Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Christchurch – Christchurch Castle

I rather like a castle, especially one that’s free to visit, although there’s not much of this one left.

This is pretty much what exists today, not quite what was originally here. The first castle here was likely in the Saxon period and would have been a traditional wooden motte and bailey arrangement, although this lovely practice of putting a heap of sticks at the top of the hill wasn’t entirely sustainable after 1066, so the Normans rebuilt it in stone in the twelfth century.

The doorway in and back a little to who was behind this project, namely Richard de Redvers, one of those efficient Norman lords who followed William the Conqueror across the Channel and ended up owning half the south coast.

And now inside, looking outwards.

The information board.

The view over Christchurch Priory.

It requires some imagination to be able to see this as a substantial defensive structure which once controlled the local area. There was more of the castle still standing by the time of the English Civil War, but then Cromwell had some of it demolished which is sub-optimal from a heritage point of view. In many ways, it was an appropriate way to go as it was finally used for defensive purposes when Parliamentarians seized it and the Royalists besieged it until they gave up. It was then that Cromwell thought it was best to ensure it wasn’t used by anyone again. After this, helpful local denizens pinched bits of it for their own building project, so it’s remarkable that there’s anything left.

And there are two negative TripAdvisor reviews which are somewhat ridiculous, complaining it seems that someone hasn’t put some of the castle back again.

“A few crumbling stone walls at the top of a knoll. I do like history but this little bit of it was not very exciting I’m afraid”

and:

“It’s just a pile of rubble now, nothing at all to see here except a plaque with the typical “this castle was home to…” dialogue written on it…honestly it’s pointless coming to visit unless you like giant stones”

Unfortunately, Cromwell has evidently failed to meet the expectations of these visitors.

It was reported in 1992 that English Heritage were worried about people meandering up the hill and damaging the mound, so they installed some steps and these are still going strong today and seem to have tackled the erosion problem from people creating their own desire paths.

Anyway, I’m not sure that anyone is going to spend more than around fifteen minutes visiting the castle, but it’s a relief that at least some of it has survived.

October 12, 2025
Bournemouth – Sixty Million Postcards

This looked like an interesting and quirky venue, although it wasn’t initially clear to me whether it was primarily a food venue or more of a bar.

They use beach huts as external seating to add some character to proceedings.

The food menu and the chicken schnitzel looked tempting…. But I had already eaten (not that this always stops me) and decided not to.

It was a pleasant interior and it transpired that it was a bar as well as a restaurant, although it wasn’t overly busy when we were there.

The postcard theme is evident here.

They had the Follow the Green Line from Round Corner Brewing and I was pleased to see something a little different on keg. It ran out near the top and the helpful team member said that they were changing the keg, although I was slightly doubtful that they’d have another as it’s not a mainstream beer. It transpired that they didn’t, so usually this beer would be discarded and another choice offered. But, I wanted this beer as I hadn’t had it and I’m happy with the end of a keg line, although not at the end of a cask line….. So, I asked to keep this and they could just pour some Asahi in another glass to make it up. I was glad that I did, it was a decent limey beer, citrusy and smooth.

It probably didn’t help their stock control, but there’s the Asahi which tasted as expected.

Some more postcards.

The venue had a welcoming atmosphere, the team members were friendly and I liked their beer selection as it made an effort to be wide-ranging. I hadn’t visited this bar when I’ve been in Bournemouth before, but they’ve been going for over a decade. All rather lovely.

October 12, 2025
Bournemouth – Barbara’s Bier Haus

We hadn’t intended on going in here, but it looked intriguing and so we popped in en route to the railway station to get to Christchurch. It’s part of a small chain of four bars, the others being in Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff.

I rather like the decor and general theme, it’s suitably quirky and informal.

The food seemed affordable, here’s the hot dog menu.

And the pizza menu.

The beer list and that’s quite an impressive beer tower with the seven pint option.

There was a singer, but he wasn’t deafeningly loud so that was rather lovely.

I think it’s aimed primarily at students, but it seemed welcoming to everyone.

The bier lift is a nice touch.

I might have ordered half a pint of Hooch, which is sweet, delicious and I accept not a craft beer. Well, actually, I think it comes close.

The online reviews were very positive and the team members were friendly, welcoming and personable. Although I felt that this review seemed a little sinister, there should be no excuse for exclusion.

I was on holiday in Bournemouth for a few days and wanted to pop in for a pint on a Sunday night. I was told by the door staff that the company policy was that no individuals may enter. This was because it took them ‘over capacity’. As a 52 year old man travelling alone, on a Sunday evening and with no more than 30 people inside this seemed ridiculous. I did send a message via the website as yet I have got no reply. Shame really, dismissive door staff and a poor service, could do and should do better.

I can’t find any other similar reviews, so hopefully it was the case that they were at the capacity that they wanted. Anyway, I thought that this was an informal and well managed venue, with the food and drink prices seeming reasonable. I like pub chains with an interesting theme or concept, it adds a little something to the whole arrangement.

October 12, 2025
Bournemouth – Thomas Shelley

The Thomas Shelley is the second JD Wetherspoon venue in Bournemouth, located nearby to the Moon in the Square. They used to operate the Christopher Creeke on Holdenhurst Road, but that’s now closed, although I did visit it when I was in Bournemouth in 2018.

As usual, I’ll take the history of the pub name from JD Wetherspoon:

“St Peter’s churchyard contains the grave of Mary Shelley and her husband, the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary, author of the novel Frankenstein, died in London in 1851. Her body was interred in the family vault at St Peter’s by her son, Sir Percy Florence Shelley, who lived at nearby Boscombe Manor (which later became part of Bournemouth and Poole College).”

I’ve written about this situation already and I’m still marginally annoyed.

The pub was busy, this is one of the few tables that was briefly unoccupied. It’s a large venue and there are numerous different seating areas, with the bar in the centre of the whole arrangement. There were about eight real ales available and the drinks, as usual, were keenly priced. I ordered at the bar and it was all efficient and organised, with only a minimal wait.

Working through a little more of the JD Wetherspoon beer festival, this is the JDW Young Henrys Newtowner which isn’t particularly well reviewed on Untappd. I rather liked it though, it was light and citrusy.

Ross ordered Coors and I’m not judgemental at all about beer, but I know others in the pub might be, so I hid it in case anyone said anything.

The next half pint was the Root and Branch from Oakham Ales, which is a black IPA. It has an interesting flavour, roasty and quite complex.

The carpet.

As usual, I feel the need to look through the reviews as it’s a JD Wetherspoon venue and it’s quite well reviewed online.

“Popped in to get a quick whiskey and to see if I could get some ice to take away. Not a problem but had to pay a pound for the coffee cup to take it away in. Was interestingly informed by the barman serving me that it was good ice cos it’s hard and lasts ages. Information for barman, ice is ice and it lasted no longer than any other ice.”

Wetherspoon does have good ice I suppose, but seems a bit harsh to charge £1 for a takeaway cup….

“I came on steak Tuesday order a sirloin steak chips. The steak did not taste right like a sirloin. Also asked for normal peppercorn sauce and they don’t have it, ask them to make it they don’t make the sauce fresh its in a bag!”

I like the idea of the team member in the kitchen quickly making some fresh peppercorn sauce….

“During my Son’s Stag we ordered food & did not receive what we paid for. The upset member of staff took it away. He later returns and said that it was paid for anyway and dropped the 2 plates onto the bar and when I called the manager / team leader to explain and complain about he’s action I was told that she will not deal with it as I was being rude. They then refused to sale any drinks to the party of 22 people. I was told we can stay but can’t order.”

You can stay, but don’t order anything probably isn’t what a stag group wants to hear….

“Was appalled to see England supporters being told to cover up their shirts. Thought this was an English pub in an English Town in an English County where democracy exists.”

In a democracy, pubs can ask customers not to wear football shirts. Although the chain has changed their mind on this numerous times, it probably is a bit unfair on customers to work out what their current policy is.

“Didn’t stay for a drink as the men’s toilets were so far away downstairs it was like a punishment! Might be a good pub but I don’t want a marathon to the toilet”

They’re down one flight of stairs…. Anyway, the exercise is good for the soul.

“Most of the staff here are horrible.”

They’re probably not….

“Still trying to uphold some vague restrictions . Doesn’t suit virtue signalers or those that want normality . Just the usual really, pretend to be doing something for some woke points and inconvenience everyone whilst actually doing nothing of use…”

Perhaps it’s that woke Tim Martin.

Anyway, I’ve digressed once again. All seemed in order at the pub, it was clean, organised and the team members seemed friendly. It was useful to tick a couple more beers off from the real ale festival that they’re having nationally and Ross was pleased with his pizza.

October 12, 2025
Bournemouth – Brewdog

I did have a plan to visit every Brewdog in the country, although they feel like they’ve lost their way recently and the whole chain has become somewhat less appealing to me. However, I thought I’d visit their Bournemouth outlet as I’d never been.

It’s a little frustrating as Brewdog pays to be listed on Untappd, but this is another one of their venues that doesn’t keep it up-to-date. So the Vault City beer that I was hoping they had, they actually didn’t have as it hadn’t been updated in a few days. The beer selection is OK, although there’s little that’s new and exciting and I’d had most of the guest beers before. The service was though friendly, warm and engaging.

For a Friday evening, the venue was much quieter than I had anticipated. I was meeting my friend Ross here, otherwise they had a grand total of five customers. Their pricing, especially for food, has kept pushing towards the higher end of the scale. As a bar though, it’s beautifully designed. I do actually also like their food, especially the chicken wings, but unless there’s some offer on, it is a little out of sync with other venues.

This is the Pupa from Vibrant Forest Brewery, a light, tropical, refreshing, hoppy and juicy beer that I rather liked. It’s from a local brewery, as Vibrant Forest are from Hardley and I’ve had a few of their beers before. One thing that Brewdog manage, unlike some other chains, is that their glasses are nearly always spotlessly clean.

There’s a sign on the top of the fridge noting that it’s a bit broken, but they have cold cans elsewhere so all is not lost. It’s a well curated beer fridge, I was tempted to have a couple in the bar rather than taking away, but there’s a £2 uplift for that and although that’s not unreasonable, it made it all just a bit expensive.

This Bournemouth location opened in 2022, so it’s one of their newer ones, and it has survived the recent cull of ten venues and so it must be doing reasonably well. I thought it felt well managed, it was spotlessly clean, the team members were friendly and it had a welcoming vibe. There’s still definitely some mileage in the brand, but it’s a shame that some of their pricing couldn’t be a little lower in places.

October 11, 2025
JD Wetherspoon Can’t Offer Free Refills on Mocha and Hot Chocolate

Not that I’m one to complain….. But this is entirely sub-optimal, the recent Government changes on sugary soft drinks have also impacted the hot chocolate at JD Wetherspoon. That means no more unlimited mochas or hot chocolates, which seems to me a ridiculous infringement on my coffee drinking rights. And, next to these machines will be unlimited sachets of sugar, those are absolutely fine on their own….

I’m not entirely sure whether JD Wetherspoon will actually monitor this or just end up removing hot chocolate entirely and having it by sachets only or something. I’m not entirely sure that this will help the health of the next generation, but what would I know…..

October 11, 2025
Bournemouth – The Moon in the Square

Here’s the exterior of the Moon in the Square pub from when I visited last November. I’m currently back here again, so I felt the need to write something about it. I’m always keen to surprise and delight my two loyal blog readers….

As I usually do for pubs in the JD Wetherspoon chain, I’ve taken the history of the venue from their own website:

“This is one of several Wetherspoon pubs with ‘moon’ in their name, linking them with the ideal pub described by George Orwell. He called his fictitious pub ‘Moon Under Water’. This one stands on the site of Victoria Villa and Library – the home and business premises of TJ Hankinson, who was Bournemouth’s first mayor, elected in 1890. Around that time, the buildings were replaced by King’s drapery store which traded here for several decades.”

And, courtesy of the JD Wetherspoon website, here’s the link to the area to Tony Hancock.

The interior of the pub, which was all clean, tidy and organised. It’s about half full on a Friday afternoon and it’s the tail end of the JD Wetherspoon beer festival. I still haven’t found the cucumber beer from Adnams…… They did though have seven real ales available, all reasonably priced.

I went for half a pint of the Dark from Exmoor Ales which cost just £1.08. It was a malty and rich beer, even slightly decadent.

Also, as usual, I felt the need to have a look at the reviews for the pub, which is rated highly for the chain.

“Fully booked up. Streams people. Often over crowded. 3 nights out of 4 couldn’t eat here on our stay”

It feels unfair to rate the venue 1 out of 5 for that.

“Beer is tasteless, I had thatchers gold cider and it was tasting flat.”

They sell over 50 beers across keg, cask and can so it’s hard to understand how it’s tasteless. Unless they ordered Bud Light, but it’s meant to taste like that.

“***** is an absolute jobsworth. Because he’s got an ear piece in thinks he’s something important, runs away and hides in the kitchen, sends his bar staff out to deal with issues and hides 🤣. Nice pub, cheap and cheerful but jobsworth management”

This sounds like a former staff member who is annoyed at the manager in question…. And, as I know from Norwich Beer Festival, anyone with an ear piece is important.

“Refused to serve us at outside table, they seem to think dogs are unacceptable but smokers are OK! No dog sitting quietly ever caused lung cancer 😡”

An angry dog owner is never far away….

“We were kicked out by bar staff me wife dog out side drinking said drink up dogs not allowed”

There’s a Brewdog opposite which loves dogs to be fair….

“Terrible service, the person at the bar didnt even know how to use the till!”

God forbid they have a member of staff being trained…

“absolutely dreadful wasn’t allowed to drink my pint for some reason which i had every right to drink and paid for with my hard earnt money”

I suspect that there was a reason.

“Was locked in mens cubicle as door locks malfunctioned and used my mobile phone to call bar for help. Staff arrived with screw driver to hand to me as lock wouldn’t undo from outside of door so removed screws on lock and door fell open. All door locks on public toilets should have opening device”

This feels like a proper, valid complaint. At least it added some exciting drama to this customer’s day.

Anyway, I’ve digressed and got distracted once again. I’ve been to this pub a few times and it does get busy in the evenings, but the service always seems friendly and sort of efficient. And there’s a decent amount of real ale available, although unfortunately neither this pub nor the other nearby JD Wetherspoon have made the Good Beer Guide….

October 10, 2025
Wembley – England vs Wales

The excitement of Wembley Stadium ahead of the friendly match between England and Wales.

The crowds slowly starting to form for the match, which was in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

The stadium before the crowds arrived.

Getting busier. Apparently matches can have as many as 2,000 stewards and everything felt organised.

The players arrive. I hope no-one is expecting a detailed summary of the players, their performance or anything substantial about the football.

And we’re off. Well, the players came out to have a little kick about before going back in for a rest, or whatever it is that they do.

Getting ready to lay the FA flag onto the pitch. They didn’t use kids for the mascots and instead had 22 fans who were living with dementia, something that I thought was a rather lovely idea.

The flag in place. I did a video of the pre-match excitement….

Players walked onto the field and then they played the national anthems. The Welsh fans were very vocal and energetic during the match, they did their team proud.

There were three goals in quick succession at the beginning of the match, so England were 3-0 up after 20 minutes. Apparently the players who kicked the ball into the net were Morgan Rogers (3 minutes), Ollie Watkins (11 minutes) and Bukayo Saka (20 minutes) with the last one being quite good I think. I was pleased that no-one in the area near me felt the need to jump up and down a lot (or actually at all) as I find it easier to stay sitting down.

Thomas Tuchel, who I understand is the England manager. He also seems very good and I rather like this European approach of the FA.

I was puzzled as to why the players didn’t have their names on their shirts during the second half as I was sure that they did in the first half. It transpired that this was to fit into the theme of Alzheimer’s and it aimed to raise awareness of how the illness impacts memory. I must admit that is lovely, although it had the side issue that unless it was Jordan Pickford (I find it easy to identify the goalkeeper and I did learn the name of the Welsh one, but I’ve since forgotten it) I didn’t know who was kicking the ball.

The attendance at the game was 78,126 which seems like a lot of people. The stadium can in theory hold 90,000 people, but this was a higher attendance that I had been anticipating.

The final score was 3-0.

The expert football supporters might notice that I’m not really entirely knowledgeable about the current England and Wales football squads and I might have had to look up on Wikipedia who the managers were. But the venue was safe, secure and the football was interesting to watch, so I might go and do this again…..

October 10, 2025
Wembley – England vs Wales (Video of Opening)

And for anyone interested, of which I accept the number is limited, here’s the opening ceremony (as it were) of the England vs Wales match at Wembley. I feel that the person searching for their seat adds a little something to this video. More about the match (of which very little will be football related as this isn’t a sporty blog) in the next post…

October 10, 2025
Railway Times – London to Birmingham Line Reaches Tring

As I’m still reading through the Railway Times (I’ve reached the second issue now), this is from November 1837 and the London & Birmingham Railway has now managed to reach Tring. Although the railway station wasn’t built that near to Tring, the excited local population funded part of a new road to make it more accessible to residents.

They reached Tring on 16 October 1837 and it would be on 17 September 1838 that the full line between London Euston and Birmingham was opened. The glorious station and the Euston Arch were constructed in 1837, but the disaster that was the nationalised British Rail pulled it all down in the 1960s. But, that’s a different story.

Reading the Railway Times it’s evident just how exciting the advent of the new rail era actually was, the country was opening up and there were all manner of opportunities ahead. I was going to note that I’ve never been to Tring, but I’ve remembered that we walked through it when walking the Ridgeway a few years ago.

October 9, 2025