When I confidently called the completion of the Bucks section of the GBG last week I was, I’m sorry to say, premature. GBG completists as great as Duncan and Simon will be familiar with the horror of an Erroneous Tick, in this case due to the belief that Penn was a suburb of Tylers Green,… Continue reading FROTH ON THE BEER
SUP UP YOUR BEER. ETON EYEFULS
The title doesn’t really work with a cannon, but there you go. My last Berkshire pub was in Eton, which must be a first. I remember the Waterman’s Arms, a classic Courage pub in its day, but the Crown & Cushion is a blur. The George must be the first new Eton pub in the Guide… Continue reading SUP UP YOUR BEER. ETON EYEFULS
DOCTOR WHO IN DIDCOT
I was very excited to read on Wikipedia about the modern art installation in Didcot. If you look very closely below you’ll see it in the middle of the photo, between New Look and Store Twenty One. Tim from Newbury tells me this was part of Berkshire ’till 1974, when the local CAMRA branch lost the… Continue reading DOCTOR WHO IN DIDCOT
WONDERS OF WANTAGE
Wantage is an ideal overnight stop for exploring South Oxon, with a couple of great pubs, decent Chinese takeaway and, vitally, a Waitrose. Hotel prices might be described as “ambitious” though; you’re best off camping on this nice bit of greenery; The town itself is neat but functional, pubs apart. Perhaps it lacks the architectural appeal of similarly… Continue reading WONDERS OF WANTAGE
CAMERON-LAND
If Essex is one of my favourite counties for GBG pubs, Oxon is well down the list. Nothing to do with Light Blue/Dark Blue rivalry, I just find the pubs too food-focused, outside a good cohort of boozers around Banbury. 20 years ago, the county was noted for some of the most unspoilt pubs in the… Continue reading CAMERON-LAND
VALENTINE’S DAY IS OVER
“For the girl with the hour glass figure Time runs out very fast We used to want the same things but that’s all in the past” Because I know how much you love Billy Bragg. We’d set the day aside to visit a few micro-pubs in the suburbs of Dartford, but the freak emergence of… Continue reading VALENTINE’S DAY IS OVER
TOP 100 PUBS – ALEHOUSE, READING
I’d only intended a couple of halves in Reading on Sunday night, being as you’ll know a moderate drinker, but CAMRA Chairmen can be very persuasive. Especially after a Duchesse de Borgogne in the Nag’s Head. So it was that I somehow found myself making a return to the Alehouse, which I guess is better… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – ALEHOUSE, READING
NO RATTING ON READING
An exciting couple of days to finish off Berks, Bucks and Oxon sections of the GBG (take that, BRAPA), and confirm that Reading really is a classic pub town. My definition probably isn’t yours; all I need is a minimum of three great pubs, a cheap hotel, and a decent Chinese takeaway. So add Reading to… Continue reading NO RATTING ON READING
ROCHFORD RUMBLE
Just occasionally, you need to do a post just because the pun is staring you in the face. The Rochford rumble is the sound of aeroplanes taking off from Southend airport, or my tummy as I look for an independent bakery and fromagerie before ending up at a Sainsbury local. This is the new GBG… Continue reading ROCHFORD RUMBLE
SE15 COMES TO SOUTHEND
While some GBG obssessives completists finish off Loch Ness or Swaledale, I focused on Essex. There’s a hundred and thirteen GBG pubs in this most underrated county, and according to my unique scoring system, only three of those had duff beer. There’s some gorgeous pubs in Old Leigh, but newer Southend isn’t a hotbed of… Continue reading SE15 COMES TO SOUTHEND
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