The demise of Boring Brown Bitters, replaced by a sea of exotic craft, is much overstated. Particularly in the suburbs of the Black Country. What Oxley lacks in architectural interest it makes up for with an ability to get you lost, always a bonus. The Claregate is right on the border with Staffordshire, except of course… Continue reading BANKS’S AT SOURCE
A REQUIEM FOR CHERRY HINTON
The one downside of meeting old work colleagues (apart from them blaming you for the collapse of the NHS) is that they always want to meet in dining pubs. Not that there’s many dumpy old men’s pubs left in Cambridge for a pint and scratchings anyway. The closest boozer to work used to be the… Continue reading A REQUIEM FOR CHERRY HINTON
A COUPLE IN NOTTS
(Two points if you can guess the reference to a classic No.56 album) Two excellent pubs on the A60 heading towards the “New Beer City” of Mansfield for you today, but more importantly evidence that going out for a midweek pint with your mate(s) is alive and well. It’s a rewarding walk from the station… Continue reading A COUPLE IN NOTTS
PILGRIMAGE TO THURSFORD
When I retired I didn’t have a bucket list, at least beyond the one in the annual 1032 pages of the Beer Guide. I do however, have a “Don’t Go There” list of things I will never do. This includes things like Prosecco, Coldplay, polite society and Thursford Christmas Spectacular. Perhaps to keep the peace… Continue reading PILGRIMAGE TO THURSFORD
GOOD BEER IN LONDON SHOCKER
Contrary to what you might think, I’ve nothing against London. It’s one of the top ten cities in the South, with a musical heritage stretching from Adam Ant to Gary Glitter. Music drew me there on a super off-peak slow train on Sunday; a rare one-off gig by alt-country legend William Tyler and a very… Continue reading GOOD BEER IN LONDON SHOCKER
WESTHOUGHTON WETHERSPOONS
Pub Curmudgeon has been exploring Britain’s real ale deserts on his blog. It’s a good read, and like him, I’d rather see a busy keg pub providing an essential service to old folk than an empty ale emporium. Westhoughton is one of those suburbs of Bolton (or Wigan) that in my mind I’d expect to… Continue reading WESTHOUGHTON WETHERSPOONS
THE NEW WIGAN, THANKFULLY JUST LIKE THE OLD WIGAN
I wasn’t the only City fan secretly happy when Wigan nicked the FA Cup in 2013; it’s hard to dislike a town that gave us Stuart Maconie, Limahl and pie on a barm. As I’ve wrote before, it’s a beautiful town with proper shops, unlike one close to home I could name. It’s also fast… Continue reading THE NEW WIGAN, THANKFULLY JUST LIKE THE OLD WIGAN
LIVERPOOL – THREE GRACES, TWO ACES
Always one for an accommodation bargain (£27), I booked the newish Trivelles Liverpool for my Merseyside jaunt. Trivelles has an exclusive range of hotels in the suburbs of Stockport, Salford, Bradford and Liverpool, which tells you all you need to know. There’s some mixed reviews on the web of the latter hotel but I can… Continue reading LIVERPOOL – THREE GRACES, TWO ACES
SOUTHPORT IN NOVEMBER
A good test of the strength of a marriage is whether it can survive four nights in Southport Pontins in September. 13 years ago it was touch and go when Mrs RM saw the hell-hole I’d booked, but a shared acknowledgement of a bargain (£15 a night for a family of four) got us through. Our toddlers… Continue reading SOUTHPORT IN NOVEMBER
A DURHAM DOUBLE
There are some counties where the pubs are better than the beer. My highly subjective scoring system suggests many of Durham’s GBG entries, particularly outside the city, have been very marginal indeed over the years. In the ex-Vaux houses to the west of the county, despite (because ?) of very limited beer ranges, real ale… Continue reading A DURHAM DOUBLE
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