The last of the London chapters, and West is definitely not best for pubs, though I feel really bad picking five that are so central, with nothing to show in Feltham of Hayes or Twickenham. Actually, I could never feel sorry for “Twickers“. My first pick is a Top 20 pub (there’s only 145 of… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 28 – WEST LONDON
Author: retiredmartin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
BE CLEVER NOT CLEVERLY, VISIT STOCKTON-ON-TEES
January 2024. Stockton-on-Tees Obviously every place in the UK has its own particular merits, but it is hilariously to hear a Government minister born in Lewisham and representing Braintree (allegedly) slagging off lovely Stockton. Not only does it have one of the best Bass pubs and micro pubs, but there’s stunning Georgian architecture and a… Continue reading BE CLEVER NOT CLEVERLY, VISIT STOCKTON-ON-TEES
AFTER THE SUN, THE GOLDEN SMOG
January 2024. Stockton-on-Tees. A pint of banked Bass in the Sun, then straight back on the train to Seaton for a Parmo Platter and an early night. That would have been the sensible thing. But I’m afraid I bullied Mrs RM into a second Stockton revisit, though to be fair it would have been a… Continue reading AFTER THE SUN, THE GOLDEN SMOG
“Why do you need a Flake ?”
January 2024. Stockton-on-Tees. Big mistake, huge. Having arrived in Seaton Carew and completed Durham’s Guide entries we could have had a quiet night watching the new Emma Stone movie (Emma is slated to play Mrs RM in the film of my 2022 GBG completion). But no, I had to drag her (Mrs RM, not Emma)… Continue reading “Why do you need a Flake ?”
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 27 – SOUTH-WEST LONDON
Another set of “Half a dozen pubs…” then I can get onto one of the Top 10 pubs in the world, (in all the world). Knowing that I start my journey in Seaton Carew must give that one away. I’ve just realised that my Central London set omitted a certain pub in favour of the… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 27 – SOUTH-WEST LONDON
DURHAM HAS FALLEN
January 2024. Seaton Carew. Hartlepool. I do like a town with a postcard painted on the wall, but it’s rather impractical to stick in the post box. Mrs RM and I had dumped our bags in the Durham Hotel (more on that later), and with some alarm realised it was only a quarter to four,… Continue reading DURHAM HAS FALLEN
THE TICKER, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE
January 2024. Seaton Carew. Hartlepool. Not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed that my birthday (22 December, pre-marked on all good calendars) wasn’t spent in Seaton Carew on the Durham coast, due to what we call “plumbing issues” because they involved a plumber coming out. Last Thursday, after watching the first few episodes of… Continue reading THE TICKER, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 26 – SOUTH-EAST LONDON
One of the GREAT counties up next, though my map suggests all my top picks are relatively central, with only one out in the sticks in what traditionalists might call Surrey and Kent. No Lewisham, no Crystal Palace, no Peckham, no Tooting (or is that SWL ?) No excuses, either, but I will direct you… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 26 – SOUTH-EAST LONDON
A SYMPHONY IN BROWN – THE ROYAL OAK, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS
January 2024. Royal Tunbridge Wells. Plenty of opportunities to revisit the Wells while helping my Father-in-Law recuperate, but the last of the Tunbridge GBG entries had eluded me till now, despite being the most “Proper” of all the Guide entries. The Royal Oak looks a suburban grown-ups pub, and indeed it is. perhaps more of… Continue reading A SYMPHONY IN BROWN – THE ROYAL OAK, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS
MURK IN THE WELLS
January 2024. Royal Tunbridge Wells. On the Monday evening Mrs RM joined me on a short tour of Tunbridge Wells in search of murky keg, brown beer and a kebab of unknow origin. In truth, the first Monday after New Year is never going to be busy; even the Spoons was quiet, but I was… Continue reading MURK IN THE WELLS
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