My trip to the South Downs was in part prompted by Premier Inn, who rewarded my questionable brand loyalty with a free night in Chichester. Although this Inn is on the leisure park just off the A27, it’s actually only a 5 minute stroll into the centre, where the Chichester Cross presides over some impressive… Continue reading CHICHESTER – PROS & CONS
Tag: Wetherspoons
WISBECH & A FENLAND BEER DESERT
It’s snowdrop time, as you’ve probably noticed, and Dad wanted to buy some to plant. Wisbech in the Cambridgeshire fens is pretty much the centre of the horticultural world, famed for its splendidly old-fashioned plant auctions. The auction rooms were actually a real disappointment, but we had a great time exploring the majesty of the Fens. We took… Continue reading WISBECH & A FENLAND BEER DESERT
SPENNYMOOR – ART & CRAFT
The joy of travel is the unexpected beauty that pops up nearly everywhere. Peterlee in Durham springs to mind, a mainly charmless modern town with some of the best coastal walks anywhere. Spennymoor looked a bit more challenging, a mining town without the scenery further west, and without much in the way of interest based on a… Continue reading SPENNYMOOR – ART & CRAFT
KNARESBOROUGH – A MARVEL BY THE NIDD
My regular stops on the way to and from the North-East are Wetherby and Knaresborough. Wetherby has a poor Beer Guide record, but a great riverside park and chippie. Knaresborough is overshadowed by Harrogate and York, which is fair enough, but it deserves the budget accommodation it lacks to make it a really good overnight… Continue reading KNARESBOROUGH – A MARVEL BY THE NIDD
THANKS TIM
Thanks Wetherspoon – decent Birthday pints at Gatwick. Jaipur this morning (and Pride landside last night). Perhaps a few more Spoons airport pubs ought to be in the Beer Guide like they are in Scotland ?
CONSISTENCY IN COLCHESTER
Only one Essex pub to go in the 2016 Beer Guide, and Colchester is always worth a visit, though few potential tourists seem to agree. A bit like Essex in general, Colchester suffers a bit from being not quite as good as other historic towns like Chester or Lincoln. The coast to the south and east is… Continue reading CONSISTENCY IN COLCHESTER
UPSELLING IN BODMIN
I won’t be comparing Bodmin to Walthamstow (only with a Moor) here, but I did see something in the Wetherspoons that impressed and amused me yesterday. Arriving just before breakfast ended for my usual Eggs Benedict and coffee, I was told by the jovial barman “that’s what you want” as he pointed to an admittedly… Continue reading UPSELLING IN BODMIN
A WHITTLESEA WALK
My 10 mile walk round Whittlesea (*) in the Fens probably wasn’t what I had in mind for retirement on days as sunny as this, but nowhere is without merit, and the Hub would be my last Cambridgeshire pub in the new Beer Guide. More sports bar than pub, 1 other punter, decent-ish Woodfordes. Frankly, it’s… Continue reading A WHITTLESEA WALK
A LUNCHTIME DRINK
While the main point of retiring was to explore, I’d also been looking forward to a few lunchtime pints in Cambridge pubs, with loads of Dickens loaded on Kindle to finally read. In reality I’ve only spent a half-dozen or so lunchtimes in town, but today I decided to see how our city centre pubs… Continue reading A LUNCHTIME DRINK
ALL HUMAN LIFE IS HERE
I often find myself defending Wetherspoons against lowest common denominator criticism across the beer blogs I follow. With trips to Glasgow and Cornwall coming up, I’ll be able to observe some features of Spoons that often feature – beer quality, service, table cleanliness, drunkenness and craft beer take up. Writing this in the large central… Continue reading ALL HUMAN LIFE IS HERE