January 2024. Longridge. Perhaps the shortest post* since the Golden days of 2015, as I nip in a Lancashire micro for a quick half. Just like in 2022 when I was frantically finishing the Guide. The West Lancs small pubs, in particular, are virtually indistinguishable from each other in style and I don’t say that… Continue reading APPLEJACKS – ALL YOU NEED IN LONGRIDGE
EVERY OVER-INDULGENT DAY STARTS WITH MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD IN CLAUGHTON-ON-BROCK
January 2024. Claughton-on-Brock. Catteral. As Carmel once sang, Saturday was a bad day, though we didn’t know it at the time. If only we’d read Blackpool Jane’s post before it was written. It started gently enough, with a GBG entry on a new (2020) retail park on the A6 north of Preston. This is rarely… Continue reading EVERY OVER-INDULGENT DAY STARTS WITH MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD IN CLAUGHTON-ON-BROCK
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 34 – NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Like Northants and Essex, a solid pub county, with perhaps higher expectations on the county town than it can actually deliver these days, I’ll be honest, I’ve picked five from places that you wouldn’t necessarily visit on your tour of the UK; mining villages, suburbs nicknamed Stab by locals, and remote villages impossible to access… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 34 – NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
HOP SHOPPE – RESIST THE TASTERS ! RESIST !
January 2024. St Annes. I took Mrs RM back her bag of Maltesers from the Travelodge vending machine (£1.30, inflation), and headed straight out to my second tick. A word on St. Annes (is there a full stop after the St. ? Never know). You can trust a place whose sports shop has more City… Continue reading HOP SHOPPE – RESIST THE TASTERS ! RESIST !
I AM ST. ANNE’S PIER’S ONLY VISITOR
January 2024. St. Annes. Greater Blackpool. £31 your Friday night Travelodge in the posh bit of the Fylde where Blackpool Jane lives, with free parking and a Marks & Spencer food hall underneath the rooms selling our poke bowls and honeycomb chocolate for tea. Such a shame that it was so bitterly cold at the… Continue reading I AM ST. ANNE’S PIER’S ONLY VISITOR
KIRKHAM BIERHAUS – FYLDE UNDER “OK”
January 2024. Kirkham. Fylde. By a massive stroke of misfortune we’d managed to pick a day to visit Blackpool just as Jane was escaping to Preston. We were destined to repeat all of Jane’s errors the very next day. One more tick on the way to the sea, with the Kirkham Bierhaus the latest GBG… Continue reading KIRKHAM BIERHAUS – FYLDE UNDER “OK”
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 33 – NORTHUMBERLAND
Worryingly, some folk have been agreeing with my county selections so I’ll put a stop to that by not picking that nice pub on the seafront and the wrong pub in Hexham. Only 40 entries in the Northumberland Guide chapter, but I’ve 14 newbies to do this year; that’s the worst completion rate of all… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 33 – NORTHUMBERLAND
“LOOK. IT’S YOU !”
January 2024. Chorley. We had to cancel our trip to Jordan on Thursday. Well, didn’t have to, but it seemed a bit risky after we realised that Jordan was a country in the Middle East rather than a suburb of Cannock. Never mind, Chorley shares two letters with Jordan, and was only 20 degrees colder… Continue reading “LOOK. IT’S YOU !”
MRS RM’S SEARCH FOR JAIPUR
January 2024. Sheffield. A bitterly cold few days home in Sheffield, but I managed to get Mrs RM out of the house for a walk into town for a late lunch. You know, those hills get steeper by the year. “Find me a pint of Jaipur in the centre of Sheffield” demanded Mrs RM as… Continue reading MRS RM’S SEARCH FOR JAIPUR
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 32 – NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Northants is a solid, consistent county for pubs, the Essex of the Midlands. Friendly guvnors and locals (particularly in the county town) and dependable beer, but a bit light on classic buildings. And don’t even start me on the fate of Shipmans. Easy enough to pick five, though the very best of the bunch is… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 32 – NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
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