Well, TWO confessions really in this mini-post, as I hurtle towards Rochdale from Manchester for a lightning tick and fail to invite Tandleman, the King of this wonderful area for pubs. To be honest, Rochdale deserves a return visit, with good curry and four (4) Guide pubs in the centre, a centre that’s being merrily… Continue reading CONFESSIONS OF A ROCHDALE SAMPLE DRINKER
Tag: Greater Manchester
A MARPLE MYSTERY
21st December 2022. James has been doing his unfathomable IT job for nearly two years now, has started having “team meetings” in scary Leigh, and seems to have adapted to working life (from home) extremely well after the Covid horrors of 2020. He’d accumulated quite a bit of holiday, and asked, uninvited, to join me… Continue reading A MARPLE MYSTERY
THE BEST BEER, IN THE WORST SEATING, WITH THE MOST ECLECTIC SOUNDTRACK
Nearly missed this one, tucked away in the grim shopping centre in Prestwich. Keg, Cask Bottle was my third (3rd) Prestwich newbie, a bit of a contrast to the Holt and Hyde’s on the previous stop. It looked oddly familiar, but it wasn’t till I reached the bar I realised “I’ve been here before“. Only… Continue reading THE BEST BEER, IN THE WORST SEATING, WITH THE MOST ECLECTIC SOUNDTRACK
WHITE RAT AND WOTSITS AT RADCLIFFE’S NEW INN
Definitely a Cream track off Disraeli Gears, I think. 5th December 2022. I walked the B6292 from central Radcliffe to the New Inn. I really did. Look ! Here’s proof. Handsome church, stately town hall, weird statues that look like they belong in Bromsgrove. and after 20 minutes the New Inn, the very definition of… Continue reading WHITE RAT AND WOTSITS AT RADCLIFFE’S NEW INN
AN URGENT LOO STOP FOR RADCLIFFE
5th December 2022. My marathon* pub ticking day continued on t’tram toward Bury, but I jumped off at Radcliffe. As Will Hawkes astutely remarked in our interview, ticking the GBG forces you to visit places where others fear to tread. Dear reader, I had never been to Radcliffe before, and my visit to the New… Continue reading AN URGENT LOO STOP FOR RADCLIFFE
A HOLT AND A HYDE’S IN HEATON PARK
The Retired Martin household spent 25 December in Sheffield. No presents at all, but we did allow Mrs RM to serve a Christmas pudding she’d picked up cheap at Aldi late on Christmas Eve. I do not approve, but I have no say in my own house. All I want now I’m 58 (I know,… Continue reading A HOLT AND A HYDE’S IN HEATON PARK
I COME TO TICK BURY, AND TO PRAISE IT
Right, another day, another GBG county to finish. I offered Mrs RM a choice of Bury or Bridlington. She chose Bury. Perhaps she thought I meant t’other Bury. No, apparently she wanted to see the transformation of Greater’s Manchester finest purveyor of offal. But we started off in Tim Horton’s where I introduced her to… Continue reading I COME TO TICK BURY, AND TO PRAISE IT
DUCKING INTO DUKINFIELD
Back up to Manchester for my 3rd night of ticking, and a couple of newbies out in the east (or west, depending which way you’re facing) of Greater Manchester. My base was the easyHotel just off Piccadilly Gardens. A brave choice, but with my Booking.com Genius level rate of £35 (on a match day, too),… Continue reading DUCKING INTO DUKINFIELD
TO URMSTON, TO COMPLETE GREATER MANCHESTER !
My last “Greater Manchester” tick came before City’s thrilling draw with Southampton, and may be seen as a tad contentious. So my plan to do Urmston properly, perhaps take a week’s holiday here and declare it “the next Didsbury” will have to be put on hold. Instead I’ve just decided to take the easy tick… Continue reading TO URMSTON, TO COMPLETE GREATER MANCHESTER !
TOP 10 COUNTIES – No. 2 – GREATER MANCHESTER
That pic above is of me, descending the steps to the Underbanks to a secret vault where I’ll be collecting the correct answers to my “Guess my favourite counties competition“, now into its 7th year. The tension is growing in London (North-West), Bedfordshire and the Kingdom of Fife. Are they in my Top 2 ?… Continue reading TOP 10 COUNTIES – No. 2 – GREATER MANCHESTER
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