Holiday snap time. I woke last Sunday morning to the barking that blights our nation, as Durham’s doggies set off for their daily dose of coast. One positive to emerge from the Lockdown has been folk clinging to their right to “exercise”, and there must have been a hundred walkers, joggers and cyclists out on… Continue reading NOSE’S POINT
(LOOKING FOR) THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT
You left me in the Coalhouse, the Seaham micropub you CAN visit and get a pink tick. They were playing “Heart of Saturday Night”. It was a Tom Waits sorta bar. I hit the town. It was closed. I’m afraid there’s not a wealth of cask in Seaham. The next pint of real ale is… Continue reading (LOOKING FOR) THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT
SEAHAM – FROM THE COALFACE TO THE COALHOUSE
There’s two main options if you’re staying over in Seaham tonight. Seaham Hall is no doubt the choice of my discerning readers like Pauline and Stafford Paul. Nice views; Or you could save £525 and park up for free at Nose’s Point, and have views like these from your window; A 20 minute walk into… Continue reading SEAHAM – FROM THE COALFACE TO THE COALHOUSE
EASINGTON – NO JEDI KNIGHTS OR POPES, BUT EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
I’d parked up just south of Sunderland on Durham’s mining coast. It was a vibrant place before BRAPA went to the University of Sun’land in the late ’90s. This is the coast that pashmina’d Guardian readers DON’T go to, instead heading on to Northumberland with its Potter castles and smoked kippers. I’ve stopped off here… Continue reading EASINGTON – NO JEDI KNIGHTS OR POPES, BUT EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
BRING ME SUNSHINE, SAYS MRS RM
That pic of the Prospect of Whitby is what we call clickbait. Some of you will think “Ah, Goths and the Magpie“, others will know it as “that Wapping pub by the Thames I always assumed was a Sam Smiths“. I took it in the New Inn, Yarm’s new micro. I popped in, pre-emptively, after… Continue reading BRING ME SUNSHINE, SAYS MRS RM
RIPPING YARMS
My futile diversion to a closed pub in Helperby only cost me 10 minutes in travel time, and I made the Tess in time for the Friday teatime swagger down Yarm High Street. Yarm (pop: 8,384) is the posh bit of Teesside, a North-eastern Alderley Edge or Epping. An invigorating mix of “Excellent” schools, Italian… Continue reading RIPPING YARMS
MY FIRST COVID OPENING TIMES FAIL
Us #PubMen/Women are as obsessed with promoting our blogs as we are in rare hop varieties in limited edition craft cans. Our respective auditors tell us that blog posts about obscure Woollyback villages and places of ill repute score highly. But most of all, you want me outside an unexpectedly closed pub in the middle… Continue reading MY FIRST COVID OPENING TIMES FAIL
THE HAYMAKERS MAKES HAY IN THE SUN
If you’re following my travels from my list of The First 36 Pubs you’ll know that next up it’s another Cambridge favourite. You’ll find The Haymakers making regular appearances on this blog, which will present some issues when I get round to linking the posts to little pin on my new Blog Map. One of… Continue reading THE HAYMAKERS MAKES HAY IN THE SUN
THE BREWERY TAP
There’s been a lot of concern about the number of people returning to pubs. often highlighting the concerns of the vulnerable and the perception that pubs aren’t as enjoyable as they were. Now, Pollyanna is my middle name (it’s not. It’s Polly). I reckon 2020 is the golden year for music, that our country… Continue reading THE BREWERY TAP
THE DAY I LET PUBS DIE
Greetings from a campervan parked up in the suburbs of Dereham. I’ve just visited 4 more pubs in Dereham (does a curry house count?), taking me to 40 since pubs returned on the 4th. Here’s that list of the first 36. Yesterday I failed to go to a pub, and have voluntarily referred myself to… Continue reading THE DAY I LET PUBS DIE
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