September 2026. Chesterfield. When a new Beer Guide comes out each September the temptation is always to look for trips to towns with lots of new ticks, even if that means a train to Newton Abbot or Carlisle. But my priority on Monday was nursing my gammy leg I don’t like to talk about, but… Continue reading THE BRAMPTON MILE, M’DUCK
Tag: nature
ALL ROADS LEAD TO MIRFIELD
September 2026. Mirfield. Your thoughts and prayers requested as I face three (3) nights of post-surgical support at the in-laws in Kent, with zero new GBG entries to entertain me in Tonbridge. Even shorter posts than usual to follow. I’m sure I’ll be looking at some creative rail trips to tick those new Guide pubs,… Continue reading ALL ROADS LEAD TO MIRFIELD
TOP PUB STOPS ON THE M1. THE QUEEN’S HEAD, MARKFIELD, J.22
September 2026. Markfield. Leicestershire. I wasn’t looking forward to the long slog home from Dorset on Monday morning. For a start, the campervan battery had been judged “marginal” by KwikFit, and with Mrs RM A.W.O.L. in Prague I faced using her step-by-step guide to a restart if it had drained again*. It can be chaotic… Continue reading TOP PUB STOPS ON THE M1. THE QUEEN’S HEAD, MARKFIELD, J.22
TO THE END OF THE ROAD. VIA DUSTON
September 2026. Sheffield to Northampton. Yes ! I’m alive, just back from four (4) days without internet (unless you stand in a field of sheep in Cranborne Chase). Lots of exciting music reviews from End of the Road ’26 to come, but first, and most excitingly, a night in the western suburbs of Northampton. Calm… Continue reading TO THE END OF THE ROAD. VIA DUSTON
A SAWTRY REDEMPTION
August 2026. Sawtry. Near Huntingdon. This was the view from our motel window last Saturday, near the lowest pub in the country*. Redwings Lodge, on the B1043 (Ermine Street) alongside the A1(M) at Sawtry, was the only place (well) under a hundred quid we could stay near Dad last Saturday night. This weekend is actually… Continue reading A SAWTRY REDEMPTION
YE OLDE MUSTARD POT, MIDHOPESTONES
July 2026. Midhopestones. Sheffield. The Number 57 from the bottom of our hill (doesn’t really narrow it down) terminates at Unsliven Bridge 49 minutes later. I had no idea what Unsliven Bridge was, apart from a sense it was beyond the darkest recesses of Stocksbridge, a Sheffield suburb I’ve barely touched and for good reason.… Continue reading YE OLDE MUSTARD POT, MIDHOPESTONES
DON’T DILLY-DALLY IN DILIJAN
June 2026. Armenia. Back in bed from the Southern Armenia 16 hour slog, a 6am alarm on Saturday morning for another early start tour was as welcome as a Maidenhead micro closure. But this northern exploration, centred on the lakes and forests, was an essential part of understanding a country that had seemed a little… Continue reading DON’T DILLY-DALLY IN DILIJAN
WHY, WIVELSFIELD ?
December 2025. Wivelsfield. West Sussex. But first, “Where, Wivelsfield ?” Firmly Mid Sussex, though as Mid Sussex doesn’t exist in the GBG, it’s a dip into the West Sussex chapter. Here’s one I completed earlier; Simon is making some inroads into this underrated county at the moment, a mix of micropubs along the coast and… Continue reading WHY, WIVELSFIELD ?
CONTRADICTORY ADVICE ON SURVIVING A BEAR ATTACK
October 2025. Brasov. Five days into our Romanian trip, and it’s time for bears. Mrs RM had decided we could do better than Bran Castle (“a bit Disney), but a visit to Libearty Bear Sanctuary to cuddle grizzlies was a must. What do you mean I don’t get to cuddle them ? These are the… Continue reading CONTRADICTORY ADVICE ON SURVIVING A BEAR ATTACK
