So the lad from the mysterious “north of Portsmouth” is first to spot the new Beer Guide. Outrageously, he’s refused to send us copies of all 597 pages of the new Guide, which none of us tickers have seen yet. No doubt GBG22 will send me straight back down to Greater Bromsgrove, where a fortnight… Continue reading TICKING ON THE EDGE. OF BROMSGROVE
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.
TICKING INTENT, DISPLAYED IN CLENT
A change of direction now, as I head down below Brum to whack Worcestershire. Google Maps has a nice 3D image which shows you how green it gets once you leave the concrete jungles of Halesowen and Stourbridge, though as we know now concrete is a natural, growing product expect that green to be be… Continue reading TICKING INTENT, DISPLAYED IN CLENT
BOOTIFUL BECCLES
Apparently the new GBG will be “landing” (ugh) with us Privileged Tickers soon, and the cycle will be begin again. I’ll find there’s a new half dozen pubs to visit in Suffolk, which having moved to Sheffield from Waterbeach feels like a different world. A year ago I’d nearly completed Suffolk ’21 just before the… Continue reading BOOTIFUL BECCLES
A STAG DAY IN MAIDSTONE
A disappointing long weekend in Kent in some ways, with little open on the Monday, but it ended on a high in Maidstone. As all things must. Maidstone lost the battle to NOT be the administrative centre for Kent, and the centre carries the scare of the worst excesses of 1960s town planning (see also… Continue reading A STAG DAY IN MAIDSTONE
A SIGN OF THE TIMES – OPENING HOURS DRAMA IN APPLEDORE
One of my favourite parts of the country next, the Romney Marshes made famous in Great Expectation discovers a new Beer Guide pub selling Doom Bar (secretly, via the back door). 20 minutes south of Ashford, Appledore Station offers you the twin pleasures of Snargate’s Red Lion (R.I.P. Doris) and Appledore (pop. 749), making a… Continue reading A SIGN OF THE TIMES – OPENING HOURS DRAMA IN APPLEDORE
BREAKFAST IN ASHFORD
Time for a culinary special. I lived it up on Sunday night in the Ashford Travelodge. £24. Same price as the new one in Sandwich, but who would choose Sandwich over Ashford. ? Well, anyone wanting to avoid spending a night in non-GBG pubs. I spent half an hour on What Pub looking for a… Continue reading BREAKFAST IN ASHFORD
PUTTING THE FOLK IN FOLKESTONE
Closing in on the last few stragglers in Kent now, starting in feisty Folkestone. If you want to see what modern Folkestone looks like, look at Duncan’s post here and my visit just before Lockdown. The Bouverie Tap, which sounds worryingly French, is in the more traditional west side of town. I know it says… Continue reading PUTTING THE FOLK IN FOLKESTONE
A TALE OF TWO MICROS – (ii) SITTINGBOURNE
If “A Tale Of Two Cities” is about Rochester and Sittingbourne (SPOILER : It isn’t), then Sittingbourne ISN’T Paris. Few folk in rural Kent have ever looked at a map and thought “Oooh, lets head to Sheerness, stopping for cress sandwiches in Gillingham and a micropub in Sittingbourne“. That’s their loss. It’s long High Street… Continue reading A TALE OF TWO MICROS – (ii) SITTINGBOURNE
A TALE OF TWO MICROS – (i) ROCHESTER
Yes, I’m in Kent aka Microland for a weekend, hoping the GBG entries will honour their Facebook opening times but knowing (spoiler) that they won’t. I always enjoy the Medway towns, the land of Dickens and the lesser known Digger, 2 of the greatest Britons. Sadly Dickens World was rubbish and was closed with a… Continue reading A TALE OF TWO MICROS – (i) ROCHESTER
LEARNING TO LOVE MICROPUBS. STARTING IN BEXLEYHEATH
The Good Beer Guide 2021 has had a chequered life. Many of the pubs in it have only been open six month or less, sverely denting the ticker’s progress. And the new entries we’ve had to do have once again favoured micros and brewery taps, cricket clubs and gastropubs. I must speak the truth; the… Continue reading LEARNING TO LOVE MICROPUBS. STARTING IN BEXLEYHEATH
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