October 2023. Byker. Newcastle. Back on the tram, just about to pass Byker, when the Americans pop up. I really shouldn’t have stopped at the Free Trade Inn., with one (1) more Newcastle pub to tick (a Bass tick at that) and a need for pre-gig scran. But Dick had asked, sort of, and I… Continue reading DRINK BEER SMOKE TABS
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.
LEFT LUGGAGE, LEFT OUT OF THE GBG
October 2023. Monkseaton. Tyneside. Having ticked the annual (and inevitably excellent) North Tyneside Beer Guide newbie I walked the ten minutes to Monkseaton Metro, admiring the roadside pubs (and opticians), and wondering what the Front Street Tap had done to lose out on GBG glory this year. Or, come to that, the Left Luggage Room… Continue reading LEFT LUGGAGE, LEFT OUT OF THE GBG
REV JAMES DRINKING WELL IN MONKSEATON
October 2023. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I’d obviously lost track of time as it was past 5pm when I left the Bridge Hotel in search of two Newcastle ticks, the first of them right out on the coast. The skies were looking angry as I descended to the bowels of the metro, but it was the bladders of… Continue reading REV JAMES DRINKING WELL IN MONKSEATON
TOP 100 PUBS – BRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
October 2023. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. We crossed the High Level Bridge from the Microbus into the Toon, the opposite journey to the one we’d managed with my in-laws in June, a stark reminder of how far octogenarians can manage when there’s beer and cake at the end of a long walk. Even better views today, but I… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
BUS, BUS, BUS, BUS, MAGIC MICRO BUS – A GATESHEAD GREAT
October 2023. Gateshead. An absolute deluge of posts coming up from Newcastle; old favourites, new favourites, that bloke from the 1975 AND Les Dennis. Saturday night sees the hotels either side of the Tyne fill up and double their prices; the Durham House Hotel is probably too far from the Toon for tottering hen parties… Continue reading BUS, BUS, BUS, BUS, MAGIC MICRO BUS – A GATESHEAD GREAT
HOW DID I MISS THE PICKLED PARSON ?
October 2023. Sedgefield. Another weekend, another trip down to Waterbeach (Covid and flu jabs this time) then straight back up the A1. Didn’t even get a Crispy Beef; the chicken kebab (“with all the trimmings“) seems the parents favourite now. On brief stop on the way to Gateshead/Newcastle, an unexpected return to Sedgefield, meeting place… Continue reading HOW DID I MISS THE PICKLED PARSON ?
MORE GREATER GRANTHAM GASTROPUBS
October 2023. Greater Grantham (or is it Super Sleaford ?). Lincolnshire. Some blokes like to admire other bloke’s Panini sticker albums from the 1986 World Cup, some compare rare Radiohead vinyl, but pub tickers love, LOVE, looking at each others Beer Guides and going “Oooh, you’ve got all four new Grantham ticks to do”. Yes,… Continue reading MORE GREATER GRANTHAM GASTROPUBS
TOP UK RAILWAY STATION PUBS – No. 3,788. THE CREWE HERO
October 2023. Crewe. But before Crewe, a few things I saw in Wem that weren’t pubs. To be fair, it didn’t convince me either, so unless you’re a fan of Victoriana or doors a foot from the ground, I’d saw Wem is for the pub purist or the Joules completist. Or that weird bloke who… Continue reading TOP UK RAILWAY STATION PUBS – No. 3,788. THE CREWE HERO
WEM – SIX OF THE BEST, AND NOT A CRAFT BEER ALL DAY
October 2023. Wem. Shropshire. The last of our six Wem wonders came just north of centre, as long as the Hawkestone Arms actually opened at 4. And why wouldn’t it, does What Pub or Facebbok ever lie ? Actually their Facebook hadn’t been updated since April, when Sventertainment (great name) must have brought the house… Continue reading WEM – SIX OF THE BEST, AND NOT A CRAFT BEER ALL DAY
LIFE ON MARS. PUMPKINS IN WEM.
October 2023. Wem. Shropshire. This set of reports from your daring trio of casketeers trip to North Shropshire nears its denouement, as we bravely cross the road from the Castle to the White Lion. Two Joules pubs in an hour for Stafford Paul; we were spoiling him now. Only just noticed those little bees on… Continue reading LIFE ON MARS. PUMPKINS IN WEM.
retiredmartin 