One last tick in Ayrshire, a delayed tick in Troon, which had failed to honour its promised if unlikely opening hours of 10:30 to 02:30 the next morning on my last birthday (22 December, make a note). I knew I’d be back, just like Boris. Perhaps my return to No. 47 was more welcome than… Continue reading RESERVED FOR THE SMIRNOFFS IN TROON
Tag: Ayrshire
LARGS LICKED
Not literally licked, that would breach Scottish Covid rules. You’ll have to travel across the border, like Red in Shawshank, to lick pumps in Carlisle or Berwick or Longtown. Just a GBG tick licked as I continue my Scottish Birthday Hop round the Ayrshire coast. There are three (3) inevitabilities about any ticker’s tour; 1)… Continue reading LARGS LICKED
EVERY GOOD BIRTHDAY STARTS WITH A £1.65 PINT OF ABBOT IN KILMARNOCK SPOONS
I should, perhaps, be worried that some readers might take this blog too seriously, but then I remember that anyone who does will have long ago stopped reading, blocking the words “retiredmartin“, “excellent Doom Bar” and “evil tasters”. But then again I know you’ll believe that a trip to Kilmarnock Spoons in the company of… Continue reading EVERY GOOD BIRTHDAY STARTS WITH A £1.65 PINT OF ABBOT IN KILMARNOCK SPOONS
TRICKY TROON & THE DEAD JELLYFISH
Ten minutes on the train from Ayr (£3.60 return) you’re in the UK centre of geriatric golf, the sort of place my Dad would have retired to a decade ago if my Mum had ever acquired a taste for deep-fried haggis. The links golf courses along the west coast of Ayrshire are still the major… Continue reading TRICKY TROON & THE DEAD JELLYFISH
TOP 100 PUBS – GEORDIE’S BYRE, AYR
A coveted Top 100 place secured on my first visit; I bet the owner of Geordie’s Byre will be over the moon. Or not. Geordie’s has it all, even an alternating position between Newton-on-Ayr and Ayr in the Beer Guide. Small things please small minds etc. Just a short hop over Old Bridge Street at Poundland to Newton,… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – GEORDIE’S BYRE, AYR
HOLDING UP THE HEARSE IN AYR
The nice ScotRail man sold me a £10.50 Off-Peak return to Ayr; I’m sure Tom would have found a cheaper way. To get the most out of the investment, I had a plan to stop at five stations on the way back to Glasgow for my gig at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. Simon visited… Continue reading HOLDING UP THE HEARSE IN AYR
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