Never let anyone think this blog is all about pubs. It’s all about the Bass; or the Bass Rock, in this case. Some folk think this bit of rock at North Berwick contains a secret bonus pub that will be in CAMRA’s 50th Good Beer Guide (collectors edition). Which is ridiculous, everyone knows that there’s… Continue reading BASS ROCK AND STEAMPUNK
COUNTING THE CHIPS IN NORTH BERWICK
My North Berwick target ticked, I had a range of options before returning to the warm embrace of Baa Baa Toure in a campervan parked with sight of Bass Rock. Faced with a choice of a) Swim out to Bass Rock or b) revisit the Ship, I took the sensible option, rare for me. The… Continue reading COUNTING THE CHIPS IN NORTH BERWICK
BACK TO THE AULD HOOSE – NORTH BERWICK DELIVERS
Nice carpet, Old Hoose. And a gorgeous Scottish seaside town I failed to do justice to in 2018 but made it up to last month. You can park for free overnight along the coast within sight of Bass Rock, which is one of life’s great bargains. I bet North Berwick Council and read this and… Continue reading BACK TO THE AULD HOOSE – NORTH BERWICK DELIVERS
STILL LOOKING FOR THAT SHILLING IN GULLANE
It was all going so well. Then I had to go to golf-mad Gullane, the St Andrews of the South (except it doesn’t have a university or craft beer). A few years ago my dad stayed at one of the hotels here on a golfing trip with mates from the ‘Beach, so he’d probably done… Continue reading STILL LOOKING FOR THAT SHILLING IN GULLANE
NO GOBLIN IN GIFFORD
The mid-June posts continue as we head towards Bass Rock, the fount of eternal youth, possibly. This trip was targeting the Lothians, the posh Tory-voting stretch between Berwick North and the English border. The farming villages (see : East Linton) round here are gorgeous and underrated, and Gifford in the parish of Yester is stunning,… Continue reading NO GOBLIN IN GIFFORD
KELSO INCREASES THE PRICE OF THE SCRATCHINGS BY 10%
So much for a week off The Tick and 25 posts a day to catch up. This report from mid June comes courtesy of the WiFi in the smart Tesco cafe in Fforest-fach. The Welsh love their surplus f’s. Unbelievably, that’s the Shakshuka eggs in Tesco, whose rebranding of their cafés is a thing of… Continue reading KELSO INCREASES THE PRICE OF THE SCRATCHINGS BY 10%
BINGO NIGHT IN HAWICK SPOONS
The blog reaches Scotland for the first of two long trips into the hospitable north of the GBG. Look how green Scotland looks (or it did, before the last two days). A long slog to Hawick, (pronounced Hoik !, apparently) where I curse not doing the Bourtree when I was here in 2018. You should… Continue reading BINGO NIGHT IN HAWICK SPOONS
BLUE MOON MURK INTERLUDE
You left me in Cambridge in mid-June, confirming there was life in The Live & Let Live. I continued on to Mill Road cemetery, the short cut to the Blue Moon (and the garden of the Cambridge Blue if you’re naughty). Not only is Mill Road Cambridge’s beer street, it’s also where I was born… Continue reading BLUE MOON MURK INTERLUDE
TOP 100 PUBS – THE LIVE & LET LIVE, CAMBRIDGE (it lives again !)
Mid June. Back “home” in Waterbeach to make sure my parents are eating enough of that yummy Chinese food from Chung Hwa (yes, yes they are). I’d notice on Twitter that Roxanne de Bastion was playing Blue Moon that night, too good to miss. And a chance to feel nostalgic about Mill Road 18 months… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE LIVE & LET LIVE, CAMBRIDGE (it lives again !)
GWENT HAS FALLEN
I know how much you love these perfectly pinked GBG chapter maps, so here’s Gwent. Quite an easy county to complete. Not much churn in entries, decent transport, and a cheap overnighter in Newport. And some great rural pubs, both basic and upmarket. The Foxhunter in Nant-y-Derry is one of the latter, but that’s OK.… Continue reading GWENT HAS FALLEN
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