September 2026. Lakeside Thurrock. One of the few selling points for the Ibis in Thurrock, apart from being handing for Dartford Bridge, was proximity to Lakeside shopping centre and its attendant railway station with half-hourly trips to the East End. Just as well, as it’s about as well-pubbed as Carluke. I hadn’t quite clocked that… Continue reading CHAT GPT KEEPS ME OUT OF THE CRIME STATISTICS IN LAKESIDE THURROCK
Tag: travel
TOP 100 PUBS – WEST RIDING REFRESHMENT ROOMS, DEWSBURY STATION
September 2026. Dewsbury. A Top 100 pub, but also a Top 5 “hour spent in the pub”, except it was probably only 37 minutes. Yes, it’s Dewbury, the land that time forgot, tucked away in that triangle formed by the M62 and the M1, outshone by the honeypots of Liversedge, Ossett and a mysterous place… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – WEST RIDING REFRESHMENT ROOMS, DEWSBURY STATION
ALL ROADS LEAD TO MIRFIELD
September 2026. Mirfield. Your thoughts and prayers requested as I face three (3) nights of post-surgical support at the in-laws in Kent, with zero new GBG entries to entertain me in Tonbridge. Even shorter posts than usual to follow. I’m sure I’ll be looking at some creative rail trips to tick those new Guide pubs,… Continue reading ALL ROADS LEAD TO MIRFIELD
INSIDE SHEFFIELD’S FUSTIEST SPOONS
September 2026. Sheffield. With the new Good Beer Guide about to drop (ugh), and a big trip this weekend I didn’t want to go chasing lone GBG 26 entries these last few days. But as you’ll know my brain doesn’t respond well to being denied daily stimulation, or my legs exercise, so I trotted down… Continue reading INSIDE SHEFFIELD’S FUSTIEST SPOONS
“Meet me at the Piccadilly Tap”
September 2026. Manchester. Early September is always an odd time for this #PubMan, with the new Good Beer Guide about to drop* (ugh), a recovery period after the annual music festival down in Dorset, and the change in the weather putting elderly parents at increased risk. While I spent 4 days walking between stages either… Continue reading “Meet me at the Piccadilly Tap”
TOP PUB STOPS ON THE M1. THE QUEEN’S HEAD, MARKFIELD, J.22
September 2026. Markfield. Leicestershire. I wasn’t looking forward to the long slog home from Dorset on Monday morning. For a start, the campervan battery had been judged “marginal” by KwikFit, and with Mrs RM A.W.O.L. in Prague I faced using her step-by-step guide to a restart if it had drained again*. It can be chaotic… Continue reading TOP PUB STOPS ON THE M1. THE QUEEN’S HEAD, MARKFIELD, J.22
END OF THE ROAD 2026. SUNDAY – THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
September 2026. End of the Road. Dorset. Four days on Cranborne Chase, 1% of my whole year, and again the time flies by, a “festival marking the passing of time“, as James sagely noted last year. I’m here to discover new music, eat too much, and make withering comments about heritage acts (Pulp, Oasis, Sophis… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD 2026. SUNDAY – THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
END OF THE ROAD 2026. THURSDAY – GETTING OUR GEESE IN A ROW
September 2026. Cranborne Chase. Dorset. Pubs and football and Chinese takeaways are all well and good, but it’s people who really interest me. Take the people Mrs RM and I brought into the world. What explains Matthew’s musical taste compared to mine (or James’s) ? Why’s he wearing a Townes Van Zandt t-shirt in 2026… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD 2026. THURSDAY – GETTING OUR GEESE IN A ROW
TO THE END OF THE ROAD. VIA DUSTON
September 2026. Sheffield to Northampton. Yes ! I’m alive, just back from four (4) days without internet (unless you stand in a field of sheep in Cranborne Chase). Lots of exciting music reviews from End of the Road ’26 to come, but first, and most excitingly, a night in the western suburbs of Northampton. Calm… Continue reading TO THE END OF THE ROAD. VIA DUSTON
WHERE TO WAIT IN HILLSBOROUGH WHILE ARGOS GET YOUR BACK REST READY
September (YES !!!) 2026. Sheffield. Goodness knows what posts you’re going to get the next few days as I head into the internet wasteland that is Cranborne Chase, so this may be my last for a while. I expect you were hoping for something more exciting than a Mitchells & Butler family diner over the… Continue reading WHERE TO WAIT IN HILLSBOROUGH WHILE ARGOS GET YOUR BACK REST READY
