October 2025. Bloomsbury. London. A second new GBG London corner pub in two minutes, and for a second time I wonder “How’s this evaded the Beer Guide so long ?“. Only now does my detective work reveal the Lady Ottoline was previously the Kings Arms (see windows), which I suspect the Official GBG Archivist Jim… Continue reading THE GENTLE CHARM OF THE LADY OTTOLINE
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.
“A SYMPHONY IN BROWN”. THE DUKE, BLOOMSBURY, LONDON
October 2025. Bloomsbury. London. Two nights a week down in Waterbeach visiting Dad for free cups of tea and ’60s entertainment; that also gives me a chance to get to grips with London’s new Beer Guide entries. I may not be competitively “doing the GBG” anymore, but there’s a real joy in pubbing the capital… Continue reading “A SYMPHONY IN BROWN”. THE DUKE, BLOOMSBURY, LONDON
HOMEBREW OR BASS ? A MOOT POINT IN MATLOCK
October 2025. Matlock. Your £10.15 day return to Matlock from Sheff gives you an hour and six minutes, which is just enough time to tick your new GBG entry, consider how pretty England is in The Fall*, wonder if there’s a bar in that castle on that hill, leaving all of 28 minutes to add… Continue reading HOMEBREW OR BASS ? A MOOT POINT IN MATLOCK
IS THIS THE REAL LIFE ? IS THIS JUST FANTASY ? THE REMARKABLE HARE, MATLOCK
October 2025. Matlock. Matlock always feels a long way away from Sheffield, tucked away on the edge of the Peak, and it’s true you have to get there via an irritating 12 minute change at Derby (irritating in the sense that 12 minutes isn’t quite long enough to get to the Smithfield for a Bass).… Continue reading IS THIS THE REAL LIFE ? IS THIS JUST FANTASY ? THE REMARKABLE HARE, MATLOCK
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FRIENDS. AN ALTERNATIVE SHEFFIELD PUB CRAWL
October 2025. Sheffield. I’m still working out how many pubs I’d need to visit to complete the new Good Beer Guide; Simon had worked out his “churn” a month ago. But it hardly matters. There’s no way I’m repeating the heroics of 2022, and will forever be the Ben Curtis of GBG ticking. A combination… Continue reading YOU SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FRIENDS. AN ALTERNATIVE SHEFFIELD PUB CRAWL
NEW AND SHINY IN SHEFF. THE FARGATE
22nd October 2025. Sheffield. “What’s new in Sheffield ?” ask folk heading over for one of the UK’s top pub crawls. Well, lots of new buildings, mainly food courts and flats, but not a lot of new pubs, outside the odd sports bar and a flashy European beer house, and this years two new entries… Continue reading NEW AND SHINY IN SHEFF. THE FARGATE
MEANWHILE, BACK IN WATERBEACH…
October 2025. Waterbeach. A deluge of posts now I’m (briefly, possibly) back “home” in Sheffield with Wi-Fi. Back from a rainy Romania to a damp Luton, we headed straight to see how Dad was recovering from his “bounce”. We also listened to some care home entertainment (an OAP with a guitar from the Fens singing… Continue reading MEANWHILE, BACK IN WATERBEACH…
FINALLY ! YOUR AUTHENTIC TRANSYLVANIAN CASTLE
October 2025. Peles Castle. Sinaia. Romania. Mrs RM was so determined to squeeze a Transylvanian castle into her blog our trip that on our final morning in Romania we woke at 6am, took a Bolt to Brasov station, and an hour later were in Sinaia on the way to Peles Castle. A week’s holiday and… Continue reading FINALLY ! YOUR AUTHENTIC TRANSYLVANIAN CASTLE
A NERVOUS PINT IN GASTHAUS ALTEPOST
October 2025. Sighisoara. You left us in our astonishing £36.27 Sighisoara guest house wondering where the catch was. A few reviews had mentioned that the breakfast didn’t include drinks, “you’ll pay extra for coffee at Paris prices“. wrote one traveller. Few folk mentioned the cat that woke us at 9am, the prescribed breakfast hour. No-one… Continue reading A NERVOUS PINT IN GASTHAUS ALTEPOST
Top 5 Transylvanian Bed & Breakfasts – Casa Cositorarului, Sighisoara
October 2025. Sighișoara. There are two main challenges writing these foreign blogs. One is finding the right button on the phone for the mysterious “comma below” in Romanian names, the other is limiting the number of photos so you don’t get too bored reading the posts. Not that many folk do read the posts to… Continue reading Top 5 Transylvanian Bed & Breakfasts – Casa Cositorarului, Sighisoara
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