Yesterday I had the great joy of accompanying BRAPA again as he conquered bleeding (green blood) swathes of north Dorset. It’s like following Forrest Gump on his run but you make more loo stops. On the Monday afternoon I was staying a pub or two ahead of Simon as he attempted to complete the… Continue reading WAREHAM SCARE’EM
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.
WOOL, BUT NO SHEEP
A surprising number of Guide pubs in East Dorset are easily accessible by train, or at very least an hour long walk through mud and angry bulls from a station. Wool’s Black Bear is in the former category. The toilets at Christchurch station are closed, but at least there’s plenty of intriguing reading material. I… Continue reading WOOL, BUT NO SHEEP
CHRISTCHURCH HELLS
Oooh. Rare Hothouse Flowers reference there. Second LP, the one that Clarkson owns. I’ve been staying in the Brantwood B&B near Christchurch station, attempting to avoid a drunk bloke from York. You would too. I haven’t quite got the full picture of Christchurch yet, but it’s clearly a popular place. Three of the four… Continue reading CHRISTCHURCH HELLS
THE FASTEST PUBMAN IN THE WEST (OF EASTLEIGH)
Forgive me if this post is incoherent; I overdid the many joys of the Isle of Wight yesterday, and I have the joy of an afternoon with BRAPA later. Pray for me. A rather less eventful trip to Eastleigh, apparently the 9th best place to live in the UK. Which just shows some folk… Continue reading THE FASTEST PUBMAN IN THE WEST (OF EASTLEIGH)
AN OUTING TO DOWNHAM MARKET WETHERSPOONS
Mrs RM was in combat-ready mode at the weekend, preparing herself for a new IT consultancy job that started with a day in Maidenhead. She didn’t make me travel with her. To calm her nerves, I suggested a relaxing afternoon at the new Wetherspoons in Downham Market, half an hour up the line into Norfolk… Continue reading AN OUTING TO DOWNHAM MARKET WETHERSPOONS
BOING BOING, AFTERNOON BOOZING
My last Black Country tick in a whirlwind weekend was another of those Black Country Pubs I both love and loathe. Undoubtedly unpretentiously pubby, they sometimes spoil things by an excess of handpumps, particularly mid-week. And their excellent own beers seem neglected in favour of a long line of guests, neatly displayed on a big… Continue reading BOING BOING, AFTERNOON BOOZING
YAM YAM
Young Simon is clearly having a good time down in Dorset, exploring the unexpectedly rough pubs of Greater Bournemouth (Lesser Bournemouth is rubbish). I’m quite jealous of his first ever trips to Lower Parkston Ex-Servicemen’s Club and the Cricketers, particularly as I’ll only get to drive him to square micros this week. New entries to… Continue reading YAM YAM
BANKS’S BREWERY TAP
More Boring Brown Bitter for you, direct from the city responsible for at least 99.2% of the BBB produced in the UK. Having walked past the Clarendon on our Big Banks’s Bender last Spring, resisting Stafford Paul’s call to “stop in the Tap for one ?“, I felt a bit daft when it finally made… Continue reading BANKS’S BREWERY TAP
BANKS’S, BAPS & (PEAKY) BLINDERS
As Dick and Dave will confirm, the area of the Midlands west of the M5 and over to the Shropshire hills is as good as it gets in terms of beauty, Balti, and, er, bostin’ beer. And there’s still much to be discovered; only last year the Lion O’Morfe near Bridgnorth appeared as if from… Continue reading BANKS’S, BAPS & (PEAKY) BLINDERS
STOURBRIDGE TAKES IT TO THE BANK
You can bank on Stourbridge. Another year, another excellent new GBG entry to add to the classic Batham’s pubs in the town’s suburbs. Perhaps it lacks an absolute classic like the Cooper’s or Great Western, but I can’t think of many towns with the same consistency. Just pray it doesn’t get completely overrun by brewery… Continue reading STOURBRIDGE TAKES IT TO THE BANK
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