I’d always thought the real sign of a craft breakthrough would be a bar with keg fonts on the back wall in the North Hertfordshire towns of my youth. Well, Letchworth suddenly has a modern brewery tap and a bottle shop to rival anything in Glossop. And now, from possibly the lowest starting point of… Continue reading HITCHIN CRAFT INVASION
JAIPUR @ OSCAR’S
A year into our campervan adventures, and we’ve stayed at Newark four nights already. This is partly because the nice people at Brownhills Motorhomes let us stay there free and give us vouchers for free pies and Chuckle Brothers tribute acts, but also because Newark is pretty special. We visited again last week while clever… Continue reading JAIPUR @ OSCAR’S
10pm, “TABLE TABLE”, NEWARK
I get to drink at some wonderful places and write about them on this blog; the King’s Head, Boar’s Head and North Riding are going to make June’s Pub of the Month selection as tough as the 1994 Matt le Tissier Goal of the Year contest. They were all overdue revisits, and finding new GBG… Continue reading 10pm, “TABLE TABLE”, NEWARK
WILTING IN LODSWORTH
One last pub in Lodsworth to complete The Sussex Chapters (good band name) of the Guide. A couple of miles from peerless Petworth, this is posh Sussex at its best. Best walking, anyway. I managed about five miles in the heat, bumping into exactly zero other walkers, before wilting and succumbing to the call of… Continue reading WILTING IN LODSWORTH
BITTER & TWISTED IN LITTLEHAMPTON
It’s just ocurred to me that East Preston might also align itself with Littlehampton. No idea why, but then CAMRA branch geography is equally weird. I’d been looking forward to an overdue return to Littlehampton, which seems to have upped its game since my last visit, with an average visitor age some 37 years below… Continue reading BITTER & TWISTED IN LITTLEHAMPTON
A TRIBUTE TO KNITTED SEAGULLS IN EAST PRESTON
There is such little justification in giving the Clockhouse in East Preston its own post that I’m going to do just that. It’s not the best pub in Worthing, let alone West Sussex, but it has possibly has the cheeriest barman, and I know these things matter to BRAPA. East Preston is nowhere near Preston… Continue reading A TRIBUTE TO KNITTED SEAGULLS IN EAST PRESTON
LITTLEPORT – BEER FIT FOR BEER BATTER
I hope some of you (OK, Quosh) will appreciate the art in my leading image today. I had to wait nearly seven minutes for the boat to add some weight to that delightful image of England’s favourite beer (although probably I like Plum Porter more than all the Doom Bar lovers put together). A walk in… Continue reading LITTLEPORT – BEER FIT FOR BEER BATTER
CLIFFORD – COOL CASK, CHAMPION PIES & 60 LITRES OF MUSHY PEAS
In case you were wondering, that picture of the pie and peas hasn’t been artificially enhanced. The pork even tasted like pork, too. I don’t do many beer festivals, but Clifford’s Champion Beer Fest is a must. This is such a significant event that it gets it’s own marker on Google Maps, and surely deserves… Continue reading CLIFFORD – COOL CASK, CHAMPION PIES & 60 LITRES OF MUSHY PEAS
TROUBLE AT T’SPOONS
A welcome return of Mrs RM to the blog tonight, for an instant recap on our 25th Wedding Anniversary celebrations. Nothing like sentimental gush. I can see you thinking we chose the Wetherspoons in Letchworth Garden City because I had a CAMRA voucher to get rid of before the end of June. That would be true.… Continue reading TROUBLE AT T’SPOONS
….NEW MALTON
That’s the odd thing about the touring life. It took me 50 years to get to Falmouth, then I visit six times in a year. I seem to have visited Skipton every year of my adult life to tick off the sole new Guide entry. Thus far, I’ve never been to Aspatria; my loss I’m… Continue reading ….NEW MALTON