I woke bright and early on my birthday, ready to face the world. Starting with the gentlefolk outside Booths in Kirkby Lonsdale. It’s a very Booths & Barbour sort of place. But very polite they were, and smiled at the Father Christmas murdering “Fairytale of New York”. This is a town that scored highly in… Continue reading THE POLITENESS OF KIRKBY LONSDALE
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.
WOKEN UP ON MY BIRTHDAY BY ULVERSTON OIKS SINGING “LET IT GO” UNDERNEATH MY WINDOW
Ultimate spoiler there. Back to Askham, where the Railway was now open, just before my assumed revised opening time of 5pm. I guess you’d describe this as a traditional all-rounder, the sort of place you find in East Yorkshire village where the guvnor wears a tie and still looks slightly askance at a group of… Continue reading WOKEN UP ON MY BIRTHDAY BY ULVERSTON OIKS SINGING “LET IT GO” UNDERNEATH MY WINDOW
AN INADVISABLE WALK TO THE BLACK DOG
On a roll now, I stopped ten minutes back down the line to Barrow, at Askam (not to be confused with Askham up the road, unless you’re BRAPA. Loads of Beer Guide pubs round here, nearly all remote (compared to Kendall, anyway) and promising much. Starting with the one on Askam Station’s doorstep, which was… Continue reading AN INADVISABLE WALK TO THE BLACK DOG
TOP 100 PUBS – PRINCE OF WALES, FOXFIELD
The Prince of Wales has been near the top of my “Must-Do” list for years; it’s one of the few classic UK pubs I’ve somehow missed, along with Devon’s Crewe Arms (what !) and Lord of the Isles at Renfrew’s indoor ski slope. How exciting to do it on a gray December night the… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – PRINCE OF WALES, FOXFIELD
BARROW & THE BLACK-EYED MAGPIE
Part II of the Great Furness Frolic took me towards Foxfield, via the honeypots (I think that’s the word) of Barrow. What a wonderful piece of Ordnance Survey. You forget Morecambe is a short walk away. But I nearly didn’t leave Ulverston. At the station, guards were forming a barrier to prevent hundreds (I… Continue reading BARROW & THE BLACK-EYED MAGPIE
OLD FRIENDS IN ULVERSTON
WARNING: Mrs RM “fixed” my PC or summat, so I expect this post will come out all wrong. I start my extended series of birthday posts with what can only be described as “a telling off“. Bit weird he’s taken a secret photo of @BigNay_5299 obviously jealous you didn’t invite him #NoMatesMartin https://t.co/TSY2ycVl28 — Harry… Continue reading OLD FRIENDS IN ULVERSTON
COCONUTS
A short diversion from chronology, though I only now need to bring you up to date with my “Birthday Bonanza” in Cumbria and Manchester, which will probably only take me three weeks with a bit of discipline. Having failed to make it to the Ruislip micro pub on Christmas Day due to the in-laws… Continue reading COCONUTS
BANBURY, CROSS (THAT I MISSED LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL)
My last Oxfordshire GBG tick took me to Banbury, as good a place as any to finish a chapter, given there’s no exciting parlour pubs selling Hooky from the jug still to be discovered. And that’s the downside of having completed 80-90% of the Guide; you’ll never HAVE to do the Peyton Arms or the… Continue reading BANBURY, CROSS (THAT I MISSED LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL)
ABINGDON – OLD AND SPECKLED
I most enjoy tacking a 20 minute pub stop onto the end of a 2 hour walk round a new town. Not many new UK towns left to explore, of course, but you always find something unexpected if you give a place a bit of time. So with Abingdon, probably not top of Dave’s list… Continue reading ABINGDON – OLD AND SPECKLED
OXFORD JUMPS THE SHARK BUT HATES FISH
Yes, I’m getting blog titles out of Romanian Christmas crackers now. That’s not true, I haven’t pulled a Christmas cracker* since retiring (in fact getting out of Xmas work lunches was the 3rd biggest incentive to retirement, as I recall). Tuesday took me to the beautiful Travelodge at Oxford Pear Tree Park & Ride, where… Continue reading OXFORD JUMPS THE SHARK BUT HATES FISH
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