Hardly a year goes by without a disappointing trip to Gloucester. Why, oh why can’t it be like other modest Cathedral cities ? Never mind Salisbury, even Rochester has more GBG entries, and more to detain you. Like Peterborough, the cathedral is the star, an absolute gem, even without the Potter trappings. I tipped up… Continue reading TALES OF THE TAYLOR OF GLOUCESTER
CRANHAM – CIDER WITH YANKEES
Into Gloucestershire, and a rare chance to show you an incomplete page from the Beer Guide. I think you’ll agree it looks much more impressive in bright pink than the dull green used by one of my GBG completist enemies chums. On our family trip toward Somerset this Sunday I should be able to clear the… Continue reading CRANHAM – CIDER WITH YANKEES
PERSHORE – IT’S A MYSTERY
Back on the road again, and a first trip to Pershore since a night in the very odd Wood Norton conference facilities (£25 if I recall, an all-time bargain). The Vale of Evesham, a bit like the Vale of Pewsey, gets short shrift from tourists. Apart from Pub Curmudgeon and me, who had mixed feelings… Continue reading PERSHORE – IT’S A MYSTERY
ANCHORED IN BURWELL
Between trips west, a day off from travelling to help Mrs RM’s foot rehabilitation with a modest walk in west Cambs. Burwell, like my own Waterbeach, is one of those “Fen-edge” villages large enough to have essential like pubs, Chinese takeaways and Droves leading into nowhere, while acting as a decent dormitory for Cambridge. Unlike… Continue reading ANCHORED IN BURWELL
POTTERING ROUND PEWSEY
Back to extolling the virtues of the English pub today, and the wonders of Wiltshire. A certain local brewery completes the alliteration but you’ll have to guess that. Wilts is a tricky county to complete. Many of the entries are in villages with temperamental bus services and “modern” opening hours. On the other hand, the… Continue reading POTTERING ROUND PEWSEY
WEST WILTS WOES
or “Fear and loathing in Bradford-on-Avon” Let’s get it over with, then. Beer quality, or lack of it, in upmarket pubs. I was reading the highlights of the first 10 years of Pub Curmudgeon recently and this post stuck out. It includes the classic line; “But you can only drink one at a time, and… Continue reading WEST WILTS WOES
VROOM FROME
No, not a special edition to commemorate some bloke from Kenya overtaking some bloke from Ghent in our bicycling affections, but it could be, couldn’t it ? Into Somerset (just) for Frome, a South-Western Hebden Bridge, or at least a Todmorden. The reputation as a “Cool Town” is a bit odd given the decline of… Continue reading VROOM FROME
MICK JOGGER IN MELKSHAM
If in doubt, add a cat. Even if it is a cat having a rest on a dustbin outside the pub you’re writing about. Porcelain cats remain a poor substitute. You might think our feline friend is the best thing about Melksham. And you’d be right. But a close second is the juxtaposition of the Labour… Continue reading MICK JOGGER IN MELKSHAM
GRADUATION DAY – A BOON FOR BATH’S TICKERS
I assume some folk read this blog for cheap accommodation tips. One of my major contributions to the NHS was telling people “No, you can’t stay at Malmaison, I’ve found you a perfectly acceptable replacement called Hotel F1“. I wish I was joking. Goodness know how businesses around Bath cope. Nothing for me under £80. Except… Continue reading GRADUATION DAY – A BOON FOR BATH’S TICKERS
STUNNING STAITHES
Simply because the photos are staring at me, here’s a report from rainy Staithes, one of my favourites places on earth (even if it is in Yorkshire). I always assume that everyone knows where Staithes is, so stunning is it on first sight, but it turns out more folk in my Cambridge village can locate the Cinque Terre,… Continue reading STUNNING STAITHES
