CASK IN ANCOATS, CACK AT THE ETIHAD

Am I allowed to use the word “cack” ?  My mum says cack-handed, so must be OK. Into Manchester, having narrowly avoided being lynched for missing the second “k” out of Kirkby Lonsdale (thanks Russ). Or more properly, into Salford, where I was spending a night in romantic Weaste. Never been before, a semi-mythical place… Continue reading CASK IN ANCOATS, CACK AT THE ETIHAD

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

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

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)