For a place with so much craft beer (craft by anyone’s definition) Bristol has a superb collection of traditional boozers. I rarely see the city mentioned in the same league as Norwich or Sheffield, which is odd. Being picky, the Beer Guide pubs can seem dominated by students, and I’ve had the odd bit of… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE BAG OF NAILS, BRISTOL
A BATH BLASPHEMY IN HOTWELLS
An evening in Bristol revealed yet more new architectural and pubby discoveries, the supply of great street art seemingly endless. Hotwells is the suburb connecting the centre to Clifton, home to the brilliant Bag o’ Nails which gets its own post later, and not just because of the cats. Round the corner is the Myrtle… Continue reading A BATH BLASPHEMY IN HOTWELLS
MAIDENHEAD PROVIDES RELIEF
Once you get to your eighties sixties you need fairly regular comfort breaks, and so it was that I found myself in Maidenhead searching for a lunch stop for my parents today. This was by no means a stop of choice, but the need to park fairly close to the lunch venue overrode the need to… Continue reading MAIDENHEAD PROVIDES RELIEF
CROWN INN, ASHLEY – CAMBRIDGE PUB OF THE YEAR
I’m not sure I’ve spent this much time in Cambridgeshire since my youngest son was born, which inconsiderately reduced my ticking time for a week or so. A shorter walk on Saturday with Mrs RM around the horse-breeding villages was a bit flat, but did give us a chance to take in the just-crowned Crown in… Continue reading CROWN INN, ASHLEY – CAMBRIDGE PUB OF THE YEAR
APRIL STOCKTAKE
A good month pub wise, with 37 new Beer Guide pubs in 15 counties (more if you’re using proper county definition), and finishing off the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Warwicks chapters of the GBG. I didn’t get to the Anchor in Anchor or the Isle of Wight, but an impromptu trip to Thanet compensated for that. As Erlangen… Continue reading APRIL STOCKTAKE
WATERBEACH SUN’S BEER FESTIVAL
It’s a rare day I stay at home, but I promised Mrs RM I’d go with her to our local pub’s Beer Festival, just to be unusually sociable. The Sun is the drinkers pub in a village of about 5,000, recently reduced by the closure of the RAF base. It’s the first pub I went… Continue reading WATERBEACH SUN’S BEER FESTIVAL
SANDY -BIRD SONG,PALE ALE & CLANGERS
Thursday is Bedfordshire day. Words to strike fear into the heart of any traveller except the estimable Simon Everitt, probably the only other person to have walked the county ticking off the largely dull Beer Guide pubs. I do like to give places a second chance though, and Simon had formed a better impression of… Continue reading SANDY -BIRD SONG,PALE ALE & CLANGERS
SURBITON IN THE SNOW
I didn’t actually realise Surbiton was a place until I started visiting the Beer Guide pubs in SW London. I’d always thought it was a borough name like Elmbridge or Merton. The geography around the Kingston/Surrey borders takes some getting used to. I’m still not quite sure what distinguishes it from Long Ditton and Kingston, but I guess… Continue reading SURBITON IN THE SNOW
SNARGATE’S CLASSIC, BASIC AND UNSPOILT PUB
My sympathies are with the family and friends of the late Doris Jemison, the quite wonderful landlady of the Red Lion in Snargate. Doris’s was on my list for a revisit for many years, so I will now have to treasure the one visit I made in 2000, when the pub made a significant impression… Continue reading SNARGATE’S CLASSIC, BASIC AND UNSPOILT PUB
CONTRASTS IN EAST MOLESEY
As I come towards the end of this years new Beer Guide entries for “Greater” London, I’m starting to get full value out my Travelcard by crossing the dangerous border into Surrey when I can. On Tuesday that meant the train to the furthest extremity of Zone 6 at Hampton Court, crossing the road to… Continue reading CONTRASTS IN EAST MOLESEY
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