Hmmm. Not a great “county” (half-county ?) in any sense, but one I’ve seen a lot of lately, having only really started on Worthing around 2016. Worthing isn’t Brighton, or Hastings, but it’s “better than Bexhill”, and it can have that slogan for free. Finding five representative pubs to kick us off was tougher than… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 43 – WEST SUSSEX
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 5 – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY
February 2024. Hanley. Stoke-on-Trent. Before I get to the last pub of the night, I need to confess that when the driver of the Number 4 back to Hanley asked to see my day bus ticket I flashed him my receipt by mistake. I take full responsibility. Back in the “capital of the Potteries“, nowt… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 5 – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY
MARKET SQUARE HEROES
February 2024. Newcastle-under-Lyme. A pattern is emerging for my town visits; see the street art, tick the GBG newbie, revisit a “great” pub, take a chance on a pub that you’ve never even noticed before. And so, with 12 minutes to kill before my next No. 4 back to Hanley (not because I walked too… Continue reading MARKET SQUARE HEROES
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 4 – THE BOAT AND HORSES, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
When I did that half-a-dozen from Staffs post last week the Boat & Horses in Newcastle (t’other one) was a name that popped as the 6th pub, notably from Pub Curmudgeon. I’d actually fancied a revisit to the Hopinn for a guaranteed Bass, but my complete amnesia on the Boat & Horses from a visit… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 4 – THE BOAT AND HORSES, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO NEWCASTLE (UNDER LYME)
February 2024. Newcastle-Under-Lyme. We arrived in Hanley, capital of That Stoke, and after only three (3) attempts managed to park outside the Premier Inn. Missing the car park is a family tradition. In November 2014 I walked from that hotel to Newcastle-u-L, as the kids call it, as the last leg of a step challenge.… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO NEWCASTLE (UNDER LYME)
ONE BEER IS PLENTY, OFTEN MORE THAN ENOUGH
February 2024. Leek. An hour till Benks, my second Leek Guide debutant opened (hopefully), time to walk the bounds and take pictures of leaks in Leek. and recall the “Dick Southworth Cheese Incident” in the Wilkes Head, whose sign surely needs a trip to the Repair Workshop. Mrs RM needed a trip to the Repair… Continue reading ONE BEER IS PLENTY, OFTEN MORE THAN ENOUGH
LEEK MAKES A LATE PITCH TO BE ENGLAND’S TOP BASS TOWN
Don’t worry, Uttoxeter, it’s got a way to go yet. January 2024. Leek. But a couple of Guide newbies promised Bass. Oddly, despite a dozen visits over two dozen years, I had no recollection of either Benks or Cobblers, the latter just yards from the oatcake van and the Titanic pub. Isn’t golden light pouring… Continue reading LEEK MAKES A LATE PITCH TO BE ENGLAND’S TOP BASS TOWN
A QUICK LEEK
February 2024. Leek. Back from a week in Waterbeach, Mrs RM joined me on a weekend taking advantage of bargain hotel prices. First up, Stoke, via breakfast at Hope’s Grasshopper cafe. May it be noted that Mrs RM resisted both the cakes, and the breakfast stout from the cans on the shelves. Quality sourdough nduja… Continue reading A QUICK LEEK
SNOWDROPS IN CLARE
February 2024. Clare. A trip to the most genteel part of Suffolk (bar the queue for sourdough on a Friday morning in Southwold) to complete the county GBG for another year. Lavenham, Long Melford, and Gainsborough’s Sudbury just up the road; it’s not a place brimming with boozers, and Clare Castle has resisted attempts to… Continue reading SNOWDROPS IN CLARE
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 42 – EAST SUSSEX
I’ll never understand why Sussex gets divided between East and West in the GBG; they don’t split Lincolnshire and that’s a far bigger county. But it makes the pinking in easier, so I’ll let it go. The east is the better half, unless you’re micro mad, in which case Worthing may sway your views. It… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 42 – EAST SUSSEX
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