Well, in July, really. An uneventful Southern Vectis bus journey brought me back to Cowes (the Western one), leaving me a tiny bit sad I hadn’t allowed myself a day to pack in crazy golf at Blackgang Chine and the Needles, but this was the Summer of Ticking, and I ran to the Painters Arms… Continue reading THE ISLE OF WIGHT HAS FALLEN
Tag: Isle of Wight
A BEER GUIDE TICKER’S FEAR OF THE SOUTHERN VECTIS BUS (AND THE PUB TAKEN OVER BY A WEDDING)
Finally conquering the Good Beer Guide meant cramming in ferries or flights to a dozen or more offshore Guide territories, and meticulous planning. And huge amounts of luck with opening hours, Covid closures and transport strikes. The Isle of Wight is one of the easier offshore chapters, and also one of the easier to get… Continue reading A BEER GUIDE TICKER’S FEAR OF THE SOUTHERN VECTIS BUS (AND THE PUB TAKEN OVER BY A WEDDING)
FRAMPWOOD MAC, retiredmartin HAS TO COME BACK
I’ve no idea where the day on Wight went. Mainly hanging around at bus stops, feeling sick on buses and then finding pot plants to dispose of below-par beer. Admit it, you’re jealous. Another half hour on Ventis to Wootton, joined by shoppers and schoolchildren dreaming of their trip to the mythical land of Portsmouth. … Continue reading FRAMPWOOD MAC, retiredmartin HAS TO COME BACK
MEMORIES
I needed seven pubs to complete the Isle of Wight. Three around Sandown in the bagn, two back in Ryde, one in the centre in Arreton, and the most difficult down at the bottom on Niton. My plan had been to take the bus via Newport down to Joe’s. Only two things were in my… Continue reading MEMORIES
BEMBRIDGE – SOUR CREAM, OLD EMPIRE
In theory, my first three Wight pubs were a doddle, two in Sandown and one just over the hill in bucolic Bembridge. Four miles between Culver Haven and the Village Inn, says Bing Maps, ignoring my bravery in ploughing headlong down the Down, and towards those horns at the top. I escaped their attention by… Continue reading BEMBRIDGE – SOUR CREAM, OLD EMPIRE
THE VIEW FROM CULVER DOWN
Good Beer Guide geography is a source of amazement to the Royal Society of GBG Tickers. Exhibit A. Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield. Half a mile from Huddersfield Station But listed in the GBG under Birkby, to the amazement of the residents of Birkby, if there are any. Exhibit B. The Culver Haven Inn, Culver Down,… Continue reading THE VIEW FROM CULVER DOWN
SORCERY AND SICKNESS IN SANDOWN
I could have taken the train to Sandown, but the combined travel tickets condemned me to the dreaded Vectis buses. At least the hovercraft stomach churning was over in ten minutes. The bus was 30 minutes of hell. Good job they had those little USB sockets to recharge my phone, eh ? I jumped off… Continue reading SORCERY AND SICKNESS IN SANDOWN
A (HOVERCRAFT) TICKET TO RYDE
Mark Crilley must be in Britpop heaven, with me following the Spandau Ballet reference with a pun on our favourite Northwestern chiming guitar moptops (Oasis, I think). With two nights in Pompey, I made Tuesday “Isle of Wight Day“, just edging out “Southampton Micro Day”. Southampton will always be there, but Wight is probably drifting… Continue reading A (HOVERCRAFT) TICKET TO RYDE
MISSING THE YARMOUTH FERRY
By 6.20pm I was back in Newport Bus Station waiting for the connection back to Yarmouth ferry. The No.7 should have got there by 6.54pm, giving me a mad but successful dash on to the boat (which hadn’t started boarding at Lymington that morning till 2 minutes before it left). We got the learner driver,… Continue reading MISSING THE YARMOUTH FERRY
SUNSET ON COWES
Two more to finish off my first successful incursion into the Isle of Wight since 2008, fact fans. I’m claiming ten ticks, as I actually touched the King’s Head, even though it was closed. With its windy little streets and cosy pubs, it’s easy to see why Queen Victoria warmed to Cowes, turning her back… Continue reading SUNSET ON COWES
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