Just for Mark, our resident pub games expert, here’s the billiards table in the Globe at Beaford. That map will be of no use to you unless you know where Great Torrington is, of course. What you REALLY need to know is that it’s hilly round here. This is my exercise record for the half… Continue reading “DO YOU KNOW THE FEZ ?”
THE GRAND OLD DUKE OF YORK, IDDESLEIGH
One for the purist now. This was West Devon’s equivalent of the Queen’s Head, Newton or any number of paths on the Welsh border. An exemplar country pub, almost worth the journey through terrifying lanes for a leisurely half. No idea where it is. My trusty Navigator was in unknown territory now. The OS extract… Continue reading THE GRAND OLD DUKE OF YORK, IDDESLEIGH
CHULMLEIGH WARMER
Back to the Devon posts; I hope to finish them before September brings us a new GBG. Some of you have complained about the maps, not having a clue where places like “Chulmleigh” and “Kings Nympton” actually are. Join the club. Forget your clotted cream and Bass from the jug, this is the REAL Devon.… Continue reading CHULMLEIGH WARMER
IF THE BEER’S GOOD, TELL THEM
I need to take a break from these Devon posts, and bring you the culmination of my mini-break in The North, possibly my last before it’s locked down forever. Tonight, at the 3rd time of asking, I finally managed a beer in Helperby. Every year the GBG gives us ONE pub that torments us with… Continue reading IF THE BEER’S GOOD, TELL THEM
NO STANDING AT THE BAR
Devon was a test of the pub ticker’s art. Hours spent on Facebook, Bing Maps and National Rail, confirming opening hours, the existence of bridges over rivers, and the local line from Exeter to Barnstaple. If you’re prepared to walk uphill in 30 degrees you can reach some of the more remote GBG pubs from… Continue reading NO STANDING AT THE BAR
NO BOOKING REQUIRED IN GEORGE NYMPTON
I know some of us are more naturally positive about the return of pubs than others, just as our views on Covid risks vary. BeerMat is always hopeful, and his latest piece is evidence that things are returning to some sort of normality; Note, however, that the scene above shows blokes drinking Carling. You might… Continue reading NO BOOKING REQUIRED IN GEORGE NYMPTON
CHITTLEHAMPTON HI-VIS
Before we restart, what’s this ? Two more days to make further inroads into Devon, armed with a coffee soaked list of pubs. In 2020, it’s all questions marks and reminders to book first. But, to be honest, it was easier than I’d expected. Harder spelling the place names correctly. A typical inland Devon village… Continue reading CHITTLEHAMPTON HI-VIS
BYE BYE BIDEFORD
No, there’s no railway line out of Bideford. In 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies costed reopening the Barnstaple to Bideford route at £80 million, which is about half BRAPA’s beer budget for completing the Surrey GBG entries. This chap, closed the line in 1965, presumably in response to my birth, and the trains… Continue reading BYE BYE BIDEFORD
BARNSTORMING BARNSTAPLE
I only managed 25 ticks in Devon and Cornwall but I feel like I’ll be blogging ’till Christmas. And I need to get out again this week or all last week’s good work will be wasted as I strive to get 97% completion before the new GBG is out. The bus pulled into Barnstaple, but… Continue reading BARNSTORMING BARNSTAPLE
THE TARKA TRAIL
I really didn’t want to write about the White Lion in Braunton. Think of it as contractual obligations, like a 1978 Steve Hackett album. It’s certainly an hour between buses back to Barnstaple I’ll not get back. But at least it gave me a tick, and the vital information that the Tarka Trail is a… Continue reading THE TARKA TRAIL
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