Much of north Sussex looks like my in-laws home in the Wells; green, prosperous, as cluttered as an antiques dealer, but with faded charm. A place they put the tea in before the milk*. Attractive towns and villages like Crowborough and weatherboarded Rotherfield are really suffering from the effects of traffic these days. They’ll get their… Continue reading ANGELS IN THE (ROTHERFIELD) ARCHITECTURE
EEYORE CONTACT AT POOH CORNER
Trips down to Kent and West Sussex do seem to involve a lot of halves of Harveys. I’m not sure any regional beer is as ubiquitous in local Beer Guide pubs as Sussex Best. I’m a fan, but it’s rarely stunning, except (as here) in Hailsham. Twenty years ago Mrs RM and I stayed in… Continue reading EEYORE CONTACT AT POOH CORNER
INTO BATTLE
This can be Number 1 in a series of posts advising American visitors to Sussex where to visit, or avoid. I can’t imagine that Dick and Dave will be able to contain their joy when they enter the Squirrel, on the western outskirts of Battle, to be handed a John Denver LP. Or if you’re… Continue reading INTO BATTLE
THE SLOW DEATH OF TUESDAY DRINKING IN ANDOVER
Last year I popped in to Andover at the end of Dryanuary and found it in rude health, at least as far as unpretentious pubs and beer quality go. What it lacks in classic architecture, Andover makes up for in budget hotels, ideally placed on industrial estates and service stations. Sadly the Premier Inn has… Continue reading THE SLOW DEATH OF TUESDAY DRINKING IN ANDOVER
BACK TO BASINGSTOKE
Nowhere on our sceptred isle is without charm, of course, but I’ll confess my heart sinks a bit as I hit the M3 roadworks for a third time in a month, en-route for the new GBG joys of Basingstoke. Actually, I started in Silchester, a few miles north, and I doubt folk there see themselves as… Continue reading BACK TO BASINGSTOKE
WADSWORTH IN HUNTS
Back from Scotland to a rare post about my home county (ish). You’ll be thinking that’s a spelling mistake at the top, particularly if you’re Pub Curmudgeon and know to expect them. Not so. The Three Horseshoes in Graveley is owned by tiny J.Wadsworth wine merchants of St. Ives in Huntingdonshire, perhaps our most low-key pub… Continue reading WADSWORTH IN HUNTS
1967 AND ALL THAT
The last post from Scotland for, ooh, two weeks, when I’m back up to Glasgow, finally doing that elusive Coatbridge Spoons. I’ve left the best from this trip ’till last though, as well as a few reasons apart from great pubs to visit Musselburgh. Here’s some highlights, reflecting the sunset, architecture, street art, S.Luca’s ice cream parlour,… Continue reading 1967 AND ALL THAT
AN EDINBURGH EDUCATION
My eldest son James turned 18 (with a bullet) yesterday, celebrating with a chicken doner from Beach Best Kebab, one of my village’s remarkable collection of top takeaways. If he achieves the necessary grades he’ll get to go to Sheffield. The idea of my staying in his student accommodation in order to visit all the… Continue reading AN EDINBURGH EDUCATION
HAND PULLED IN MUSSELBURGH
Taking a look at the local CAMRA Guide to Edinburgh (3rd edition, 2008) is instructive. Just the two real ale pubs in Musselburgh, the venerable Volunteer’s Arms ( Staggs) and the somewhat lesser known Leavenhall Arms. Nine years on, the only addition (Rugby Club aside) is the inevitable Spoons, the derided chain that provide the only decent cask… Continue reading HAND PULLED IN MUSSELBURGH
TWO BRIDGES IN THE HEART OF LOTHIAN
Almost a second Marillion reference in two days there. The main flaw in our plan to “Do the Borders” by train is that the train doesn’t actually serve many places in the Borders. Not by a Good Beer Guide definition, anyway. Just the two in Galashiels and (with a walk) Melrose. Perhaps the extension to… Continue reading TWO BRIDGES IN THE HEART OF LOTHIAN
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