Trowbridge is to Wiltshire what Leigh is to Lancashire, or Haverhill to Essex. But it was a joy, a JOY I tell you, to make a first trip back to the home of Ushers since we subjected our boys to the dodgiest Wetherspoons in the South a decade ago (bargain Curry Club, mind). Even the… Continue reading “I’d live in a shed at the bottom of the garden and I’d never have a headache again” – Trowbridge delivers the goods.
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.
“Please come to the bar to be seated”
I hope you appreciate that pubs can be good despite average beer, or dreary despite exceptional ale. These four ticks in West Wilts were a mix of all that makes pub visiting our national pastime (after whippet racing), but the Lock Inn Cafe tested the patience. Bradford-on-Avon really is the Skipton of the South-West. A… Continue reading “Please come to the bar to be seated”
THE FLOPPY PALMERS PUMP
A short post, because I like to keep the pubs in these pieces separate, just in case I have to praise the Friar’s Tunic and decry the Farrier’s Tackle or something. If you ask a GBG ticker he (it WILL be a he, unless Blackpool Jane joins our club) will tell you there is NOTHING… Continue reading THE FLOPPY PALMERS PUMP
LAST PIEROGI IN MIDFORD
An exciting Wednesday saw a sustained assault on the Beer Guide pubs of West Wiltshire, though how any trip that comes within 3 miles of Bath’s Star and doesn’t pop in for Bass can be considered a success is debatable. I very nearly ventured from Bath to the Hope & Anchor in Midford last month,… Continue reading LAST PIEROGI IN MIDFORD
SNUFF BOX
Day 1 of the Wiltshire Wander. Three ticks, a pint of Bass, and the deep joy that comes with arriving too early for “Gary in Punderland”. Still not 20:00, time to reacquaint ourselves with “delightful Devizes”, a title the TIC can have for a pint of 6X. The Bear, Wadworth’s flagship, looked SO good we… Continue reading SNUFF BOX
SUSPECT DEVIZES, CONFIRMED BASS SIGHTING
NB : If you’re looking for a joke about how “Beer Line Cleaning In Progress” ain’t the beer it was, you’ve come to the wrong blog. This IS the blog for a third naff Devizes title in 3 years, alternating Stiff Little Fingers and Pet Shop Boys references with the ease of a master. Our… Continue reading SUSPECT DEVIZES, CONFIRMED BASS SIGHTING
HOW’D YOU PRONOUCE SEEND CLEEVE THEN ?
Moving on from Westbury, take a look at how green West Wilts is ? The towns of Melksham, Calne and Westbury are a bit plain, but villages like Bratton and Erlestoke are stunning, and of course you get your very own White Horse. Disappointingly, we’d pitched up on a day with a “y” in it… Continue reading HOW’D YOU PRONOUCE SEEND CLEEVE THEN ?
WESTBURY’S UNREADABLE WI-FI PASSWORD
Look ! Bass clickbait ! There IS some Bass coming up in National Bass Week, but it wasn’t on in the Angel in Westbury, my next stop on the Wilts Wipe-out. I haven’t been too kind on Westbury (Latin Motto – “At least we’re not all la-di-da like Frome“), as you can see from my… Continue reading WESTBURY’S UNREADABLE WI-FI PASSWORD
MY WILTSHIRE WOES (and not being “funky, fashionable and glamorous” isn’t one of them)
Mrs RM is determined to help me round my remaining 334 GBG ticks so that I can accompany her to places that don’t have “dingy Old Men’s pubs“. She means you, Bridgwater. We turned our attentions to Wiltshire, and Mrs RM hovered patiently in the Co-op while I popped in the Hop Kettle, a place… Continue reading MY WILTSHIRE WOES (and not being “funky, fashionable and glamorous” isn’t one of them)
AN OXON OVERSIGHT
This week has caused some consternation among the small band of GBG completists, as the Goat in the Garden, which left the Guide due to entry restrictions, bounces back in with this warning;“The bar is primarily for residents of the Hotel and their guests. However, CAMRA members are warmly welcome to visit. Simply contact the… Continue reading AN OXON OVERSIGHT
