July 2026. Sawley. Derbyshire. The pint of Abbot in Pub 5 was a mistake. I sensed a dash to the station and a return to the warm embrace of the Sang Lung was called for. But our last pub was just across from the trains, and I ought to save my casketeers a table in… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (6) SAWLEY JUNCTION

July 2026. Sawley. You left me in the Steamboat (Pub 5), unaware that the queue averse crawlers had skipped Pub 4 due to a surge in demand for calamari and Madri. Back at the Trent Lock, it transpired that Bass was indeed on, but being served through the Citra pump I’d picked half an hour… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (5) THE BELL

July 2026, Sawley. Derbyshire. Well I clearly wasn’t taking proper notes last Friday as I can’t remember what we talked about, but since Oxford Nick was there it must have been very intellectual or concerned obscure pysch-pop. I’m arrogant enough to think I must have been everywhere in the UK ticking pubs, but I’ve never… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (4) – THE STEAMBOAT

July 2026. Sawley. Derbyshire. A really great day’s pubbing organised by Super Shawn of Leicester; half a dozen stops in suburban Derby close to the Trent. The only issue is the anti-social inclinations of some pub crawlers surveyors. Folk who leave the main group to drink halves (ugh) off the main trail or, even worse,… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (3) THE TRENT LOCK

July 2026. Sawley. Derbyshire. A fair few pubs for the 6,629 good folk of Sawley, most of them in the Good Beer this century. I’d started at the smart allrounder and GBG perennial White Lion, by which time the breakaway group had already declared the Ay Up at the similar Harrington Arms “not drinking well”.… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (2) THE NAG’S HEAD

July 2026. Sawley. Derbyshire. Another month, another top pub crawl, again organised by the estimable Shawn Collier of Leicester. Long Eaton station for Derbyshire’s Sawley and the Trent; can this unsung corner of the East Midlands match Nottingham, Derby and Burton ? Only 43 minutes on the train, 42 minutes of which were used up… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (1) THE WHITE LION

Learn more July 2026. Crosby. Merseyside. Attempting to rescue gig night in Liverpool without the gig, I’d at least done the culture and the beach, and could now get a new GBG tick in curious Crosby, where even the safetywear outlets serve Bass. Perhaps. Leave the commercial district and the pubs at Moorfields, glance at… Continue reading NOT ONE, BUT TWO (2) NEW CROSBY PUBS

July 2026. Waterloo/Crosby. Merseyside. An afternoon in Liverpool before a gig that had just been cancelled; what to do ? Loads of museums, but most of the Scouse culture comes in the pubs, and the Globe or the Vines would have been top places to drink it in, but my ticket took me up the… Continue reading FINALLY FACING MY WATERLOO

July 2026. Sheffield. As you’ll know by now, I care little about beer, but much about beer quality in pubs. Perhaps only someone who’s had an NBSS 5 Doom Bar and an NBSS 2 Harvey’s Sussex will understand the distinction. In truth, I reckon cask quality has got a little worse over the last year… Continue reading CHECKING CASK QUALITY IN THE TAVERN