Greater Manchester, Newcastle and Cambridge seem to have the best quality beer, looking at my scoring over the years. Peterborough has rarely let me down either. The city has had half a dozen reliable Beer Guide pubs of some character for a decade or more now, all scoring highly for quality and pubbiness (even the… Continue reading OAKHAM v SAM SMITHS IN PETERBOROUGH
ON THE KEY KEG AT PETERBOROUGH BEER FEST
Beer Festivals don’t feature heavily on my itinerary , (IndyMan and Manchester Fest apart, and I need little excuse to visit the 1st City). My disinterest in Fests is largely a simple matter that they’re not pubs, and pub life is what my travels are about. I also don’t need a choice of more than… Continue reading ON THE KEY KEG AT PETERBOROUGH BEER FEST
ELLESMERE RETURNS
There used to be a number of places you could rely on being Beer Guide entry free; Letchworth, Port Talbot, Coatbridge. Then along came Wetherspoons and ruined it for everyone. Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA doesn’t have a large allocation in the Guide anyway, and the largely rural area up to Whitchurch remains resolutely un-touristy.… Continue reading ELLESMERE RETURNS
NO NEED TO BYPASS TARPORLEY
My earliest experiences of Robinsons pubs were the slightly run-down but cheery places in the Dark Peak, close to the train carriage B&B at the Little Mill in Rowarth. It wasn’t just the cheap beer that impressed in the unknown lands of Marple Bridge and Romiley; some of our group had never seen a hill before,… Continue reading NO NEED TO BYPASS TARPORLEY
CAN I TAKE A PHOTO OF YOUR PROSECCO BATMAN ?
“I bet you don’t get asked that every day ?” I said to the nice landlady. “No, apart from that rapper bloke“. “You mean BRAPA“, I corrected her. “Oh, with those red shoes I thought he was a rapper“. I might have imagined that conversation to be honest. As Simon noted, the Wynnstay at Llansilin is… Continue reading CAN I TAKE A PHOTO OF YOUR PROSECCO BATMAN ?
DOES THIS TRAIN STOP ON MERSEYSIDE ?
Well, that depends what you make of Merseyside as a concept. I’m sure Pub Curmudgeon will have some views on that. And Ken Dodd. I stayed in Wallasey, which is worthy of note in it’s own right, and took the train in to Moorfields. Some of my favourite ‘Pool pubs are in the commercial district,… Continue reading DOES THIS TRAIN STOP ON MERSEYSIDE ?
LAST 5 STANDING -ROSCOE HEAD, LIVERPOOL
It might be complacency but I never seriously thought the Roscoe Head was at risk, but if the Lion can close then nothing is sacred. I’d visited the other four ever-presents in the Beer Guide, in London (two of them), Cambidgeshire and Purbeck, and found them all in rude health, fully justifying a Beer Guide… Continue reading LAST 5 STANDING -ROSCOE HEAD, LIVERPOOL
BASKET MEALS IN CRIGGION
The M54/A5/A458 is my friend at the moment. Four trips into Montgomeryshire this Summer as I make inroads into Wales and it’s holding up well, despite the best efforts of V Festival and escapee sheep. A quick detour to finish off southern Shropshire (sorry, Salop) provided a good comparison with Wales. The Red Lion in Longden… Continue reading BASKET MEALS IN CRIGGION
FRODSHAM
Frodsham was a good place to finish Cheshire’s Beer Guide entries this year, a typically attractive market town with an excellent tuna cob from the Devonshire bakery. Lots of smart people in a town looking like a Beaconsfield with half-timbered buildings. More listed buildings than you could ever wish for too, though lacking the petro-chemical illumination beauty… Continue reading FRODSHAM
THE ROYAL OAK, TETBURY
Regular readers will be aware I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing technology wise, and this blog is largely indebted to Pub Curmudgeon and my 15 year old son Matthew for the advice and support necessary to maintain it in any sort of shape. Mrs RM has quite addled my brain with DropBox/Google Photos/One… Continue reading THE ROYAL OAK, TETBURY
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