I’m meeting Simon in Belper on Saturday (#PrayForRetiredMartin), and no doubt we will reflect on recent pubbing experiences. Last time we met, down in Dorset, he’d just completed the Famous Five GBG ever-presents at Worth Matravers, treating it with his usual lack of reverence. It’s three years since I last did the FF, and I’d… Continue reading THE BUCKINGHAM ARMS – A PASSPORT TO GBG IMMORTALITY
BASS & BALTI AT BURY ST EDMUNDS BEER FESTIVAL
Yes, that gentleman is actually pouring me a pint of lovely flat Bass yesterday*, at the excellent Bury St Edmunds Beer Festival. I don’t really get Beer Festivals, as you’ll know. In the words of the immortal Richard Coldwell “Beer Festivals Are Killing Pubs !”. But Bury (not that one) is close, the folk are… Continue reading BASS & BALTI AT BURY ST EDMUNDS BEER FESTIVAL
APRIL ’19 STOCKTAKE + MAY PREVIEW
Well, what a disaster this blog is. Sixty-eight posts published (about average) and I’m still only up to 13 April (2019, before the Prof asks). But if I don’t review April now, I never will. THE BARE STATS Fifty-two (52) new GBG pubs. Not as good as Bruce Masters, who’s done 50,000 pubs by doing… Continue reading APRIL ’19 STOCKTAKE + MAY PREVIEW
RUGELEY POWERS UP
Ten minutes on the train to Rugeley Town, then a less than exciting 20 minutes through the western suburbs to what looks like a slice of Cwmbran with more unintelligible accents. Thinking about it, trips into genuinely residential areas for Guide ticks used to be a rarity. But micropubs have changed all that. Rugeley’s Rusty… Continue reading RUGELEY POWERS UP
CHIP CHOICES IN CANNOCK
Happy Staffordshire Day. Home to our top PubMan, and still the UK’s most underrated pub county. My highlights for Cannock may not be the same as Paul Mudge’s own list. But I’m sure we can agree that Miss Penny (US Readers – Ms Nickel) is the sign of a Proper Pub, at least in the… Continue reading CHIP CHOICES IN CANNOCK
DUDLEY & DUNCAN
Another “real ale-free” issue to confuse our American readers, but you’ll live. And I needed to do Dudley justice with a clear head. Actually, I had a bit of a sleepless night in the Station. I was sure I heard wild animals at the window, and I seemed to be alone in the hotel.… Continue reading DUDLEY & DUNCAN
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
A great night came to an unexpectedly brilliant end at the Chapel House in Lower Gornal. I’ve marked the Beacon Hotel for you below as well, to help you get your bostin’ bearings. When I started GBG pubbing, the Gornals were one of the “must visits” areas in the UK. Eight Guide pubs, including the… Continue reading THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
THE ROAD TO LOWER GORNAL
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed I didn’t score the Batham’s in the wonderful Vine. Don’t read anything into that; it was Good (NBSS 3+), fully deserving of its GBG place. It’s just the beer next door was even better. I doubt you’ll be following me to the Black Horse though. A friendly, modernised, opened-out fun… Continue reading THE ROAD TO LOWER GORNAL
BULL & BLADDERED
There. Got your attention now. An official “Classic Pub” that no-one will argue with. The walk there from Dudley town centre won’t feature on many “classic walks” though. It’s easy to romanticise the Black Country, but the A4036 is not a road for the romantic. A succession of industrial estates and power tool outlets, it’s… Continue reading BULL & BLADDERED
SPLASHING THE CASH IN DUDLEY
You’ll like the next few posts. Unless of course you live in Maidenhead and dream of a new Brunning & Price opening. I was coming to the end of my West Midlands adventure for GBG19, and splashed out on a boutique hotel in Delightful Dudley (my term, not theirs). Grand staircases, decor evocative of a… Continue reading SPLASHING THE CASH IN DUDLEY
retiredmartin 