A bit of a dull but necessary post now, as Mrs RM takes over expert driving duties on the way to a triumphant completion of the Home Counties (what even ARE the Home Counties ?). Dull, because it involves a few flying visits, as Mrs RM hovers anxiously in car parks while I nip in… Continue reading WE’RE GOING ON A FUEL HUNT (OXON PART II)
Tag: Oxfordshire
HOOKY
A week after our triumphant return from the Northern Tickathon, we were off again in the (as yet unnamed) campervan to tackle the south. Or more specifically, Oxon, Bucks and Herts. Only 2hrs 20 to the Hook Norton Brewery, almost exactly half an hour more than it toock from Waterbeach on my only previous visit… Continue reading HOOKY
SELECTIVE DEAFNESS IN WATCHFIELD
25th February 2020 A last tick in a GBG county is always highly anticipated. The thrill of getting the pink marker out, of writing off or bigging up an entire county, of knowing you won’t to need to slog down the A421 for a while. Last up is Watchfield, Nicely placed between the twin cultural… Continue reading SELECTIVE DEAFNESS IN WATCHFIELD
BANBURY, CROSS (THAT I MISSED LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL)
My last Oxfordshire GBG tick took me to Banbury, as good a place as any to finish a chapter, given there’s no exciting parlour pubs selling Hooky from the jug still to be discovered. And that’s the downside of having completed 80-90% of the Guide; you’ll never HAVE to do the Peyton Arms or the… Continue reading BANBURY, CROSS (THAT I MISSED LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL)
ABINGDON – OLD AND SPECKLED
I most enjoy tacking a 20 minute pub stop onto the end of a 2 hour walk round a new town. Not many new UK towns left to explore, of course, but you always find something unexpected if you give a place a bit of time. So with Abingdon, probably not top of Dave’s list… Continue reading ABINGDON – OLD AND SPECKLED
IN THE VALE OF THE WHITE HORSE
On the Sunday I picked up Sis from the pre-booked car park north of Bristol Temple Meads and headed home. “Anywhere you want to stop on the way” she said. Funny you should say that. The social club at Stanford in the Vale has the sort of opening hours designed to annoy pub tickers, no… Continue reading IN THE VALE OF THE WHITE HORSE
WHERE THE **** HAVE ALL THE CASHPOINTS IN CARTERTON GONE ?
Now to the pub I know you’ve been waiting for, the Siege of Orleans in Carterton. “Where ?” Why, between Crocodiles of the World and Ducklington, of course. I’d seen it, marked just off the A40 between wonderful Witney and boring Burford, but I assumed it was a small village serving Brize Norton Airfield, which… Continue reading WHERE THE **** HAVE ALL THE CASHPOINTS IN CARTERTON GONE ?
THE LONELINESS OF THE LONE OTTER DRINKER
Oh, look. Oxfordshire has fallen. Yawn. Not a great county, for sights or suds, and to be honest I did the best of it (Stoke Lyne, Lewknor, Hook Norton itself) years ago. The new entries tend towards the gastro these days. Anyway, the moral from the last tick, the Crown in Marcham is…don’t follow the… Continue reading THE LONELINESS OF THE LONE OTTER DRINKER
PUBS AREN’T DEAD
Into the home strait now, and along lovely St Giles for the pub I’d have recommended to any visitor before today. I know the detail is important to you, so I should add that before that Mrs RM headed for a flat white in Blackwell’s Café Nero. It’s a good place to people watch.… Continue reading PUBS AREN’T DEAD
OXFORD – COVERED MARKET TO CASTLE
Keep reading, the Bass badges are coming up soon. The good thing about these Beer & Pub Forum crawls is that, unlike the Japanese tourists visiting the city, you can dip in and out of our tours without getting told off ! Mrs RM and I dodged the standard menu in the Chequers in… Continue reading OXFORD – COVERED MARKET TO CASTLE
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