April 2024. Biddulph. A last Staffordshire Beer Guide 2024 tick, without fanfare but actually quite exciting to visit Biddulph. I thought so, anyway, with Mow Cop, the Biddulph Gardens and who knows what other north Staffs treasures to explore. Even Little Moreton Hall on my doorstep. And what a view from my parking space lane.… Continue reading “Biddulph’s first ever pub to feature in the Good Beer Guide”. Can that be true ?
Tag: Staffordshire
ECCLESHALL – A BASS, A BAG OF CRINKLYS AND A CHURCH
March 2024. Eccleshall. We decided we’d better get some use out of the campervan now Spring had brought sunny, dry, weather (HA !). Two hours through the Peak via Leek and Stone to Eccleshall. Six pubs here in about two minutes walk, but quite a shake-up from a decade ago. The George, notorious home of… Continue reading ECCLESHALL – A BASS, A BAG OF CRINKLYS AND A CHURCH
CHASED OFF TO CANNOCK
March 2024. Cannock. 3 days in Waterbeach with my parents (they’re fine, helped Mum in the garden for 5 minutes, took Dad to Quy Mill for coffee and cake), and I come home to this; Eight (cans) of Brew Dog non-alcoholic filth consumed in two nights while Mrs RM painted the stairs. Has she no… Continue reading CHASED OFF TO CANNOCK
HARRY BELAFONTE NIGHT IN THE VAULTS
February 2024. Uttoxeter. Thursday night in Uttoxeter. Got the tick, done the pre-emptive Marston diner, one question remained; What a silly question. Incredibly, only my third visit to The Vaults, perhaps the most famous Bass pub, alongside the bankers of Stockton and the flat nectar of Bath. But then, I haven’t been to the Coopers… Continue reading HARRY BELAFONTE NIGHT IN THE VAULTS
“No mobile phones, please”. QUIZ NIGHT IN UTTOXETER
February 2024. Uttoxeter. No offence at all to local CAMRA, but if ever a town was ill-represented by its GBG entries it’s Uttoxeter. A population of 14,014, occasionally doubled at race meetings, with 20 entries on What Pub but just a couple of micros in the Guide most years. Nothing wrong with the Horse &… Continue reading “No mobile phones, please”. QUIZ NIGHT IN UTTOXETER
A WALK ALONG THE HARD SHOULDER OF THE A50, OR A NIGHT IN THE VAULTS ?
February 2024. Uttoxeter. It’s all well and good revisiting great pubs in Manchester and Sheffield, but that doesn’t tick a Beer Guide, and nothing gives a ticker as much pleasure as applying pink marker to a small map. I’m never going to actually finish a GBG in-year again while spending 5 days a week in… Continue reading A WALK ALONG THE HARD SHOULDER OF THE A50, OR A NIGHT IN THE VAULTS ?
IT’S TAMWORTH, NOT COTON. GET OVER IT.
February 2024. “Coton”. Tamworth. The Good Beer Guide is a delight, but it has a quaint view of geographic labelling. Not just the decision to divide the country into regions, but the way some pubs get stuck under their hamlets within towns, like the Fox in Coton. Sticking the Fox under “Coton” rather than Lichfield,… Continue reading IT’S TAMWORTH, NOT COTON. GET OVER IT.
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 5 – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY
February 2024. Hanley. Stoke-on-Trent. Before I get to the last pub of the night, I need to confess that when the driver of the Number 4 back to Hanley asked to see my day bus ticket I flashed him my receipt by mistake. I take full responsibility. Back in the “capital of the Potteries“, nowt… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 5 – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY
MARKET SQUARE HEROES
February 2024. Newcastle-under-Lyme. A pattern is emerging for my town visits; see the street art, tick the GBG newbie, revisit a “great” pub, take a chance on a pub that you’ve never even noticed before. And so, with 12 minutes to kill before my next No. 4 back to Hanley (not because I walked too… Continue reading MARKET SQUARE HEROES
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 4 – THE BOAT AND HORSES, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
When I did that half-a-dozen from Staffs post last week the Boat & Horses in Newcastle (t’other one) was a name that popped as the 6th pub, notably from Pub Curmudgeon. I’d actually fancied a revisit to the Hopinn for a guaranteed Bass, but my complete amnesia on the Boat & Horses from a visit… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 4 – THE BOAT AND HORSES, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
retiredmartin 