My last night in Wales, and Duncan met Baa Baa Toure for the first time. It was emotional. Haverfordwest is a great place to be emotional in (NGPTBEISS 3.5+). Duncan, who’s just broke his blog silence by welcoming the new GBG, had done all the Guide pubs for 3,788 miles around, so it was a… Continue reading SPOONS CURRY NIGHT IN HAVERFORDWEST
Tag: Wales
LEARNING (UNDER DURESS) TO LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC IN HAVERFORDWEST
Back to mid August, with the whole of Wales ticked and England about to fall I was about to enter the most exciting period of my life. I know you’re supposed to say the birth of your children is the most exciting time, but why lie to you now ? The GBG is laid out… Continue reading LEARNING (UNDER DURESS) TO LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC IN HAVERFORDWEST
PAPER PUMPCLIPS = PROPER PUBS IN CROES-GOCH
Heading towards the finish line of Wales GBG ticks in August, but with a hurdle in front of us. Would I survive the gentrification and pashmina overload of Solva, the broadsheet readers’ favourite. Well, the creek was a bit Swallows & Amazons, but the Cambrian was just a well-run bistro dining pub with good local… Continue reading PAPER PUMPCLIPS = PROPER PUBS IN CROES-GOCH
TOP 100 PUBS – CRESSELLY ARMS, WEST WALES
In 2019 Duncan expressed surprise I’d never been to the Cresselly Arms in, er, Cresselly, and on my mad dash this Summer to the GBG finish line I wondered if I’d bump into any “classics that I really ought to have done already”. I guess the Mansel Arms in Porthyrhyd, Farmers in St Ouen, and… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – CRESSELLY ARMS, WEST WALES
“Please do not approach the bar”. Saundersfoot lays down the law.
Summer by the seaside. Can’t beat it. Unless you’re a ticker when a wet winter Wednesday in Wednesfield is wonderful. Saundersfoot isn’t quite Tenby, but it looked pretty special on the descent to the beach. If Tenby is the Welsh Whitby, then Saundersfoot is its Filey, I guess. Nowt wrong with Filey, as Richard Coldwell… Continue reading “Please do not approach the bar”. Saundersfoot lays down the law.
MY PLANS FOR WELSH GBG DOMINATION COME TO RUINS IN NARBERTH
“How are you getting on with the blog ?” shouts Mrs RM, in-between demands for more coffee and breakfast in bed. Note she hasn’t asked how I’m getting on with cross-checking the new GBG I think she thinks I’m not doing it anymore. Well, Mrs RM, I’m in Wales in mid-August, about to tick a… Continue reading MY PLANS FOR WELSH GBG DOMINATION COME TO RUINS IN NARBERTH
ARRIVING BY TRACTOR AT TEGRYN
Every year’s Good Beer Guide has a handful of “Signature Ticks”, the pubs with odd opening hours, require two ferries from the mainland, or have absolutely no social media presence. The completist targets these ones early in the year, and holds their breath. So it was with the Butchers Arms in tiny Tegryn in August.… Continue reading ARRIVING BY TRACTOR AT TEGRYN
THE PUB TICKERS FEAR OF TICKING THE WRONG WELSH PUB
Once I’d triumphantly completed the GBG on 10 September there was a period of intense worry, similar to the one experienced by Ben Curtis after winning the British Open in 2003. Have I signed the card correctly ? Did I miss the 17th hole out completely ? Back home from the Taversoe (which sadly failed… Continue reading THE PUB TICKERS FEAR OF TICKING THE WRONG WELSH PUB
EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN – LLANDEILO LICKED
It seems odd to be writing about Summer with November approaching, but it was 20 degrees in Waterbeach yesterday, and as I headed to a fateful rendezvous with the Pubmeister in Haverfordwest to complete Wales, the sun was shining on the righteous. Look ! #NoFilter This was Llandeilo (pop. 1,795), a smart little Carmarthenshire town… Continue reading EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN – LLANDEILO LICKED
GLAMORGAN HAD FALLEN
Young BRAPA is gorging on Gwent at the moment, so I know he’d want to see what a fully pinked Welsh county looks like. I completed Glamorgan back in July at one of the dullest pubs in the Guide, but a quick look at the OS extract for St Athan reveals hidden depths. Here, a… Continue reading GLAMORGAN HAD FALLEN
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