Some folk run marathons for fun. It’s much more enjoyable (and better for pubs) to walk the 26 and a bit miles, stopping at Beer Guide pubs on the way. My first walked marathon in 2014 took in Wigan and Cumbria, and included a little stretch from Oxenholme, “Gateway to the Lakes” into Kendal. Some… Continue reading KENDAL – CATS, DOGS & CHINTZ
END OF THE ROAD FOR BBB IN CANS ?
My annual trip to Dorset for the festival of new (and not always obscure) music that is End of the Road ends today. I’ll take in 30 bands, 12 food carts, and be taken for £5.50 a half pint for the Beavertown Cowboy Lightning. But it was worth it. Wish it wasn’t against my principles… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD FOR BBB IN CANS ?
AUGUST ’17 STOCKTAKE – EMBARGO EDITION
Under the “Pub Ticking Blogger” charter I’m obliged to do a monthly post detailing progress, even if I’m in a field, in Wiltshire, without WiFi (as Jarvis Cocker sang). Posting on a mobile phone is the blogging equivalent of pubbing in micros. That internet problem means I’m struggling to update my GBG spreadsheet for the… Continue reading AUGUST ’17 STOCKTAKE – EMBARGO EDITION
DEAD BODDIES IN PRESTON
You’ll know the score by now. I’m in deepest Dorset for the End of the Road festival, seeing if I can eat something from every food outlet. It’s like doing the Beer Guide, but bad for you. So you’ll have to put up with a few short posts ’till Sunday, starting with a pub close… Continue reading DEAD BODDIES IN PRESTON
ST. ANNES – THE USUAL SUSPECTS
There are two certainties in life. Rooney will score at the Etihad, to the sporting acclaim of City fans Lancashire will produce a new Cricket Club and micro for the Beer Guide. There’ll be an error in this blog post. Actually, the micro pub was too new for GBG17, so I’d started with the traditional walk along the… Continue reading ST. ANNES – THE USUAL SUSPECTS
A PROSECCO-FREE BURNLEY
You may remember my last trip to Burnley, when a series of posh villages called things like Fence threatened to flood Turf Moor with Prosecco. No such drama in the centre of town on Sunday night, the only crime the Baggie’s theft of 3 points the day before. I didn’t see any West Brom fans making… Continue reading A PROSECCO-FREE BURNLEY
FRAMPTON (ON SEVERN) COMES ALIVE
However much of England I see, there’s always much I haven’t. Aiming to travel on all the roads in the Philip Navigator may be a tad ambitious (Mrs RM will kill me if I take her on further exploration of Goole Fields), but following the GBG trail takes you into some paths less travelled. Frampton-on-Severn doesn’t… Continue reading FRAMPTON (ON SEVERN) COMES ALIVE
POST No. 1000 – A BEER GUIDE PROGRESS CHECK
The last few days have been particularly stressful, as BRAPA taunted us with the early arrival in York of the new Beer Guide, while I stared dolefully at the door. At least London didn’t get theirs first this year. 3 days after Simon’s copy, my GBG18 arrived this morning at 9.17a.m. Any longer, and GBG17 would have… Continue reading POST No. 1000 – A BEER GUIDE PROGRESS CHECK
BASS HAVENS IN SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Some of you may have noticed my predilection for Draught Bass, but it’s a complex relationship. If honest, I’d prefer it if only a landlord who cared about Bass served it, like the Black Lion in Leighton Buzzard so clearly does. Top beers like Youngs, Adnams and Landlord saw their reputation decline as their beers went into… Continue reading BASS HAVENS IN SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE
NO BREAKFAST IN IRON ACTON
More places you’ve never heard of, unless you live in Iron Acton. I couldn’t have placed it on a map (sounds like a suburb of Telford), and my Navigator is so “pre-loved” that it’s hard to make it out on the map. Two points of interest. Proximity to Chipping Sodbury, the town immortalised by… Continue reading NO BREAKFAST IN IRON ACTON
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