More saving pubs outside the GBG, this time aided by trusted Covid data expert and J20 connoisseur James. With my Mum on the mend (thanks for your kind words) but under watch I’ve committed to stay in “the county“. Let’s not argue about boundaries, folks. I was JUST over the Beds border when the ambulance… Continue reading LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO BIGGLESWADE
Tag: Crown
HAWES WEARS THE CROWN
After completing my two Hawes GBG ticks I had a break before a pre-emptive pint in the Crown. One consequence of the Covid compliance measures pubs have put in is that I no longer feel able to pop in for a quick half. No, once you’ve had the 20 minute lecture, entered your contact details… Continue reading HAWES WEARS THE CROWN
PORTPATRICK – THE QUIET BEFORE THE BORIS BRIDGE
More holiday snaps from what felt like a forgotten corner of the UK, albeit one that will shortly see holidaymakers flocking in their millions to the Boris Bridge tentatively scheduled for early summer, which will make my ticking in Northern Ireland easier. Portpatrick is one of a select band of places in Wigtownshire with real… Continue reading PORTPATRICK – THE QUIET BEFORE THE BORIS BRIDGE
DEVOLVING THE PINKING DUTIES IN LANLIVERY
18th January 2020 The journey home from Cornwall, a dozen GBG ticks in the bag, via the now ritual overnight stop at Weston-super-Mare. Bur first, the just as inevitable pub lunch down country lanes near the Eden project. Now, you’ll know I never resist an opportunity to ridicule myself and my loved ones. So if… Continue reading DEVOLVING THE PINKING DUTIES IN LANLIVERY
ARTFUL TEASING IN CHIDDINGFOLD
The odds of me headlining my last Surrey post with posh hand lotion were high, perhaps 88%. The alternative was this one. But you don’t want to lead with a toilet sign too often. So, back to Chiddingfold, a year after this atrocity; Both that horror in the Winterton Arms, and a previous pint… Continue reading ARTFUL TEASING IN CHIDDINGFOLD
PAUL WEARS THE CROWN
The Crown came into view just as a light drizzle descended on Lime Street Station, overlooked but not overshadowed by the ongoing building works behind it. What a wonderful pub to step into on a drab Sunday morning. Inside, Stafford’s Paul Mudge seemed mildly surprised to see me nearly on time. He hadn’t even finished… Continue reading PAUL WEARS THE CROWN
AXBRIDGE – SAY CHEESE
I’ve only time for a quick post while I explore Luton’s competing attractions while waiting for a flight from Katowice that’s 3 hours late (thanks Ryanair). Here’s the Hatters Highlight. In contrast to Dunstable Guided Busway, Axbridge is an authentic bit of honeypot Somerset, home to King John’s Hunting Lodge and the chintzy Lamb. A… Continue reading AXBRIDGE – SAY CHEESE
A STEP BACK IN TIME ALONG THE A66
“Never write posts after a penalty shoot-out” says the Pub Bloggers Manual. Oh well. I have a lot of photos and scrappy notes from the Great Penrith, Ayr & Glasgow Campervan Trip of 2018, some of them usable. Before I start on twenty-three pubs, here’s the quiz. “What will be the average NBSS score across… Continue reading A STEP BACK IN TIME ALONG THE A66
MATLOCK SPOONS PERSISTS WITH THE OLD-SCHOOL COFFEE MACHINE
I knew we should have gone in Matlock‘s Spoons when we walked past last year on a glorious Summer day. Perhaps we did go in. Google maps might know. But Matlock is always worth a return trip, even if the M&S Food Hall makes you unreasonably irate by not recognising anything as part of… Continue reading MATLOCK SPOONS PERSISTS WITH THE OLD-SCHOOL COFFEE MACHINE
NECTAR IN NUNEATON
Every 11th Thursday is curry night, when two middle-aged codgers from the east of England meet up in obscure parts of the Midlands to enjoy pubs and Indian restaurants. It’s a simple formula, only faltering slightly when I book rooms at a complete dump on the A5. Sorry Charles. The pub at the motel… Continue reading NECTAR IN NUNEATON