20th March 2023. Just as you only watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” or hear Lizzy McAlpine’s “Five Seconds Flat“ for the first time once, you only get to go in a classic Batham’s pub for the first time on one occasion. But that’s no reason never to revisit the Vine or the Swan, or the… Continue reading BOSTIN’ BATHAM’S BITTER
Tag: Unicorn
SHROPSHIRE HAS FALLEN….A (HAMPTON) LOADE OFF MY MIND
A few miles downstream of Bridgnorth lies Hampton Loade, home to my final Salopian tick of GBG22. Hampton Loade sounds like a posh bit of south Shropshire, doesn’t it, and I vaguely recall the station as a stop on the Thomas the Tank Engine steam train (32 guineas each way, I believe). The route down… Continue reading SHROPSHIRE HAS FALLEN….A (HAMPTON) LOADE OFF MY MIND
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 – SWAN WITH TWO NECKS, STOCKPORT
A reminder that if you can’t be bothered to read my report look at my photos from the Stockport crawl you could always go straight to the more concise posts from Pub Curmudgeon (here), Kentish Paul Bailey (here) and Brummie Pete (here). I suspect Cheshire Life had a reporter there too. Stockport had anticipated our… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – SWAN WITH TWO NECKS, STOCKPORT
“THIS is what beer should taste like, son”
“I’m famished” said Matt. Yes, it would have been a good idea to eat before starting a session. But as Pub Curmudgeon has noted before, Stockport is a bit lacking in culinary options (particularly on a Monday with the outside dining only restrictions), and top cafe Where The Light Gets In was unexpectedly closed following… Continue reading “THIS is what beer should taste like, son”
HIS FIRST PINT OF UNICORN
Matt was impressed with his first adult experience of Stockport, but now it was time for his first pint in the pub capital of the North. The Angel, my GBG newbie, was shut, despite PROMISING me the night before it’d be open. A gaggle of Old Boys gathered outside the market hall, comparing scowls of… Continue reading HIS FIRST PINT OF UNICORN
WORKSOP – LIQUORICE, LACINGS & FRENCH HORN
Makes Worksop sound exotic, doesn’t it ? And if you live in South Anston, it probably is. Sadly, the gorgeous tiling often adorns closed or keg pubs, making Worksop the Rotherham or Woolwich orPoole of the Midlands, My route to Sheffield to see my lad often flies past the edge of Worksop, though I reckon… Continue reading WORKSOP – LIQUORICE, LACINGS & FRENCH HORN
DRAUGHT BASS IN TOTTON, BUT NOT IN MANCHESTER
Nathaniel brings some promising news from Norfolk; @NHS_Martin @RogerProtzBeer Draught Bass is currently being served on gravity at the fat cat in Norwich and is tasting good — Nathaniel Southwood (@NateDawg27) May 1, 2017 As you’ll gather from previous posts, the beer range is well down the list of reasons I visit pubs, and I have reservations about… Continue reading DRAUGHT BASS IN TOTTON, BUT NOT IN MANCHESTER
NORTON GOES IT ALONE
I can never get used to the absence of Cleveland as a Good Beer Guide county, for surely there can be no less Yorkshire a town than Middlesbrough. In contrast Norton, a mile over the A19 to the west, feels like the archetypal small North Yorks town, despite being firmly Durham. I’d describe it as… Continue reading NORTON GOES IT ALONE
BANBURYSHIRE
Banburyshire (source:Wiki) has more to offer than £4 roast dinners. Just down the A4260 is one of the many golden stone villages that make the Oxon/Northants/Warwicks borders a competitor for the Cotswolds. Deddington has the usual minor tourist attractions; a ruined castle, one sided football pitch, snowdrops, antique centre and gun shop. “The quietest place reading… Continue reading BANBURYSHIRE
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