Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Redhill – Garibaldi (Good Beer Guide)

    Redhill – Garibaldi (Good Beer Guide)

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    The Garibaldi is a Good Beer Guide listed community pub located on Mill Street in Redhill, with a bit of a walk up a hill required to get there.

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    What’s on at the pub and a few copies of the Good Beer Guides. This is a small Victorian pub and it was nearly demolished a few years ago, but the community took it on and have been running it on a not-for-profit basis. They have a large garden area which has views over the local area, which also gives them something of a boost in terms of the seating numbers given that they don’t have a vast number inside. The pub likely takes its name from Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary who came to the UK on a few occasions and seems to have inspired quite a few people to name pubs after him.

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    There were four real ales available, mainly local options. The service was warm and friendly, with the pub being moderately busy when I visited albeit with one quite raucous group in.

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    There were also a few craft keg beer options.

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    I stuck with the real ale and my first half was the Surrey session bitter from Pilgrim Brewery, a well-kept, light, clean and rounded beer with a slight biscuit taste.

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    My second half was the Shere Drop from Surrey Hills Brewery, which was clean, light and had a slight fruit edge.

    This is a well-reviewed pub online and it does have a rather welcoming community feel to it, something perhaps evident by their meat raffle. Since 2017, it has been run as a community project on a lease from the amenable owner, but they’re now trying to buy the freehold to ensure the venue’s long-term viability and the MP, Rebecca Paul, mentioned the purchase of the pub in the House of Commons. It might not be the most central of pubs in the town, but it’s worth a walk up the hill to visit.

  • Norwich – Gentleman’s Walk and No Trams (Old Image)

    Norwich – Gentleman’s Walk and No Trams (Old Image)


    This photo of Gentleman’s Walk is from 1938 and it doesn’t look far different today, just with fewer cars as the area by the market has effectively been pedestrianised. The saddest element of this is that the trams have gone, a decision made in 1933 following the purchase of Norwich Electric Tramways by Eastern Counties Omnibus. All the trams departed from Orford Place and this route would have been Haymarket, Gentleman’s Walk, the Market Place, St. Giles Street and then down Earlham Road. I also wonder how many of those market stalls sold food, I suspect not very many of them. James and I might have found it quicker to do our eating at every market stall thing back then.

  • Norwich – London Street / Guildhall Hill (Old Image 1919 and New Image 2019)

    Norwich – London Street / Guildhall Hill (Old Image 1919 and New Image 2019)


    I’m not generally one of those people who looks at old photos and comes to an immediate conclusion that things were once better, but I have some sympathy with that argument with this above photo from 1919. The sweeping tram-line and the grand buildings give it something of a European feel. What is now the Leeds was once Dean & Palmer tailors and that was still going into the 1970s.

    The removal of the tram-lines was a dreadful mistake and it’s likely now too expensive the fix that decision. The buildings remain grand as they’re the same ones, but it feels a little less charming without the decorative shop displays. Here’s a 1939 colour photo of those shops (one of very few he took) taken by the great George Plunkett shortly before war was to break out.

  • Norwich – Ferry Road (Old Image)

    Norwich – Ferry Road (Old Image)


    I’ve  never seen this image before, but it’s Riverside Road in front with Pull’s Ferry at the rear. The road that the photo is taken from is Ferry Road.

    And here’s what that looks like today. I hadn’t noticed, but that wall on the left does look pretty old.

  • Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 25 and Bodega

    Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 25 and Bodega

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    This week’s visit, in between James signing autographs as we walked to the market, of eating at every food stall at Norwich Market was to Bodega, which was the ‘winner’ of when we did this in 2023. We’re struggling to fit lunch in now at all with James needing to stop to talk to all these middle-class people we pass, it’s gotten so bad I’ve had to start wearing a shirt with a collar to blend in with this whole world of wealth that I hadn’t known about. Anyway, I digress. This seems to be one of the most talked about food stalls on the market and the standards have remained high for years, so we were looking forwards to this visit.

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    The menu and there are many tempting options. I’m aware that I should have tried something different, but pastrami and pickles are one of my favourite things, so I went for the same again and was pleased that James showed a little more culinary bravery. As a price comparison, the Bring Back the Katz is now £9 and was £7.50 a couple of years ago, so it’s not an enormous price increase. The service was polite, efficient and welcoming, so this continued to feel like an inviting place to visit. I also liked that they had stickers, it suits my inner child and that’s going on the laptop later alongside the selection of craft beer stickers. They accept card and cash and there’s a small seating area located opposite the stall.

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    This looks, and indeed was, delicious. There was a large quantity of the ingredients, the pastrami was tender, the pickles added texture, the sauce was light with a slight punchiness and the bread was soft and fresh. To be honest, half a sandwich was plenty, although being greedy I wasn’t displeased to have to eat another half. All very nice and although it’s a little expensive for a sandwich, there’s a lot going on here for the money.

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    James went for the Coq Joke and was suitably impressed by the quality of the chicken and the size of the portion, although I think he found it just a little sickly with the sweet sauce. But, there’s still value for money there, with the ingredients being decent. James also took a Good Girls sticker, I’m not sure where he’s planning to stick it.

    Once again, I couldn’t really fault this visit. The service was friendly, the ordering process was well managed, the quality was high and the portion size was generous. This is definitely one of the market’s consistently excellent stalls and long may it continue…. Only a handful of visits left now and we’ve started to discuss who the winner will be, my two loyal blog readers must be beyond themselves with excitement.

  • Redhill – Garland Pub

    Redhill – Garland Pub

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    In trying to deal with this extreme heat, I decided that I would seek solace in the pub.

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    The pub is tied to Harvey’s, which might be obvious from this beer selection, but it was positive to see a choice of different real ales as well as numerous flavours of Tayto crisps. The service was friendly, engaging and warm, so the environment felt welcoming and a place that I might want to actually spend some time.

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    The pub had a clean and inviting interior. CAMRA notes that it was built as a Victorian corner pub in 1865 and was known as the Anchor until Harvey’s Brewery purchased it in 1992. The pub has been in previous Good Beer Guides, but it seems to have fallen out in recent years, although this is more likely just because there’s strong competition in the area.

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    Oooh, a bar billiards table. Hopefully I’ll get to play on it one day, I think Surrey has quite an active league going on.

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    This was my first drink….. There’s a lot to be said for water with ice in a heatwave.

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    This is the Forward’s Choice from Harvey’s Brewery and it was on the turn. In fairness, I could have taken it back and informed them, but I was too hot and tired to do very much about the situation so I’ll accept that one is my responsibility as these things happen.

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    The Prince of Denmark from Harvey’s Brewery and this was much better, with flavours of chocolate and liquorice, with the taste being rich and very slightly boozy.

    I liked this pub, it had an informal feel to it and a decent selection of beers from Harvey’s, which I don’t get to see much in East Anglia. I like the idea of playing bar billiards here and the whole environment felt comfortable and inviting. I won’t hold the beer on the turn against them as I didn’t tell them and it’s hot and these things happen. It just means I’ll have to come again to try the venue again.

  • Reigate – Reigate Tunnel

    Reigate – Reigate Tunnel

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    Whilst other people are going on fancy holidays around the world, enjoying decadent dining and lying by swimming pools with craft beer, I decided to visit what might be the oldest road tunnel in Europe. It was originally opened in 1823 when there was a toll of 6 old pence per coach, but they removed the toll in 1858 and pedestrians were never charged for using it, a decision that I applaud.

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    This seems a sensible name for the road. Its construction was needed as the town is on a hill that was proving challenging for the road traffic of the time, namely horses, and there were fears that the developing settlement of Redhill might steal their trade. There’s perhaps a slight irony that the railway line then promptly went straight through Redhill rather than Reigate, which might not have entirely delighted the denizens of the town.

    It’s clear from this 1880s map why they decided to make this direct tunnel through to the town centre. In the early twentieth century, the council started to buy up properties so that they could widen the road, but then after doing so, they decided not to widen the road.

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    The road was made one way in the 1930s and then pedestrianised in the 1970s.

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    They’ve currently doing some work on the structure.

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    Inside the tunnel. There were originally vaults here, now accessible on occasional tours, which have been used for numerous purposes over the decades including as a war shelter, munitions storage, as a billiards hall and for alcohol storage. They’ve part of a wider caves network which had been created when they dug out silver sand, but they got a bit enthusiastic and in 1858 there was a bit of collapse which initially seemed sub-optimal, but they instead created sunken gardens to make things feel more positive.

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    Old signage from when there was a licensed premises here.

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    The bridge from the town side. They had to demolish two properties on the main street when they constructed it. It remains an important pedestrian link from the railway station and I like the efforts made to provide information boards about its heritage.

  • Reigate – Red Cross Inn

    Reigate – Red Cross Inn

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    Whilst in Reigate I popped into the Red Cross Inn in the hope of cooling down slightly, which I’m not sure was an aim that was entirely successful, but I left refreshed if nothing else. It’s a Stonegate pub which is branded as part of their Craft Union chain.

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    Some of the pub’s history (transcript below).

    “The Red Cross Inn can be traced back to the 17th century.

    In 1652 the inn was owned by William Castleman who was substantial enough to issue his own farthing tokens. This is the earliest record of the inn clearly indicating a going concern.

    Situated at the foot of the castle owned by the Earls of Surrey and beside the medieval market place.

    The inn stands opposite the site of the medieval chapel of the Holy Cross that stood on an island in the middle of the road after the Reformation used as a barn and demolished in late 1785.

    For centuries this hostelry was used by traders & farmers on market day, travellers and generations of townspeople.

    Today this inn remains a well known Reigate landmark.”

    It was reported in March 1900 that the pub was set back six feet to allow for road widening, so the frontage of the pub likely dates entirely from then. Ironically, there’s quite a gap between the pub and the road now, so that sacrifice might not have ultimately been necessary.

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    The beer was the London Pride and was well kept and reasonably priced. The beer selection was weak, mostly relying on lagers, with no craft keg beers of note, but I have to accept this is Craft Union and it’s not what they claim to be about. The venue was clean, although it was quite warm in terms of the temperature, although so were most places.

    In terms of the negatives, there was no real engagement at the bar as the landlord just kept talking to another customer which I take no offence at, but if I was a new customer coming in for the first time, it wouldn’t have been the most welcoming of services. The landlord also was perhaps quite brave with his commentary on some first time customers who had walked in (and out) and I think I’ll limit my comments to that as I don’t want to be too downbeat about any pub.

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    An old door in the corner of the venue, which I assume is some sort of nod towards the heritage of the building. Stonegate have recently spent £200,000 on doing up this venue, although it wasn’t immediately obvious to me how they’d invested this money, although architectural features such at the fireplace had been retained.

    Overall, it’s all OK and actually the sort of venue that I’d go, which is indeed why I do visit Craft Union pubs. I accept their drinks aren’t really what I want, but their pricing is reasonable and there’s usually some vibrancy to the atmosphere. It was quiet when I went, but I understand it’s busy on weekends and so they must be doing quite a lot right to surprise and delight customers.

  • 2013 KFC Forest Gate Receipt

    2013 KFC Forest Gate Receipt

    As to what’s this doing here….

    Of no great relevance, but a minor piece of social history from January 2013 and a two piece variety meal.

  • 200 Years Ago in Norwich : Joseph Christmas Died at Port-au-Prince

    200 Years Ago in Norwich : Joseph Christmas Died at Port-au-Prince

    In a newspaper article in the Norwich Mercury from 200 years ago this week, it’s mentioned that the death of Joseph Christmas, aged 17, was confirmed. The news had come from Port-au-Prince, which is today one of the most dangerous cities in the world and nearly entirely controlled by gangs. This likely wasn’t his destination, he was on a merchant ship where he died during the travels.

    Joseph Harmer Christmas was born on 19 May 1809 in Great Yarmouth and was baptised the following day, which seems to be rather efficient. He was the son of John and Honor Harmer Christmas and here’s the will of John. On the surname, it’s relatively rare and its origins are unclear although there’s more on a Wikipedia page about the matter. What intrigues me more is what the 16 year old (the newspaper article got his age wrong) was doing off in the then British West Indies, his family didn’t appear to be wealthy enough to be involved in owning plantations, although they did seem reasonably well connected. Yet another mystery that maybe one day I’ll be able to solve to my complete satisfaction….