No-one believes it, but I can get to Durham quicker (and cheaper mid-week) than West London’s suburbs. Three hours to Sunbury, but of course it’s worth it to see the UK’s fourth greatest city. I felt a bit cheated. Sunbury-on-Thames in the Beer Guide normally means this; A smart dining pub with riverside views and… Continue reading THE FELTHAM HERITAGE TRAIL
Tag: Wetherspoons
SLIM PICKINGS IN BICESTER VILLAGE
There’s a lot of great countryside around the Chiltern counties, some attractive towns, but pretty slim pickings for pubgoers. From Watford to Luton to Bicester, there’s very few urban pubs in the Beer Guide at all, let alone characterful classics. We stopped at Bicester for a coffee. It might have been a beer, but nothing… Continue reading SLIM PICKINGS IN BICESTER VILLAGE
CHIPPING AWAY AT LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES
I’ve given them enough praise over the years, but I can’t let Wetherspoon’s discontinuation of draught Punk IPA go without a hissy fit. I’m just glad Mrs RM isn’t here. The anomaly that saw draught available before flights, certainly at Stansted and Edinburgh, was one of the few benefits of air travel these days. Cruelly,… Continue reading CHIPPING AWAY AT LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES
WETHERSPOONS – EU DEBATES AND VINDALOO
I gave my remaining Wetherspoons vouchers to the old chap in the Bank House in Cheltenham, so it’s club deals till the end of June for me. I’ve been nipping in the newish Weeping Ash in St Neots for a coffee most weeks I’m there, and it always seems a pleasant enough Spoons. An architecturally… Continue reading WETHERSPOONS – EU DEBATES AND VINDALOO
PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
Wetherspoons may be retrenching a bit, but their new (March ’16) pub in Portishead is a reminder of their ability to deliver what people want. Portishead is a smallish town in industrial, rather than beachy Somerset coast, and the development near the Marina is long overdue. Apart from our Premier Inn there’s a Sainsbury’s, Waitrose,… Continue reading PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
THE DELIGHTS OF DARWEN
I always thought of Darwen as a lesser Accrington, along a similar “A” Road winding down to civilisation (Bolton and Bury respectively). Like Much Wenlock, it’s a place you have to want to go to a lot, rather than one you pass through. At least Accrington has the Oswaldthistle Mills for old folk to go… Continue reading THE DELIGHTS OF DARWEN
WEDNESBURY – GREAT SCRATCHINGS
I completed the current year’s Beer Guide entries in Wednesbury, possibly the least-well known of the Black Country towns, though with the same beautiful accent to the fore. This is the evidence of completion. Note that Simon Everitt uses yellow Stabilo Boss markers, which is just as well as I bought up the global stock of… Continue reading WEDNESBURY – GREAT SCRATCHINGS
DOWN TO THE WYRE – POSH BLACKPOOL
I always love my trips to Blackpool, particularly when it enjoys what looked suspiciously like sunshine. A great day to appreciate the local culture. Two of my new Guide pubs are as far from this side of Blackpool as it gets. Poulton le Fylde is a small market town that seems able to rely on Blackpool for all its… Continue reading DOWN TO THE WYRE – POSH BLACKPOOL
GOOLE – AN APPRECIATION
I had no reason to break my train journey in Goole today but I did. Mrs RM may very well have turned down the opportunity. In the ’90s I made her stop there, en route back from Hull and Driffield, more times than is strictly necessary, in the pursuit of the mysteries of Goole Fields. It looked… Continue reading GOOLE – AN APPRECIATION
OTTER VALLEY
I’m travelling down to visit my sister in Falmouth, where I hope (as a by-product) to make more progress in completing Cornwall’s Beer Guide contingent. My half way stop is Honiton, another Devon town I don’t know well. The approach through the Blackdown Hills is beautiful, though the town itself doesn’t give any great vantage points… Continue reading OTTER VALLEY
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