The end of the Welsh Wander, on a gorgeous day that started with avocado smash at the wonderful Parc Pantry in Malpas. I bet you didn’t think you could even get avocado smash in suburban Newport, did you, let alone that it looked like this; Chepstow is practically England, but it never feels quite as… Continue reading CHEPSTOW BOOKED
Tag: Gwent
Well, could YOU walk past the Murenger ?
Not the first time I’ve been in Ye Olde Murenger House, and hopefully not the last, but I always say that about the Dead Poets and the Coopers Arms. The Murenger, of course, was built to Sir Humphrey’s exact specifications, unlike all those Rochdale pubs he snapped up on the cheap, and is a gem.… Continue reading Well, could YOU walk past the Murenger ?
FOUND IT !
Back into town on the Number 28, with me feeling slightly guilty about taking it all the way back to the Newport bus station, would my sins catch up with me ?, till I realises the £4.40 bought one of those Day Riders. I should have taken a ride out to the Transporter Bridge; still… Continue reading FOUND IT !
ON THE (NEWPORT) BUSES
The last night of January’s Great Welsh Tickathon started at the Ibis (stylised ibis) budget in Newport. Highly recommended, particularly now they’ve added a kettle to the rooms. Tell them I sent you. For your £34 you get a bloke who advises you to not make a chicken run across the M4, but rather start… Continue reading ON THE (NEWPORT) BUSES
BLAENAVON – MORE THAN A BIG PIT
One of my favourite parts of the world are old mining towns in the Welsh Valleys running down from the A465. Blaenavon is the centre-point of the mining tourism, the Big Pit museum the place where you experience the sensation of being a ’70s Welsh miner for free, though it’s closed at the moment. So… Continue reading BLAENAVON – MORE THAN A BIG PIT
Raglan mourns the end of the Château d’Yquem 1969
You might think that the new entries in the GBG are all micro pubs, brewery taps, Wetherspoons and community restaurants pubs, but you’d be wrong, so wrong. There’s a real mixed bag, with unprepossessing village boozers, Marston’s new builds and upmarket rural hotels, like the Beaufort Arms in little Raglan, your pashmina refuge before you… Continue reading Raglan mourns the end of the Château d’Yquem 1969
MAKING A DENT IN GWENT – No.1, MONMOUTH
Oh you tease, retiredmartin, we all know there’s no Bass in Wales as they’re hogging it in Derbyshire. You’ll have your own thoughts on signs that promise but don’t deliver, and I was to be disappointed in my search for good Brains (post-Marston takeover) on my 3 nights in South Wales this week. This was… Continue reading MAKING A DENT IN GWENT – No.1, MONMOUTH
LET’S CELEBRATE…..ABERGAVENNY
The GBG says “Gwent“, Mudgie says “Monmouthshire“, and some would say Greater Tewkesbury. But as the contours and views show, it’s very much Wales in Abergavenny. See also authentic Welsh touches in the castle park, such as “the famous “Jumper Tree” onto which people sew their requests for the next craft beer in the Wetherspoons… Continue reading LET’S CELEBRATE…..ABERGAVENNY
HIPPIE HUGGING AT LLANTHONY PRIORY
Right, a cracker as I close in on completing Gwent. Just how is the Llanthony Priory Hotel such a yo-yo entry in the Guide ? Two years out of the GBG while I finished Gwent, and now back in, taunting me from the Black Mountains. Wales has some of the best located GBG… Continue reading HIPPIE HUGGING AT LLANTHONY PRIORY
ABER, ABER, NAY
Yes, I used a title like that last year. But that was Aberystwyth. And this isn’t. Last time here I was actually just over the bridge in Llanfoist, bemoaning the lack of new entries in Abergavenny. Now I’m back, killing an hour before Y Cantreff (“Begone BRAPA”) opens at an irritating 12.30 (why?). There’s two… Continue reading ABER, ABER, NAY
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