Camping has it’s drawbacks, but if the rain holds and you have a footpath from the campsite to the pubs it can be the way to go. Foxholes also provided an immaculate little site for £8, which is pretty much as good as it gets. No new Guide pubs in Bishops Castle but you do… Continue reading PUB CATS IN BISHOP’S CASTLE
THE IMPERIAL, SOUTHBOROUGH
It’s only in the last few years that our regular trips to the in-laws have become bearable. By that, I mean of course the pubs in Tunbridge Wells have improved, as Paul Bailey has reported recently. Little Southborough isn’t Tunbridge Wells though. What it gains in views over the Weald it loses in terms of any… Continue reading THE IMPERIAL, SOUTHBOROUGH
NO ROOM FOR SENTIMENT IN HEREFORDSHIRE
As Pub Curmudgeon can attest, the Welsh Marches is one of the most attractive areas, anywhere. You can define the Marches how you like; I’m sure some Londoners think it means Hay and Ludlow. The stretch between Bishops Castle and Hereford is one of my personal favourites, and it takes in Leintwardine, as unpronounceable now as on my… Continue reading NO ROOM FOR SENTIMENT IN HEREFORDSHIRE
AND NO MORE WILL I HANKER, FOR THE ANCHOR, ANCHOR
Visiting the Good Beer Guide is a total joy, of course, but some of the pubs have been more keenly anticipated than others. That anticipation is rarely about the number of handpumps or the historic interior; weirdness and inaccessibility score much higher. The Sixpenny Brewery Tap was one such place last year (see opening hours), and… Continue reading AND NO MORE WILL I HANKER, FOR THE ANCHOR, ANCHOR
TOP 100 PUBS – RAILWAY TAVERN, NEWTOWN, POWYS
Yesterday I had one of the great half-hours in a pub in unsung Newtown. Until the Wi-Fi died I wrote it up in the new and very decent Wetherspoons, which is as far from the Railway Tavern in feel as it’s possible to get. The Railway has an unprepossessing exterior straight from the Welsh Valleys, in contrast to the… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – RAILWAY TAVERN, NEWTOWN, POWYS
MILDENHALL – FIGHTER JETS & FUN PUBS
Well the Pokémon craze died fairly quickly in our house, but that won’t stop our teenage sons being grumpy at the loss of a day’s internet. Particularly when what they get instead is a 20 mile bike ride past stinging nettles and Greene King fun pubs. This was another exploratory campervan trip 30 miles down the… Continue reading MILDENHALL – FIGHTER JETS & FUN PUBS
LEYLAND MOTORS ON
Another year, another train to Leyland, another chance to be surprised at how big this town is. 35,000 people and I’m certain only 4 people in Cambridgeshire (3 of them farmers) could place it on the map. We took our children to the commercial vehicle museum once, back in the days when children could be fobbed… Continue reading LEYLAND MOTORS ON
HEATWAVE IN HARROGATE
Certain towns can be relied for an annual visit that will deliver a) a decent new Guide pub, b) a new aspect to the place, and c) a decent lunch. All of those were present in lovely Harrogate this week, which was just about to unveil a magic fountain in the Valley Gardens that turns curious children into stone. Simon… Continue reading HEATWAVE IN HARROGATE
BARFLIES
I added a photo to my post on Chichester, seeking your views on faults in an unnamed rural pub. I enjoyed the responses on Twitter and the blog. First things first. The East Dean Ale & Cider House is beautifully situated in some of the best walking country in the south, and is a hardworking… Continue reading BARFLIES
CAMRA REVITALISATION -DRINK THE REAL ALE
In between dodging barflies in Sussex and posing tables in Leyland (report to follow) I attended the CAMRA revitalisation meeting in Didsbury on Wednesday. I was always going to attend to attend the event closest to Stockport to be fair; opinions are strongly held up here and tickets for the bout were trading for £50 on the… Continue reading CAMRA REVITALISATION -DRINK THE REAL ALE
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