A real gem next, and a big thumbs up for Barry of Gavin and Stacey fame. A short hop on the train from Cardiff Central, Barry should be benefitting from the Staycation (ugh) boost, but most folks are too snobby to enjoy a simple UK seaside resort these days (see also : Blackpool, Cleethorpes). Perhaps… Continue reading “Better stop dreaming of the quiet life”. In a town called Barry.
Tag: Wales
BEST BRAINS IN CARDIFF ?
Never mind beer debates. Anyone notice how virtually every Brain’s glass is scuffed ? Are they still using 1997 stock or do the Welsh lick the glasses as they can’t lick handpumps at the moment ? My 3 Cardiff ticks in the bag, I headed to the vibrant city centre to see whether the famous… Continue reading BEST BRAINS IN CARDIFF ?
“1021 PINTS OF ALE POURED LAST WEEK”
Two days in Cardiff to tackle that tricky bit of Glamorgan I always struggle with. But first, a hattrick in the capital, from a base at a contender for Best Premier Inn in Wales. Not because the Premier Inn Cardiff Central South is in any way different from their 537 other models, but you get… Continue reading “1021 PINTS OF ALE POURED LAST WEEK”
BLAENAVON – MORE THAN A BIG PIT
One of my favourite parts of the world are old mining towns in the Welsh Valleys running down from the A465. Blaenavon is the centre-point of the mining tourism, the Big Pit museum the place where you experience the sensation of being a ’70s Welsh miner for free, though it’s closed at the moment. So… Continue reading BLAENAVON – MORE THAN A BIG PIT
Raglan mourns the end of the Château d’Yquem 1969
You might think that the new entries in the GBG are all micro pubs, brewery taps, Wetherspoons and community restaurants pubs, but you’d be wrong, so wrong. There’s a real mixed bag, with unprepossessing village boozers, Marston’s new builds and upmarket rural hotels, like the Beaufort Arms in little Raglan, your pashmina refuge before you… Continue reading Raglan mourns the end of the Château d’Yquem 1969
MAKING A DENT IN GWENT – No.1, MONMOUTH
Oh you tease, retiredmartin, we all know there’s no Bass in Wales as they’re hogging it in Derbyshire. You’ll have your own thoughts on signs that promise but don’t deliver, and I was to be disappointed in my search for good Brains (post-Marston takeover) on my 3 nights in South Wales this week. This was… Continue reading MAKING A DENT IN GWENT – No.1, MONMOUTH
WHAT HAS WALES DONE TO DESERVE TO BE BRUNNING & PRICED ?
And you can read that how you like. From Chester, which is partly in Welsh, we converted our campervan into a full foreign holiday by crossing the border in pursuit of a few GBG ticks in North-East Wales. My giant spreadsheet showing the possible/hopeful/over-ambitious opening times for my 487 pub targets says of the Dinorben… Continue reading WHAT HAS WALES DONE TO DESERVE TO BE BRUNNING & PRICED ?
I’M FEELING GLADESTRY ALL OVER
AKA Dodging Duncan. This post from Euro Semi-Final day feels more interminable than the Final itself by now, but we brought it to a close near Gladestry at the end of the Hergest Ridge in what Real County Enthusiasts know as Radnorshire. Not many people are aware that Hergest is named after the “difficult” sophomore… Continue reading I’M FEELING GLADESTRY ALL OVER
GUESS THE PUB PLAYS DARTS
No, not THESE Darts. They originated in Brighton in 1976, coincidentally when our mystery pub was last refurbished (thankfully). The village shares little with Brighton, bar an “o”, an “h” and a “t”, but rather more with a town on the A5190. The map extract may help, but it rarely does. I wanted to tell… Continue reading GUESS THE PUB PLAYS DARTS
WILL BARBERS HEAD TO CHESTER ?
It’s a busy time in retiredmartin Towers. My first jab yesterday, Mrs RM has hers Thursday (just in time for pub gardens, I reminded her), carpets laid, elder lad moved home last week and started a job today, and younger sun keeping busy till barbers are back on 12 April. If only he lived in… Continue reading WILL BARBERS HEAD TO CHESTER ?
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