Now I’ve told you of what lies ahead this summer (the last 100), let’s get back to the small matter of blogging about the 100+ pubs that got me to that point. Oh dear. Oh dear, too, the price of accommodation these days. Everything over a £100 in Stornoway, the cheapest option for Port Talbot… Continue reading THE WONDERS OF WHITLAND
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.
THE LAST 100
Been wondering why the blog posts have (almost) dried up ?* Well, the last couple of months have seen actually ticking the GBG take precedence over writing about it. Back when GBG22 dropped (ugh), a mere month after the other tickers got theirs mind, I wrote that I had five hundred and eighty-two (582) pubs… Continue reading THE LAST 100
SO CLOSE TO THE DYFFRYN ARMS, BUT SO FAR
I have some very exciting announcements to make shortly about the GBG quest, and will probably run an exciting competition. Or not. In the meantime, here’s some more West Wales pubs. Now, in the last month I’ve been to Aberdeen, but not The Grill; Guernsey, but not the new micro pub, and Pembrokeshire (twice), not… Continue reading SO CLOSE TO THE DYFFRYN ARMS, BUT SO FAR
TOP 100 PUBS – MASONS ARMS, CILGERRAN
A little trade secret. If I can’t find anything that rhymes, I’ll just call it a Top 100 pub. Sorry to shatter your illusions and all that. Cilgerran rhymes with nothing, except Bobby McFerrin. And he wasn’t in the Masons Arms. But the rest of the village was. “Cash only”. Good start. Really friendly too.… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – MASONS ARMS, CILGERRAN
“Rather bland”
“So, you’re the bloke who likes Doom Bar ?” asks the bloke who ticks beers when I’m introduced. Well, no, not exactly. But I do reckon there’s a decent beer almost everywhere (exclusions apply in the Cotswolds). And folk on Discourse petulantly saying they could NEVER score DB a 3 have probably not drunk it… Continue reading “Rather bland”
NEW QUAY, HEAVEN BY THE SEA
I wanted to use “New Quay, handy for a pee” but I sense BRAPA has an eye on that one. 2022 is the year of the big push towards the GBG prize, and it’s throwing up some real gems around the UK coast. We’d stayed in New Quay in 2005, in that sprawling caravan park… Continue reading NEW QUAY, HEAVEN BY THE SEA
NO STATUE OF SIR QUINNO AT LLANBADARN FAWR
The West Welsh Week wobbled on to the coast, and a noon opener at the Black Lion in Llanbadarn Fawr on the edge of historic University town Aberystwyth., which I can never spell correctly. Well, obviously it wasn’t open at noon; where would be the fun in that ? I took a stroll around the… Continue reading NO STATUE OF SIR QUINNO AT LLANBADARN FAWR
MID WALES HAS FALLEN – LLANGURIG BASS CLICK BAIT SPECIAL
It’s taken 28 years of a ticking career to finish Mid Wales, one of the most beautiful but frustrating of the GBG “counties” (I know). And it all ends at Llangurig, between the Beacons and the lakes, as we anxiously wait for noon opening at the Black Lion. I must have driven past it half… Continue reading MID WALES HAS FALLEN – LLANGURIG BASS CLICK BAIT SPECIAL
LOITERING IN LLANIDLOES
File this post under “for future historical reference only“. Lovely little Llanidloes (pronounced Lanny-Dee-Lowes, I believe), has 10 pubs for a population of 2,929, which is almost Isle of Man proportions. We stopped for a mid-morning saunter and cheese and sourdough; the cheese is still evident in the campervan a month later. Like nearly all… Continue reading LOITERING IN LLANIDLOES
NO CHANGE IN NEWTOWN, THANKFULLY
Probably 3 days into the West Wales Wander by now, and a break in Newtown, which I’d call Nice Newtown but it’s naff. They had free parking for the Jubilee and let me park the campervan in the attractively named “The Gravel” next to McDonalds. Newtown isn’t a must see, a bit functional like Atherstone… Continue reading NO CHANGE IN NEWTOWN, THANKFULLY
