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
Tag: Stoke-on-Trent
JOHNY, REMEMBERS ME
July 2023. Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Where were we ? Oh yes, Burslem market place. Johny of Johny’s micropub fame, remembering my earlier enquiry, had just messaged me saying he’d open up an hour earlier than planned. What a great chap. But what’s his pub like ? Well, a small pub, really. Cricket on the TV (“England… Continue reading JOHNY, REMEMBERS ME
TOP 100 PUBS – THE BULLS HEAD, BURSLEM
July 2023. Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Nice aerial shot of central Burslem for you, with our two GBG pubs in the bottom left. Used to be Guide pubs all over town. During lockdown I noted “Burslem is awash with small pubs now, called Ale House, Otter’s Tears, Hog Noggins, Johny’s Micro and Chilz“. Now, I’m not sure some… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE BULLS HEAD, BURSLEM
THE BEAUTY OF BURSLEM
July 2023. Burslem, the Potteries. One of the conditions of my exciting sponsorship deal (come on Pipers, sort it out) is that I promote towns that normal folk never visit. Oddly, if I mention Stoke-on-Trent to Mum and Dad they’d go “Oooh, we used to love Stoke“, but of course they mean the genteel bit… Continue reading THE BEAUTY OF BURSLEM
HANLEY – THE CULTURAL & CULINARY ISSUE
You left me in the warm cosiness of the Unicorn, waiting for my Chinese takeaway (which will remain anonymous). This is always the high point of an evening away, the anticipation of the crispy beef, the dilemma of whether to do one last pub visit I’ll instantly regret. But I resist the walk out to… Continue reading HANLEY – THE CULTURAL & CULINARY ISSUE
UNICORNS – ALMOST AS RARE AS DRAUGHT BASS
His look of sympathy was the one you’d give a child asking you if he could have a unicorn for Christmas. Second best, particularly if you’re six years old, but I could have a pint in THE Unicorn, one of the almost permanent Stoke GBG entries. Blimey, it’s even better than I remembered it (admittedly… Continue reading UNICORNS – ALMOST AS RARE AS DRAUGHT BASS
TOP 100 PUBS – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY, STOKE-ON-TRENT
In Stoke with a bed for the night, a Chinese takeaway selected, and my new GBG entry already ticked. But it’s barely evening. Let’s do the Hanley classics. And that’s the problem when you lack discipline as a ticker. You convince yourself that the Albion with its lone Pedi pump must be a pre-emptive chance.… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE COACHMAKERS ARMS, HANLEY, STOKE-ON-TRENT
….AND A NIGHT OUT IN STOKE
OK, OK, it’s really Hanley, but it’s slotted under a Stoke sub-heading in the GBG and that’s what counts. In 2014 we stayed in the Hanley Premier Inn and I walked to Newcastle-Under-Lyme to save the bus fare, so the mile from Stoke Station was a doddle. Hanley doesn’t have the greatest of reputations, despite… Continue reading ….AND A NIGHT OUT IN STOKE
A STOKE STUMBLE
Enough of the recent present, here’s the recent past. It’s Stoke ! The Beer and Pubs Forum have been at their AGM in Maidenhead debating future Proper Days Out. Newcastle-under-Lyme has everything to commend it apart from a train station, something we can’t blame entirely on former resident M, Lawrenson. I suggested walking from Stoke… Continue reading A STOKE STUMBLE
NO SANCTUARY IN THE POTTERIES
On the home run in Staffs now, and still with one great pub to come (where great is a term loosely applied). It’s not this one, though. Yes, spot the GBG pub. Sanctuary Ale House is the one with the smoker outside, of course. In the absence of signs with King’s Heads on them, or… Continue reading NO SANCTUARY IN THE POTTERIES
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