I’m sure you think us pub tickers are all the best of mates, perhaps living in a big communal house in Maltby and sharing lifts and mascots. Not at all. I dispute the questionable ticks of my fellow Pub Men (keg is NOT a tick) and grimace when I read of BRAPA beating me to… Continue reading A BOLT INTO THE BULL AT BERKHAMSTED
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.
ALL BUCKED UP – A TALE OF GBG COUNTY COMPLETION IN GREAT MISSENDEN
Right, time to finish Bucks. Only nine new entries out of fifty-four, par for the course, and the usual mix of gentrified dining pubs and gentrified dining pubs. Not the last one, though. The George Ale House in Great Missenden replaces the “Pub & Kitchen” Cross Keys in the GBG, and brings the first bit… Continue reading ALL BUCKED UP – A TALE OF GBG COUNTY COMPLETION IN GREAT MISSENDEN
AN INSTRAGRAMMABLE TIME IN THAME
Another post without a pint; I’m practically killing pubs ! From Brill we travelled to Thame for breakfast. Mrs RM didn’t even need a Spoons to work in, so we could actually choose somewhere decent. Thame is a Home Counties cliche. We parked in Waitrose, next to the Churchill retirement homes, and passed a note… Continue reading AN INSTRAGRAMMABLE TIME IN THAME
IT’S BRILL
On to our FREE camping pitch for the night, the car park for Brill Windmill (and the Pheasant Inn, truth be told). I think we win “Best Free View From A Campervan” this month. How many people know about Brill Windmill ? Not a lot, I’d wager. I’ve been telling Mrs RM for years it’s… Continue reading IT’S BRILL
HOMES COUNTIES THIN GLASS ATROCITY
One last Bucks tick before we tuck ourselves in for the night, at yet another debut GBG gastro. I guess they have to introduce dining pubs to the Guide round here as there’s no appetite for micros. The Hundred of Ashendon, named after the purest form of the game played on the village green, is… Continue reading HOMES COUNTIES THIN GLASS ATROCITY
“Will Sir be dining with us tonight ?”
Back to the ghastly gastros I’m afraid. I’ll keep it short. 10 minutes on from the Oak, via Stoke Mandeville, is the Harrow, a pub you could almost see Prime Ministers visiting from Chequers. Mrs RM said ” be quick” and a first look revealed I wouldn’t be loitering here. “Will Sir be dining with… Continue reading “Will Sir be dining with us tonight ?”
“A pint’s a pint”
On we go, to the 4pm openers in Bucks, ever closer to a resurrection of my famous (and trademarked) “All Bucked Up” blogpost title. The Oak, in the side streets of Aston Clinton (look at your own map for it) is a welcome return to Proper Pub after the horror shows of Amersham. Fullers own… Continue reading “A pint’s a pint”
THE BIGGEST LAPTOP NEAR AMERSHAM
Mrs RM finished her morning’s work in Henley Spoons and started her real day job, as my chauffeur to remote Home Counties pubs. Our travel map was starting to look weird, and would look even weirder by Saturday. From Henley we climbed through the Chilterns, negotiated the 23 roundabouts of High Wycombe (I know Milton… Continue reading THE BIGGEST LAPTOP NEAR AMERSHAM
YOU LOOK LIKE JUMJAGIN TSEDENBAL – A HENLEY PUB TOILET GRAFFITI MASTERCLASS
Where better than Henley Spoons ? It gives me a chance to visit this near GBG oasis for the first time since Mrs RM’s uncle lived in Shiplake, home to some excellent Brakspears Bitter/Ordinary/Gravity/Whatever. Henley really is the Stratford-on-Avon of the South, a tidy but hugely overrated town that nevertheless attracts coachloads and pashminas by… Continue reading YOU LOOK LIKE JUMJAGIN TSEDENBAL – A HENLEY PUB TOILET GRAFFITI MASTERCLASS
TOP 100 PUBS – FLOWING SPRING, PLAY HATCH, OXON
From Wallingford we waddled down to my last Oxon tick. Thrillingly, there was campervan site a mile away from Loddon Brewery in Play Hatch. The edge of Reading, if not the Edge of Heaven. I’d love to tell you more about Loddon Brewery, but it’s a brewery, innit ? But I can say that the… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – FLOWING SPRING, PLAY HATCH, OXON
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