I haven’t been particularly fulsome in my praise of South Cambridgeshire, and there’s no new village pubs around there in the Guide, for the 24th year in a row. Just across the border, little change in Hertfordshire and still no GBG pubs in Royston, a town famous only for a hole in the ground*. QUIZ… Continue reading ON THERFIELD HEATH
THE KING’S ARMS, BEDFORD – THE BEER GUIDE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS
Fortuitously I was in Bedford yesterday as the launch of the new Beer Guide sent shares in fish bladders plummeting, and able to sample the first new entry you’ll come across in the Guide. The nice man at CAMRA books had asked me to take a photo of his former home, and I always accept requests… Continue reading THE KING’S ARMS, BEDFORD – THE BEER GUIDE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS
GOOD BEER GUIDE 2017 – THE LONG AND MICROPUBBED ROAD
Well the Beer Guide is out now so there won’t be any knocks on the door from CAMRA Books if I tell you that the Tandle Hill Tavern is back in the Guide. Hurrah for that. Astonishingly, that Marstons 2-for-1 pub I wrote about yesterday is in, proving that its not all Taps and tasters in… Continue reading GOOD BEER GUIDE 2017 – THE LONG AND MICROPUBBED ROAD
CONTRASTS IN RUTLAND
Rutland is within range of our Campervan, so I expect we’ll be wobbling round the pond there quite a bit. We might even visit all the pubs in the “county”, and there’s bigger hardships in life. There’s a stereotypical Rutland pub with ivy on the walls, hunting pictures and Barbour-jacketed diners, but Oakham’s newest pub… Continue reading CONTRASTS IN RUTLAND
CRAFT INVASION REPELLED IN SAFFRON WALDEN
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
retiredmartin 