One of the joys of a new Good Beer Guide, when it’s released, is exploring the large scale map to find out where on earth places such as Ynyshir and how do I get there when they only open after the buses have finished for the year. Throw in odd railway station labelling and it’s all… Continue reading CRAFT INVASION REPELLED IN SAFFRON WALDEN
SPEN – LIFE AMONG THE LION BARS
Before recent sad events I’d never heard of the Spen Valley, the collective name for the cluster of Kirklees villages between Bradford and Dewsbury. It must be hard work in Tourist Offices in Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Drub. Surely the names alone sell the place ? You might think Bradford is the UK curry capital, but it’s Cleckheaton… Continue reading SPEN – LIFE AMONG THE LION BARS
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN HALIFAX ?
On each annual visit Halifax reveals it’s treasures a little more. I’ve stayed here quite a few times recently, due more to the regular gigs at the wonderful Minster than new pubs. This trip for a family wedding meant giving a group of octogenarian teetotallers a tour round a town that they absolutely loved. It was Chinese… Continue reading WHAT’S HAPPENING IN HALIFAX ?
TOP 100 PUBS – BIG 6, HALIFAX
This weekend in Halifax for a family wedding has been a revelation, and not just because I managed to get a group of elderly relatives to skip the Premier Inn breakfast in favour of Wetherspoons (saving £34.73). They weren’t as impressed with the lads off to the St Leger on their second pint of cider by 9.15.am There’s… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BIG 6, HALIFAX
CRAFT COMES TO CROXTON KERRIAL
The pubs of Belvoir are always a delight after a walk noseying around Leicestershire’s posh villages with funny names. Croxton Kerrial (translation – twitchy windows) wasn’t that far from Melton Mowbray, but I wished for the safety of that metropolis while being sized up by the populace. I think they thought I was a geese rustler.… Continue reading CRAFT COMES TO CROXTON KERRIAL
SUBURBAN COMMUNITY LOCAL, ST.NEOTS
I was pleased when Alan Winfield started a blog to record his impressive pub crawls, often in the lesser known towns around England. Not only is it an impressive photographic record of our pub stock, it’s also a reminder of the variety of drinking places folk enjoy. You might think people like Simon Everitt and… Continue reading SUBURBAN COMMUNITY LOCAL, ST.NEOTS
THE 9 O’CLOCK RUSH IN GRANTHAM
I set off for the launch of the CAMRA Heritage Pubs guide in Preston this morning, but got no further than Grantham. My chosen hotel (not I hope a euphemism) had been trashed last night, and Preston seems to be full tonight (at least for tightwads like me). So I recovered over four cups of coffee… Continue reading THE 9 O’CLOCK RUSH IN GRANTHAM
IN PRAISE OF THE GOOD BEER GUIDE
Well the new Beer Guide arrived on Monday, only a week after folk in Wimbledon and Essex were tweeting about their local pub being in it. Unlike the Southerners, I won’t be breaking the embargo by revealing entries before 15 September. Whatever my irritation with the postal system, the Guide is a wonderful thing, and… Continue reading IN PRAISE OF THE GOOD BEER GUIDE
AN UNSPOILT GEM IN BRAUGHING
A random* walk in the gorgeous east Hertfordshire countryside just off the A10 is the best way to welcome Autumn to England. The only more autumnal place would be the Chequered Skipper in Ashton (Northants), home of the world conker championships. Leaves are already falling on the many footpaths in this commuter village known only… Continue reading AN UNSPOILT GEM IN BRAUGHING
MID-WEEK WINCHESTER
Stopping at Winchester‘s caravan park on the way to End of the Road made a change, we normally stay in Salisbury, which gives me plenty of time to whinge about warm Hop Back beers in their otherwise very lively pubs The absence of the Beer Guide when we left home (surely the subject of a future… Continue reading MID-WEEK WINCHESTER
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