We’d come to walk, not tick pubs, so after a mammoth sleep we joined the dinosaurs in Wookey Hole. SPOILER: They’re not real. You can see the “attractions“ from the public footpath up to the cave entrance, and I’ll be honest it’s well worth the £16.50 on-line price. You can probably get 25% off by… Continue reading EBBOR, EBBOR, (GORGE) HEY !
Tag: Somerset
IN A WOOKEY HOLE
Our Somerset Saunter reached Wookey (Hole). It always suprises me when I realise Wookey (Hole) is virtually a suburb of Wells, which never fails to disappoint for pubs (ZERO Guide entries this year). I seemed to have booked a £45 twin room (actually the disability accessible with wet room one) at the actual Wookey caves.… Continue reading IN A WOOKEY HOLE
THANK U, RICKFORD, NEXT
Grief, Somerset is lovely. Shame about the beer (so far). Would I get better Butcombe on the edge of the Mendips ? Is VAR the best invention, ever ? Well, no. To both. But Rickford is worth the trip, for the Masonic Lodge and ducks by the waterfall, And what Wiki calls a gauging house.… Continue reading THANK U, RICKFORD, NEXT
WESTON-SUPER-BASS
Ah, Weston-super-Mare. The English seaside, Jeffrey Archer, and Draught Bass. If you can’t make a decent blog out of that you’re not trying hard enough. Weston also has those all-important cheap guest houses that draw retiredmartin here as a base for exploration, rather like near neighbour Newport.* I picked the Welbeck (room only), because it’s… Continue reading WESTON-SUPER-BASS
EXEBRIDGE & THE CASE FOR ABBOT
It was a flying visit to Exmoor, but long enough to establish that any tourists there were could be found walking to the Tarr Steps. I’m joking of course, no-one walks that far these days, and there are killer snakes out there. Actually, they were all looking for the lone open pub; that turned out to… Continue reading EXEBRIDGE & THE CASE FOR ABBOT
POST-GLASTO SHEPTON MALLET
Since GBG16 came out I’ve been to 32 new pubs in Somerset; only Cornwall (34) has seen more pubs ticked since September. I wouldn’t say Somerset has the best beer, but the county is now a real favourite for its walking and proper pubs. All I need now is to get to see cricket in… Continue reading POST-GLASTO SHEPTON MALLET
YES YOU CALNE
Sorry about yesterday’s rant; a little information would have gone a long way. Back to deliriously happy Retired Martin today. One of the joys of travel is finding you were badly wrong about a place you’d thought had little discernible merit. Calne is a place I’d written off on the basis of one previous trip from Bath… Continue reading YES YOU CALNE
PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
Wetherspoons may be retrenching a bit, but their new (March ’16) pub in Portishead is a reminder of their ability to deliver what people want. Portishead is a smallish town in industrial, rather than beachy Somerset coast, and the development near the Marina is long overdue. Apart from our Premier Inn there’s a Sainsbury’s, Waitrose,… Continue reading PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
WELLINGTON – MORE DENTISTS THAN PUBS
They may be small but there’s a lot of Somerset towns. I’m reaching the end of them now, and after Wellington it’s villages all the way to the end of that particular Beer Guide chapter. It’s a shame that Wellington has just the one (seemingly perpetual) Guide entry, as the Travelodge was ideally placed, both for town… Continue reading WELLINGTON – MORE DENTISTS THAN PUBS
OUTSTANDING BEAUTY IN THE WESTERN MENDIPS
Weston Super Mare is an average seaside town, and I don’t just say that because I missed out on Dismaland tickets. It’s a bit like Great Yarmouth without the Dickensian bits, and the pubs are pretty much what you’d expect (great Spoons apart). That’s what I thought last night anyway. This morning it took on… Continue reading OUTSTANDING BEAUTY IN THE WESTERN MENDIPS
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