One more tick to complete Greater Glasgow‘s chapter in the Guide. Tickers dream of finishing chapters in towns as attractive and mysterious as Paisley, they really do. It looked magical. After checking in at the astonishingly good Motel Air I got the evening under way. Beer, curry, football, architecture, in the company of pub royalty.… Continue reading ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN
Tag: Scottish pubs
TAKE THE SECOND FERRY TO KILCREGGAN
There aren’t many real ale pubs on Scotland’s west coast, but those that there are are a pretty sure bet for the GBG. Or if they’re not the cask must be SO bad I’d love to go there. The red dots are the Guide pubs on the way round the Firth of Clyde, where Duncan… Continue reading TAKE THE SECOND FERRY TO KILCREGGAN
LARGS LICKED
Not literally licked, that would breach Scottish Covid rules. You’ll have to travel across the border, like Red in Shawshank, to lick pumps in Carlisle or Berwick or Longtown. Just a GBG tick licked as I continue my Scottish Birthday Hop round the Ayrshire coast. There are three (3) inevitabilities about any ticker’s tour; 1)… Continue reading LARGS LICKED
EVERY GOOD BIRTHDAY STARTS WITH A £1.65 PINT OF ABBOT IN KILMARNOCK SPOONS
I should, perhaps, be worried that some readers might take this blog too seriously, but then I remember that anyone who does will have long ago stopped reading, blocking the words “retiredmartin“, “excellent Doom Bar” and “evil tasters”. But then again I know you’ll believe that a trip to Kilmarnock Spoons in the company of… Continue reading EVERY GOOD BIRTHDAY STARTS WITH A £1.65 PINT OF ABBOT IN KILMARNOCK SPOONS
RUMINATING ON SCOTTISH BEER QUALITY
“Of all the beer you had in Scotland, what proportion of it came up to the standard you would expect in the Good Beer Guide? And how does that compare with south of the Border ? ” asks Pub Curmudgeon. What a good question. Let’s see the evidence; BEER SCORING I scored 28 beers (a… Continue reading RUMINATING ON SCOTTISH BEER QUALITY
When you Wishaw upon a star
And so our Scottish sojourn come to an end at Wonderful Wishaw. Or “AnyWhere but Wishaw” as it’s affectionately known. Only the Good Beer Guide brings English people to post-industrial steel towns like Motherwell and Wishaw, and we should thank it for that. Mrs RM was less convinced as we drove through the challenging streets… Continue reading When you Wishaw upon a star
KEEP THE ENGINE RUNNING
After Cromarty we headed south, powered by the fumes of a fuming Mrs RM. For a while it looked like we’d run out of fuel before reaching Aviemore, having failed to spot a single service station on the A9 from Inverness down. But Mrs RM’s spotless directions led me to the BP garage just past… Continue reading KEEP THE ENGINE RUNNING
“And send them home, tae think again”
Mrs RM said she’d divorce me if I didn’t tell THE TRUTH about the Cromarty Arms, and since I also observed that truth I have no choice but to tell it. But I will preface this by saying, for the record, most Scots are lovely; see this post on Inverness. But having overdosed on loveliness… Continue reading “And send them home, tae think again”
ALL HAGGIS, NO DOLPHINS
The beer at the Anderson was good, but the food was even better. How we resisted the American Crack Pie I’ll never know. And in the morning, after admiring the public bar, we again succumbed to the pleasures of the flesh for breakfast. Specifically, the flesh of the Haggis and the Black Pudding. You won’t… Continue reading ALL HAGGIS, NO DOLPHINS
AT LAST, THE ANDERSON
I like this home-made GBG 2020 (from the year the GBG was delayed) so much you can see it again; Perhaps the Anderson will be the only pub in the Guide in an uncertain future where real ale drinkers stay at home waiting for Covid restrictions to be fully withdrawn and Dark Fruits rules the… Continue reading AT LAST, THE ANDERSON
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