes, two newbies) is another little corker. Not really a place to take photos, surreptitious or otherwise (see also : Boothstown), but you’ll… Continue reading DENYING I’M “A CAMRA” IN THE STAG & PHEASANT
Mild
Originally posted on Mine's A Pint – Reading & Mid-Berks CAMRA:
Mild: isn’t that what grandad used to drink? A beer without much, if any, in the way of hops that’s gone the way of the dodo? Up until a few months ago, most people who fancied themselves knowledgeable about beer and brewing would…
CARMARTHEN IN A CORACLE
I’ve found my notes from West Wales. Sadly they’re not that exciting, though there is some Shania Twain, which may appeal to some of my more mature audience. Our stop for the night had two (2) ticks. By the time you get to 94% of the Guide any town with a double tick is riches… Continue reading CARMARTHEN IN A CORACLE
UNEXPECTEDLY CLOSED
Next stop, Pumsaint. Like the mines, it’s owned by the National Trust, voted British Country Pub of the Year 2019, so bound to be open all day selling cream teas and the odd lukewarm half, surely ? After all both What Pub and the pub’s Facebook say it’s open all day Thursday. So of course… Continue reading UNEXPECTEDLY CLOSED
Oh Noes ! Doom Bar off in Lampeter
Well, I’ve just seen stop the Scouse bus wreckers denied the title (again) so am very happy. Here’s the highlight from the afternoon’s nerve-shredding action* at the Etihad. I’ll be honest; the last few months have been very stressful seeing City’s lead slipped away and I’ve let the blog slip a bit, too. But I’m… Continue reading Oh Noes ! Doom Bar off in Lampeter
THE TRAIL TO TREGARON
The Great Western Tickathon continued after breakfast at the Seven Stars as we left the outskirts of Builth for the great forests beyond Beulah. The trail through Nant Irfon consists of a drovers track though logging works, with steep drops on either side and suicidal sheep blocking your ascent. It’s not a place you want… Continue reading THE TRAIL TO TREGARON
PUB LIFE, ABEREDW
More unpronounceable (if you can’t pronounce them) Welsh villages, as we leave a fully-ticked Herefordshire a fortnight ago for our Room at the Inn. I used to use that CAMRA guidebook to £45 B & B pubs in the 90s, before the internet made books redundant. We tend to mix up the nights in a… Continue reading PUB LIFE, ABEREDW
MY HEREFORDSHIRE GBG COMPLETION IS IN THE BALANCE. LUSTIN’ AFTER LUSTON
I know that some of you, fellow completists perhaps, can’t get enough of these little pinked in Beer Guide extracts, and neither can Mrs RM who’s determined to get me round the remote corners of the UK. I know this because the landlady tells me at length about the challenges of running a rural pub,… Continue reading MY HEREFORDSHIRE GBG COMPLETION IS IN THE BALANCE. LUSTIN’ AFTER LUSTON
SHROPSHIRE HAS FALLEN….A (HAMPTON) LOADE OFF MY MIND
A few miles downstream of Bridgnorth lies Hampton Loade, home to my final Salopian tick of GBG22. Hampton Loade sounds like a posh bit of south Shropshire, doesn’t it, and I vaguely recall the station as a stop on the Thomas the Tank Engine steam train (32 guineas each way, I believe). The route down… Continue reading SHROPSHIRE HAS FALLEN….A (HAMPTON) LOADE OFF MY MIND
retiredmartin 