February 2024. Newcastle-Under-Lyme. We arrived in Hanley, capital of That Stoke, and after only three (3) attempts managed to park outside the Premier Inn. Missing the car park is a family tradition. In November 2014 I walked from that hotel to Newcastle-u-L, as the kids call it, as the last leg of a step challenge.… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO NEWCASTLE (UNDER LYME)
Month: February 2024
ONE BEER IS PLENTY, OFTEN MORE THAN ENOUGH
February 2024. Leek. An hour till Benks, my second Leek Guide debutant opened (hopefully), time to walk the bounds and take pictures of leaks in Leek. and recall the “Dick Southworth Cheese Incident” in the Wilkes Head, whose sign surely needs a trip to the Repair Workshop. Mrs RM needed a trip to the Repair… Continue reading ONE BEER IS PLENTY, OFTEN MORE THAN ENOUGH
LEEK MAKES A LATE PITCH TO BE ENGLAND’S TOP BASS TOWN
Don’t worry, Uttoxeter, it’s got a way to go yet. January 2024. Leek. But a couple of Guide newbies promised Bass. Oddly, despite a dozen visits over two dozen years, I had no recollection of either Benks or Cobblers, the latter just yards from the oatcake van and the Titanic pub. Isn’t golden light pouring… Continue reading LEEK MAKES A LATE PITCH TO BE ENGLAND’S TOP BASS TOWN
A QUICK LEEK
February 2024. Leek. Back from a week in Waterbeach, Mrs RM joined me on a weekend taking advantage of bargain hotel prices. First up, Stoke, via breakfast at Hope’s Grasshopper cafe. May it be noted that Mrs RM resisted both the cakes, and the breakfast stout from the cans on the shelves. Quality sourdough nduja… Continue reading A QUICK LEEK
SNOWDROPS IN CLARE
February 2024. Clare. A trip to the most genteel part of Suffolk (bar the queue for sourdough on a Friday morning in Southwold) to complete the county GBG for another year. Lavenham, Long Melford, and Gainsborough’s Sudbury just up the road; it’s not a place brimming with boozers, and Clare Castle has resisted attempts to… Continue reading SNOWDROPS IN CLARE
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 42 – EAST SUSSEX
I’ll never understand why Sussex gets divided between East and West in the GBG; they don’t split Lincolnshire and that’s a far bigger county. But it makes the pinking in easier, so I’ll let it go. The east is the better half, unless you’re micro mad, in which case Worthing may sway your views. It… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 42 – EAST SUSSEX
INTO THE (COLNE) VALLEY – A HALSTEAD HOP
February (yeh !) 2024. Halstead One benefit of a week with the parents in Waterbeach; it’s a useful base to conquer the East Anglian counties, and as February brought some crisp sunshine so the Colne Valley (not Burnley’s Colne) looked enticing. This is the Colne Valley of steam railways with CAMRA beer festivals (ugh) and… Continue reading INTO THE (COLNE) VALLEY – A HALSTEAD HOP
BRIGHTER DAYS, DARKER BEERS
January 2024. Waterbeach. I spent Monday to Friday down with my parents, occasionally getting Dad out of the house as the weather gradually improves. It won’t be long before it’s summer and I can take him to pub gardens again. In the meantime, I was going slightly mad sitting in a living room heated to… Continue reading BRIGHTER DAYS, DARKER BEERS
CARAMEL, COCONUT AND ALMOND CANDY STOUT
January 2024. Kelham Island. The problem with “a quick pint” in Kelham is that it turns into two, and then tea at a pub. You’d think that Sheffield’s pubs were pretty much beer only, but the Rutland, Fat Cat, and Dog & Partridge have fantastic, cheapish, food. Mrs RM fancied Bao Buns at SALT. It’s… Continue reading CARAMEL, COCONUT AND ALMOND CANDY STOUT
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 41 – SUFFOLK
After my last “Half A Dozen” from Staffs Andy was excitedly anticipating the next post; So I dutifully knocked out Surrey. But it wasn’t next, was it ? SUF definitely comes before SUR. I think. How does this happen ? Which of you is responsible for checking my alphabet ? I blame CAMRA for changing… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 41 – SUFFOLK
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