Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Trouble at Smithfield – Jago Hazzard Video

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Just as a break from my normal range of irrelevant blog posts, I found this video on Smithfield market, titled “Meat, Museums and Malarkey” to be interesting. I’ve found this market a fascinating site, since Des led a walk around it last June, when the photos below are from (other than the very bottom one which is from a few weeks ago when I went back to see what progress had been made). As the video says, the plan is to move a number of the markets from London all to a huge new site at Dagenham, which will be the largest wholesale market in the country.

But many of the traders don’t want to leave and there has been a meat market at this site for over 900 years and the Poultry section is still operating. The traders have refused to move and the City Corporation has been forced to try and get an Act of Parliament to remove them, a process which seems to have been going on for some months without any obvious updates.

The Museum of London will be moving onto the site as part of their celebration of all things London, alongside some sort of cultural and residential zone. And the irony pointed out by the video is one I’ve thought before, they’re shifting out something authentic and genuine from the city centre to put in a museum which, well, is the story of the authentic London. Or as the video notes, “London is increasingly become a theme park version of itself”. Hopefully they’ll be able to do something decent here, without a mix of housing that starts at £1 million and restaurants that end up being ridiculously expensive because of the rents they have to pay.

Although, the solution is perhaps to ensure it becomes a centre for decadent craft beers and breweries, that would be a much better story in the evolution of London as a great city.

June 22, 2022
Saturday : The Second Day of the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100

This post carries on merrily from my post about the opening day of the Trans-Pennine 100, where 400 or so walkers took part in walking 100 miles.

With the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint closed, Richard and I made our way to the Heart of Scotland checkpoint at Mam Nick car park, which was 52 miles into the route. This outdoor checkpoint, which was CP8, was staffed with more enthusiastic volunteers, even though they’d been up throughout the night offering food, drink and support to the entrants. There was hearty soup available, as well as numerous types of delicious snacks.

And let me note a little about this whole thing. It’s great that there’s food and drink on this event, and of course essential. But what very many walkers need is a welcoming smile, a reassurance that everything is OK and that this bloody nightmare will be over soon enough. It’s great to get help from people who have completed a 100 and know exactly what is involved, which is mostly mental strength to keep on going. As the guru David Morgan always says, it’s 90% mental and 10% physical. Or, as Chelle always says, it’s just 25 short walks joined together, which I never found that motivational if I’m being honest as I can be tired out after one short walk. Anyway, I digress.

The menu had been carefully written out with some style.

There’s Julie, watching Naomi walk down the hill.

I think that’s Naomi, still being heroic and very brave battling on.

We then jumped (well, drove) to CP10, which is the breakfast stop. East Lancs were the group responsible for this big challenge, which was serving 400 people a cooked breakfast. Despite the space being a little limited, the team sprung into action offering table service with a smile, whilst the walkers tended their feet and thought about the situation that they were in.

The busy kitchen team.

And here’s Simon! We later discovered that Jane retired at this checkpoint, as did Naomi, but their efforts were still considerable. It’s all about giving it a go, that’s the main thing. I have a grumpy friend who got to 60 miles and didn’t realise how impressed people were, but that’s a different story.

For the avid readers of this blog (all two of them), they might remember this from the LDWA AGM, it’s the Colin Wormwald trophy. This goes to every 100 event and every entrant can have their photo taken with it, that’s a right that has been passed on down the generations! Instead of giving this trophy to the fastest entrant, it’s awarded to every single entrant, because this event isn’t a race, it’s a personal challenge and we don’t treat the fastest any differently to the slowest. Aaron decided to dress this year’s event up with a ferret, or whatever it is, I’m not sure what Michael will do next year for the Elephant, Bear and Bull event, but he’s got three animal options with that name.

I had a quick walk to a Wetherspoons in Wombwell, the Horseshoe, before Richard and I went back out to have a meander around some checkpoints. I’ll post separately about the Wetherspoons, so as not to spoil my flow of thought about walking.

The Irregulars checkpoint at CP14 which was at Wortley Rugby Club. They had some excitement of finding that their HQ had been used for storage which required some quick thinking, but like another checkpoint whose marquee blew down, they were resourceful and the walkers would never have known.

Just in case Simon needed any assistance, we decided to walk towards him. I think he appreciated my top tips on how to complete the event.

And here are Simon and Claire, positively gliding in again. They made this look a little bit too easy if you ask me.

The rugby club, where some entrants took a slightly more direct route than others.

And then a highlight, the South Wales checkpoint at Tankersley Welfare Hall, which was 85 miles into the event. Not a bad looking menu if you ask me.

And Dave was offering his usual formidable welcome in his Wales hat. I pretended not to notice it, I try not to encourage frivolity and fancy dress. The Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint was jubilee themed, but I ignored that as well.

Fish finger and bacon rolls, what a time to be alive! These were delicious and I’ve spoken to Michael, several times, about these being available at next year’s event.

Simon and Dave, both who annoy me by walking around 100s pretending they find them difficult. Dave and his “oh, I don’t know if I can do it this year, I’ve hardly trained, just only done six marathons a week” nonsense, and Simon who vaguely pretends it’s a challenge to him. They are professionals at this, but as I mentioned, their fast speed and looking fine at the end is no more an achievement than the entrants who collapse over the line.

Onto the North Yorkshire checkpoint at Wentworth Village Cricket Pavilion and entrants were now being able to see the end in sight, this was the 90 miles mark. No photos of the inside of the checkpoint here as it was quite busy and we once again, incredibly selflessly, again went to walk to see Simon and Claire. To be honest, I was checking Simon wasn’t in a taxi, as marshals have to be alert to these things.

And the final checkpoint before the end, David Findel-Hawkins and Merrian Lancaster offering an incredible welcome. I note that as they gave me beer, which Dave didn’t offer me. It was a close run thing between the two checkpoints, but Merrian was very pleased I said theirs was the best 🙂

It’s like a party! Entrants didn’t tend to linger too long at this checkpoint, not because they weren’t surprised and delighted at it, but because it was only four miles to the end.

So with a smile and a wave, entrants left the checkpoint to just finish this damn thing off.

With that, Richard and I went back to the HQ to wait for the entrants. I’ll save this part of the story for the next post, but it was very exciting watching all of the very brave entrants coming in. Once again, so many thanks to the marshals who made this event possible, it was rare to see anyone looking tired, despite the hours of volunteering they’d put in to help the entrants. There was a friendly welcome at every checkpoint, such a wonderful community of walkers.

June 22, 2022
Friday : The Start of the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100

I took over 200 photos during the LDWA event, I can’t use them all in these blog posts, but they’re all visible here for anyone who might want to peek through them. The LDWA also has a Flickr account now, where there are additional photos available.

The HQ was Netherwood Academy near Wombwell, which isn’t far from Barnsley. The map of the LDWA 100 and looking at that is a reminder of just how far this distance is. Look at the number of maps taped together…. If anyone wants to see the route, and indeed how the entrants got on, it’s at https://track.trail.live/event/ldwa100. If that link isn’t working (it’ll be there for six months I think), there’s plenty more information at https://ldwa.org.uk/2022Hundred.

The registration process and the collecting of the trackers, the first time that they’ve been used in an LDWA 100.

And that’s a lot of trackers.

I had a little peer in the food room, all of this food and drink was being despatched to the checkpoints later on.

All neatly stacked up and a reminder again of just how much organisation goes into these events. I’ll return to that theme across these posts, it’s all a formidable volunteer effort. Norfolk & Suffolk group are holding the event in 2025 (their then forward thinking chair thought that was a great idea in 2021) and work is already underway on the route. As Dave Morgan says, a flat 100 is harder than a hilly one, I just hope he can cope with the terrain when the time comes. And also hope that the snakes on the Suffolk coast don’t come out in hordes again.

The food and drink destined to go to CP7, which was the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint that I was going to later on in the day.

I’ve just realised that I took quite a lot of photos of the food….. I’m hoping that the Norfolk & Suffolk event will innovate exciting new menu options, although I might not be allowed to go near that process. But a fish and chips van, hmmm…..

A little bit of a queue forming for the trackers, but the event registration went smoothly and it was good to see Madeleine in control at one of the desks. She was keeping everyone in order.

This bit isn’t ideal for entrants, it’s the wait for the start, and I could see the excitement in the eyes of Simon Hodgin and the look of anger in the eyes of Jane…. I’ve a lot of time for Jane’s walking style, she’s pre-annoyed before the start and quite grumpy that she’s doing the walk. This, to me, is much better than Simon’s odd attitude of being excited and positive. Also visible in this photo, as he’s helpfully wearing green (he supports Norwich City, hence the green) is Dave Morgan who was getting ready to receive his own award the next day.

Hazel and Karen visible in this pre-departure photo. Hazel was helping at the Cornwall & Devon checkpoint, which I’m sad to say is one of the few I didn’t get to, whilst Karen, the national groups officer, was walking the event. And in some style if I’m being honest, but more on her effortless walking later.

Aaron, getting ready to send the first wave of walkers off. He might have set them off slightly early, but there’s no time like the present on such occasions. Also visible on the right is Michael Jones, the organiser of next year’s event, ready to get tips from Trans-Pennine, or learn from any mistakes they might make, whichever way you want to look at it. There’s always much to learn from any event, but Aaron definitely got the big calls right as seems to be the popular soundbite from Government Minister at the moment. Not that I’m suggesting he’s like Boris Johnson (who arguably didn’t get the big calls right, but I won’t meander into politics), as he’s very sensible (I’ve veered back into politics very quickly again). Right, enough about that.

The walkers have gone, Aaron gets some time to reflect seeing the first 200 or so entrants off. I think there were around 400 people who took part in the walk, an excellent turnout. Unfortunately there were a few who couldn’t make the event as short notice, including some who got Covid just before the event.

Successful entrants got a beer to mark their bravery, a marvellous idea, it’s a blonde ale from Acorn Brewery, who are local to the event.

With that, Julie Cribb (the national chair) and I went to have a look at a few checkpoints and speak to some of our marvellous volunteers. She was also supporting her daughter, Naomi, who was walking the event, which is very brave indeed. This is CP1, operated by East Yorkshire LDWA. It’s a challenge marshalling this first checkpoint as everyone is coming in quite quickly, but the marshals were doing well and food and drink was being efficiently provided.

We arrived at CP2 before the entrants, which was a handy opportunity to take photos of the food. I’d add I didn’t take any, I went to the nearby Greggs. As an aside, there was a nightmare with my O2 priority reward, where the shop couldn’t get it to scan. Three staff tried to get it to work and failed, with one being annoyed at me I think, whilst the other two were annoyed at O2. They just gave me the pizza in the end anyway, which is the first time I’ve had that from Greggs. Very nice, although I’m still more of a chicken bake person. But, that’s fine, as I got a chicken bake at the same time just in case that situation arose.

CP2 was marshalled by volunteers from BBN and they were ready for action with the rush of entrants, offering a warm welcome to those who had by this point walked for just under 12 miles. Incidentally, one of the advantages for the marshals of the trackers is that they can see when entrants are about to arrive, which means that they can be extra ready.

And there’s Simon, having left Jane behind. Simon was speed walking around the event with Hilary.

And Naomi, still looking positive and keen.

Sara Dyer, the national 100s officer on the NEC, who helps groups organise this event.

Here’s Jane, with her Dad, Brian. Lots of smiles and the temperature was really quite moderate, not too hot but also not pouring with rain. I’m not allowed to mention the infamous event in South Wales that poured down with rain for two days, but somewhere in the middle is what walkers want, a cool breeze and not too wet. It was a good weekend for walking.

Then it was off down a farm track to see Wiltshire group at CP3.

Their food selection, in the calm before the storm.

They had a formidable scone production line going on, alongside some other healthy snacks such as Jaffa Cakes and jelly babies.

And they had ponies! No other group organised ponies, so I was very impressed.

And Julia, second from the left, who is the NEC’s membership secretary.

And Karen coming into the checkpoint, looking exactly as she did when she set off. Very calm, composed and professional.

Simon coming into CP3, still annoyingly positive.

Simon having a little rest, with Hilary from Norfolk and Suffolk (and the group’s new chair) strolling in as well.

That production line I mentioned earlier.

Julie and Naomi, this checkpoint was at around 18 miles.

Jane arriving into the checkpoint and still in a positive frame of mind. Inspirational.

CP4, which is Holmbridge Church Hall. On the drive there, I was pleased to see Holmfirth and the cafe where Last of the Summer Wine was filmed. I didn’t quite get to Holmfirth last year when I was in the area, so this whetted my appetite for when I do finally get to go to the town.

Julie and Nicky at CP4, the Lakeland and West Yorkshire checkpoint.

The kitchen team.

Neil Carter from Norfolk and Suffolk group, one of my favourite LDWA members as he always comments on my general bravery. Simon H doesn’t, so he isn’t as far up my list of favourites.

There was lots of bunting in the hall, although the LDWA didn’t put this up, it was a for a Jubilee Weekend event the following day.

And here comes Simon. It was lovely to see Pete Colley at the event as well, he was stopping by to watch some of the entrants glide into the checkpoint.

Still looking calm and composed.

And Hilary, who was jogging behind to keep up.

With that, it was off to CP7, as that was where I was spending the rest of the day, at the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint.

The marshals at the checkpoint, Sue, Katie, Chelle, Roger, Yvonne, Richard, Shu (just), Jayne, myself, Michael, Malcolm and Julie (popping in as chair). We had some fish and chips before the event, which was marvellous and everyone enjoyed those. Richard just had a heap of sausages or something, he didn’t want the delicious and decadent fish. I was initially annoyed as Chelle, who had volunteered to get the chips from the nearby Hayfield fish and chip shop, came back to say they didn’t accept cards. Luckily Richard and I were able to lend her cash (mostly Richard, he’s very wealthy) for a few hours to ensure that everyone got their food.

And the Raynet team ready for the checkpoint.

Aaron popped in, whilst also running the entire event, to drop off beer to those who had entered the marshals. Here’s Malcolm being presented with his beer.

That’s a blast from the past…. I’ve been a member of the LDWA for a decade, and this group had ceased to exist many years before that.

Night falls. A couple of local residents came to chat and were very enthused with the whole arrangement, with the usual surprise of why so many people want to walk non-stop. It’s actually the non-stop bit which confuses people, they can’t imagine keeping going throughout the night, or indeed two nights. We kept the noise as low as possible of course, we were an overnight checkpoint, but we were helped with the trackers meaning we knew when people were arriving.

It was rather lovely to be able to welcome entrants in, as well as a small handful of supporters who were helping friends or family with their efforts by cheering them on. We had a few retirements at our checkpoint, which was about 40 miles in, but mostly we were able to send entrants out inspired for the next part of their challenge. Neil unfortunately had to quit at this checkpoint, but he battled on as far as he could, it was a shame he wasn’t feeling very well. A proper fighter.

Our checkpoint in full flow. It was a tight squeeze when it was at its busiest, but it wasn’t often this packed, I think we had a big contingent from Yorkshire in at this point.

Jane wasn’t quite as jovial as she had been earlier on if I’m being honest. She made some funny comments about Simon that I think everyone thought were most amusing. I certainly did. It was a true inspiration to see how Jane had been so creative in where to stack painkillers to help her through and her Dad, Brian, seemed to be having a enjoyable time with the walk.

And that’s where I’ll leave this post, as the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint closed in the early hours of Saturday morning. There were no major incidents and I hope that all the entrants enjoyed the hospitality offered. And thanks to the wonderful Norfolk and Suffolk marshals, volunteering to help out at the event throughout the night whilst also smiling and remaining cheerful. Jayne managed the kitchen with effortless ease and I was able to save a couple of cheese sandwiches from going into the bin, so all was well with the world. Chelle also managed the checkpoint with professionalism, despite having a dog who needed some attention at numerous points during the night. And apologies for anyone I’ve missed mentioning who might have been in the photos.

June 21, 2022
Tuesday to Thursday : Off to Barnsley for the LDWA 100

Quickly skipping Tuesday and Wednesday as not much of excitement happened during my time in Norwich, it was time for the big event of the LDWA 100, the 100 mile event. I might have mentioned that I walked this last year…..

Richard turned up in his little tank, which I first thought was in camouflage, but he reassured me that it was just very dirty. We were off to Barnsley on the Thursday, ready to help marshal the main LDWA 100 event on the Friday to Sunday.

Safely there and back in the Ibis Styles which I stayed in last year. My Accor settings have me at the end of a corridor miles away from the lift, whereas Richard for reasons unknown likes to be near the lift. So our rooms were nowhere near each other, although it transpired that I was directly above Chelle and Paul, but I’m pleased to report they didn’t cause any noise issues on the floor below.

Classy, that made me feel extra safe in the room.

And my chair had lost a leg, but I had a window that opened, so I was content with that at least.

The signage at the hotel bar is written in the Yorkshire dialect and I got myself an old Speckled Hen as my free welcome drink, whereas Richard went for one of his decadent wines.

We were meeting up in town with one of the heroes of the LDWA, David Morgan, who was far too excited to see us struggle up the mountain that leads into Barnsley. We were meeting at the Tipsy Cow, a very decent craft beer bar, so that Dave could tell me all his gossip, not least all of the mountain summits he’s run up recently. We had walked the two miles or so into the town centre of Barnsley from the hotel, which was one of Richard’s longest walks for a long time. He was very brave and I’d actually like to see Dave and Richard do a walk-off to see who could get the furthest.

Incidentally, they had Cherry Porter from Titanic Brewery, so I was sold on that, and very nicely kept it was too. With that, we moved on, Dave to his South Wales group meal, whereas the Norfolk & Suffolk volunteers and entrants were all scattered about, so it was left for me to supervise Richard in the pubs.

I thought I’d show Richard the Dickie Bird statue. At least having been somewhere before saves me from having to write much about it again, I can just link to previous blog posts for anyone who hasn’t been fortunate to have already read them.

Back in the Old No 7, I went for the Spindizzy from Chin Chin Brewing Company, which was well kept although not particularly exceptional.

The pork pie was lovely though, after I’d carefully picked the jelly out.

I was looking to find a pub in Barnsley that I hadn’t visited before, so we thought we’d pop into the White Bear. We popped into the pub and then popped straight out again, as it appears they had problems with their speaker system and the music volume could be heard in Huddersfield. They were also short of customers, but that wasn’t an entire surprise given the early evening rave going on. Now that I’ve passed my 30th birthday, and Richard is now in his early 50s, I suspect we need to find places that are generally quieter in the future, as I’m not as young as I once was (not that I liked loud places when I was younger).

Richard, who if truth be told is much greedier than I am with food, went for a heap of plates full of JD Wetherspoon cuisine in the Joseph Bramah.

I had a packet of Mini Cheddars alongside my Farmers Stout from Bradfield Brewery, which had a depth of taste to it and was well-kept. As a flavour combination, Mini Cheddars and/or Wotsits go really well with stouts. See, it’s worth reading this blog to get top tips about craft beer and food pairings. I ordered a different beer as my second round, but they ignored that and brought me the same one that I’d had. I couldn’t be bothered to argue about the situation, especially since I had enjoyed my previous half pint. It’s a friendly pub though, spacious and it wasn’t too busy.

Next was a repeat visit (for me) to the Jolly Boys. I got myself another one of my classy snacks of Bacon Fries, which is making it look like I survive on things like this…..

When a space became available, we moved to the upstairs balcony which was quite decadent. It was the Bank Holiday Jubilee weekend, hence all of the bunting. Friendly service here again, I’ve worked through a lot of the Jolly Boys’ Brewery beers before, so I went for the tried and tested Jolly Collier Porter.

Barnsley Town Hall at night. I’m skipping out one pub, Maison du Biere, as it was outstanding and so it’s getting its own post, it was the first time I’d been there and it significantly exceeded my expectations. It was so good that it meant we forgot to go and look for some beacon they were setting on fire, but I hadn’t been much interested in that anyway so that’s fortunate. A good pub is better than watching random fires if you ask me…. More on that pub in a little bit, but it was time to walk the two miles back to the hotel, which Richard braced himself for and achieved comfortably fuelled on by the beers and food of the evening. We met Chelle at the hotel with her dog in reception at the hotel, I suspect she’d been hitting the bar again (figuratively, not literally), but I didn’t say anything.

What it did mean was that we didn’t have many hours of sleep before we had to get up for the LDWA 100, and indeed, we didn’t expect to get sleep during the weekend anyway. But, it’s much harder for the entrants, so I decided not to feel sorry for myself as I’m good like that, always a bundle of positivity.

June 20, 2022
Thursday : Maison du Biere in Barnsley

I’ve posted about this pub separately to my daily post about my repeat visit to Barnsley before the LDWA 100.

I had already been to the other pubs we had visited in Barnsley, so I was looking for somewhere new. I hadn’t visited Maison du Biere before, I think they slipped between the Good Beer Guide list and they’re also not listed on Untappd. I’m very pleased that we visited though, this is an outstanding pub.

I don’t suppose that I’ll ever run a pub again, but this was the shop section of the bar. I was conscious that the dust on some of the bottles meant they weren’t selling as much as they hoped, but the selection was excellent. The prices were very reasonable as well, and it’s a shame that they’re so far away, otherwise I’ll go back. Although I think I’ll find a reason to go back to Barnsley to go here again anyway.

And if that bottles weren’t enough, look at the number of taps. And there are some very decent options there, not just generic beers to make up the numbers. I’m always excited to see beers by Vault City and the Strawberry Sundae was smooth, decadent, fruity and also very keenly priced here. Then there was the delight of the Triple Cream Milk Stout from Cassels Brewing, smooth and sweet. The Salvation Raspberry and Chocolate Stout from Abbeydale Brewery didn’t quite have the depth of flavour I’d like, but it was well kept and still had an enjoyable flavour. I can’t think though that there’s anywhere else in Barnsley offering beers of this quality.

When we entered the bar, I knew that they closed in one hour and there was no-one else there. The staff member, who was knowledgeable and engaging, made us very welcome even though she was cleaning and likely expecting no more customers. It is in my mind a complete travesty that this bar was empty when some nearby pubs, which to be honest were bloody awful (oh woo, look, Fosters and Carling, what a smorgasbord of beers we have), were busy. Everything about this bar shined, including the service from the team member, the decor and the beer range. I could find no fault in any single part of this bar’s operations and regular readers (all two of them) will know I normally find something to complain about. The staff member made us feel very welcome and was conversational, a very good advocate for the venue.

Spotlessly clean, with comfortable seating.

Richard, who is very decadent, bought this gin to take away and is responsible for giving me a headache the next morning (I selflessly helped him try it), but I didn’t say anything….

There are some exceptional bars such as Goose Island and pubs such as the Hop & Vine, but this is certainly up amongst them. I’m not sure if it opened too recently to get into the Good Beer Guide, but it sells real ale and it should absolutely be listed in the next edition. Clearly a contender for my very exciting (to me, although not really anyone else) Pub of the Year award. A complete delight and I hope it does well in the future, it deserves to.

June 20, 2022
Monday : A Day-Trip to Sheringham and a Rail Fiasco

Before I start on today’s riveting blog post, I feel the need to comment on the road works currently taking place at the end of Riverside Road, near Norwich railway station. I very much approve, although they seem to have been doing them for ages, but my civil engineer friend Liam reassures me it is physically impossible to do these things any quicker. Well, something like that.

Anyway, it’s a very worthwhile project which will make things better for pedestrians and cyclists at what is currently an annoying junction. I imagine car drivers will be annoyed, but I’ll live with that since I don’t have a car. I’m slightly disappointed that the pavement at the rear of the above photo isn’t being widened, but the rest of the project seems very positive. In fairness to the county council, who are often quite car focused, they’re doing some really important work at making the city move pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

And a new pedestrian crossing between Old Library Wood and Norwich railway station which is now completed. When Stuart comes to Norwich for the LDWA NEC meeting, he will be able to use this exciting new crossing to get to his decadent accommodation on Riverside Road. I can almost sense his excitement already.

But today’s blog excitement (I accept once again that I’m setting the bar low here) was a quick trip to Sheringham and back. I hate getting the bloody bus, so paid a little extra for the train service. Here comes the Sheringham Thunderbolt into Norwich railway station.

The train was relatively busy, but I got a table for four so that my laptop and I could be comfortable. The service ran on time and I was pleased with the efficiency of the entire service, I was very pleased indeed that I didn’t have to get a bus.

Getting back from Sheringham was a different matter. To cut another of my long and meandering stories very short, Greater Anglia were hopeless in their announcements following a trackside fire which cut off North Norfolk from the city of Norwich. The rail planner said that services would operate to North Walsham, so I thought I’d go there by train and get a bus from there.

Services, it transpired, weren’t going to North Walsham and one train was still scheduled to operate which actually clearly wasn’t. I contacted Greater Anglia to ask them what they thought the 50 or so passengers at Sheringham should do, although I knew the only option at this point was to get the Sanders bus. Greater Anglia responded quickly and wrongly, telling me to get the rail replacement bus. Really what they meant here was get any random bus I could find, something they’d failed to tell the people in Sheringham and Cromer (and probably elsewhere) who waited patiently for a replacement bus service to come to the railway station.

I got the Sanders bus since there were no rail replacement buses in operation. There was confusion as to what people should be doing (not least because the information from Greater Anglia wasn’t just lacking, it was wrong), but the bus driver was helpful and didn’t need to see my rail ticket, he was aware of the situation. Anyway, I mentioned to Greater Anglia (who I’m sure think I’m an idiot) that they still had a service showing as departing from Sheringham, marked as delayed, which people were waiting for. To their credit, they responded immediately and said they’d get that fixed, which they did within a few minutes. This pleased me, I didn’t have to feel guilty about the fate of the people patiently waiting at the railway station.

On the bright side, full credit to Greater Anglia who must have an automated process for Delay Repay, as my ticket was refunded in full within 15 seconds of my applying for it. Not that I want to make this blog sound like a series of incidents that I feel the need to complain about, although that’s sometimes the direction of travel it seems, I’d say that anyone visiting Sheringham (and especially one not speaking English) would have found it very challenging to know what to do in this situation. No staff on site, incorrect information on Greater Anglia’s web-site and on Twitter, this is why stations like this really need to be staffed. To be fair, a staffed station at Sheringham would be challenging as there isn’t a station to manage (the old station is now operated by North Norfolk Railway for heritage purposes), but maybe one day. But, that’s enough moaning for today I’ve decided. And, as a spoiler for the next few blog posts (since I’m writing these two weeks after), I haven’t got anything else to complain about for ages.

Here’s a photo of Jarrold’s Mill that I took after my walk back home (which is a much longer walk than when I get the train, but I won’t dwell on that) to end on a positive note.

June 20, 2022
Saturday : Still In Wales (Paddle Boarding and Drive to Daventry via Wolverhampton Cosmo)

As if the morning’s bravery zip-lining wasn’t enough, we had decided to go paddle boarding as we hadn’t done that before. I’m not very good at balancing, unless it’s in pubs where I’m world class, but I was already astounded at my own bravery so far in the day.

The walk to the paddle boarding place, which also hires out kayaks and canoes.

Mounting the paddle board, or whatever it’s called. This is effectively white water rafting, but I only took photos of the flat bits. I left my phone and the like in the upmarket changing facilities (a container unit) of the paddle boarding place, so Liam took this photo. I was too nervous about dropping my new phone into the water on the rapids section of the canal.

After some interesting manoeuvres I managed to get Liam’s phone to take photos of myself, although I was concentrating very hard on not dropping his phone into the water. I did record numerous videos of Liam doing his paddle boarding thing, although if anyone wants to see these, they’ll have to contact him as they’re still on his phone and he doesn’t feel the need to have a blog droning on in excessive detail about what he’s been doing.

Liam at Resolven Lock, by the River Neath.

The lock on the Neath Canal.

I’m not sure that this equipment is much used now, navigation ceased in the 1930s, although sections of the route have been kept open.

I had an offer on the app so this McDonald’s was cheap and we only had a short time, otherwise we would have hunted down a decadent local restaurant. We had wanted to investigate some historical sites in the area, but our hotel was in Daventry, where the prices were very reasonable, and we had a meal booked in Wolverhampton.

We did have time to pop into Aberdare and this is the war memorial, unveiled in 1922. It also has the details of Lance Corporal Phillip Anthony Sweet, who died in the Falklands War forty years ago.

The magic of Aberdare.

This stone commemorates the life of James James (Iago ap Ieuan) who composed the Welsh National Anthem and is buried in a nearby cemetery.

St. Elvan’s Church, which was constructed in 1852.

Ticking off another JD Wetherspoon, who have a relatively large number of outlets in these former mining towns, this is Yr Ieuan Ap Iago. The pub’s history on their web-site mentions the stone I wrote about earlier:

“Virtually outside the JDW premises is a memorial stone commemorating James James or Iago ap Ieuan, who composed the national anthem of Wales. The five-feet-high memorial stone was mined at a quarry just north of Aberdare. The commemorative plaque set into the stone is of north Wales slate. James moved to the Cynon Valley (which includes Aberdare) in 1873 and spent his last years in Abedare itself. He was buried in Aberdare Cemetery in 1902.”

The building was used as a Post Office before JD Wetherspoon took it over.

It’s easy to sneer at Wetherspoons, but having visited over 400 of their outlets, I’ve seen a lot of very good practice alongside some hard working staff. And my usual caveat of that it’s important to visit great independent pubs, as often seen in the Good Beer Guide, although I’ll add that this pub is listed in it as well. Trying to be as a polite as I can, understanding these are challenging times for pubs, this venue was a bloody disgrace though by any standards and just a little bit of an affront to hospitality, by far the worst Wetherspoons that I’ve visited. Surfaces were sticky, there was litter ground into the floor, there was food debris in random places and every table had empty glasses and plates on. The pub is towards the lower end of JD Wetherspoons on Google Reviews (the lowest rated in Wales and one of the lowest that I could find in the UK) which doesn’t really surprise me. Hopefully the pub didn’t get caught out on one of the company’s CQSMA inspections, although I imagine it’s had its moments in the past.

The app suggested the wait time on food was eight minutes, but it was clearly longer than that, with our drinks having not arrived after 35 minutes. I went to recover them at the bar as they were clearly not going to be delivered any time soon, with Liam’s soft drink having a glass with ice that had nearly entirely melted and my pint was substantially short measured. The staff were helpful and friendly, topping up the pint, but they were so short staffed that the manager probably should have suspended service for a short while as they couldn’t cope, especially as they had customers coming and leaving straight away anyway. The staff were also trying to deal with a number of complaints from customers, so I wasn’t entirely sure they were making much progress with the backlog given the issues they were trying to deal with.

I wondered at first why the staff weren’t collecting glasses when they walked back to the bar, but the hatch to the kitchen was already at capacity so it’s not clear where they would have put them. On the bright side, my Moose River from Hop Union Brewery was well-kept and suitably refreshing. As an aside, it could be asked why we stayed in a venue that was clearly bloody dreadful. I have to admit that the pub did have the advantage of having power points so that I could charge my phone up (unlike McDonald’s where I had hoped they might have charging facilities), so I have to give them credit for that and that’s why we stayed.

Going back to the pub reviews, one customer noted:

“The staff here really do work hard. Most of these reviews are probably from some very entitled people”

They might do, and indeed they did seem to be doing their best when we were there, but I note this review from two weeks ago:

“Slave treatment of the poor staff. Skeleton crew run ragged. No wonder hospitality industry can’t hire staff. Dirty tables uncleared of plates. Blame lies firmly with the employer NOT the staff”

Which is more in line with our experience.

“Usual dire service and did not like the look of the food being served so went elsewhere after using the WiFi”

That sounds like me using their electricity….. Not a bad idea to be fair.

“Food was acceptable but it was dirty, tables full of dirty dishes, no interest in cleaning away and wiping down these tables. The whole place needs a good clean up, everything looks grubby and shabby. I realise the drinks are cheap but not everyone goes there to just drink. When I go out for a meal I want things to be at least clean, at best light and cheerful. I haven’t been there for about 2 years because of the state of the place, I won’t be going again.”

This is from a year ago and there are tens of these reviews, not really ideal.

Anyway, enough negativity, I can’t copy and paste reviews for ages about cleanliness of a pub in Wales that I’m unlikely to ever go to again. I’ll be positive by saying the staff did seem to be doing their best.

Music is clearly important to the community, this is a statue of the composer Griffith Rhys Jones.

What was once clearly a rather lovely building, the old court rooms.

I had hoped for a delicious salad bar for our evening meal, but Liam was adamant he wanted to go to Cosmo in Wolverhampton, so I agreed. It was a bit of a drive, but I’m sure I entertained Liam for several hours with my entertaining conversation. Oh, and a song about Kettering that I’ve modified slightly.

The delights of the food selection at Cosmo. Without going on for too long, this was the best in the chain that I’ve been to, with everything clean, efficient and well managed. I had booked a table the night before (as in that’s when I had made the booking, not when I had booked the meal for), which was essential, and they had our booking and got us in ten minutes early. The food was kept well stocked, the quality was high and the range of curries was particularly decent. It’s inevitably pile it high in its design, but I liked that they had a wide range of food and it met my expectations in terms of the taste, temperature and presentation. Indeed, looking at the photos, it’s making my hungry again.

There are the usual refillable soft drinks as well and I went through far too many fizzy Vimtos, but they’re not often available and I’m easily pleased at the best of times. The portion sizes that the restaurant let me get were a little excessive, but it’s fair to say that I left not feeling hungry, and Liam seemed equally satisfied with the volume of food as well. Despite it being busy, the restaurant had plenty of food counters and I was rather pleased that Liam had picked such an excellent choice of place to go to. I need more friends who will take me on road trips and to all you can eat restaurants 🙂

And, after about another hour of driving, into the Mercure in Daventry, who had pre-annoyed me by ignoring my emails asking what time I could check-in at (which is really me checking they won’t oversell the room) and whether the bar was still open. 90% of Accor hotels seem to respond within an hour, some within minutes, so I wasn’t overly impressed as unlike Liam I do get worried about rooms being oversold. We got our free welcome drinks (which they forgot about unlike I helpfully reminded them) that I’m not sure we needed after such a long and brave day of zip-lining, but the Camden Pale Ale tasted as it should. There was a wedding going on at the hotel, but it didn’t give us any noise issues and the hotel pricing was very reasonable, so no complaints there.

Anyway, that was the end of a long day, and I don’t need to mention the bravery we showed (particularly me) as I may have happened upon that subject a few times already. And sorry to Stuart that there wasn’t likely as much coverage of Wales as he would have ideally liked.

June 19, 2022
Sunday : Returning from Daventry via St. Neots

Leaving the Mercure in Daventry, which had provided us with a quiet and restful night after the bravery of the previous day. Wetherspoons makes another appearance here, we (technically Liam did most of this) drove to St. Neots to visit the Weeping Ash, which means that I’ve now visited every one of the chain’s outlets in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Getting to these pubs is often quite challenging for me on public transport and Liam provides an excellent chauffeur for such adventures, I think I will use his car driving services again.

Safely arriving into St Neots, a war memorial at Tan Yard, a road named after a tanning yard where cattle hides were made into leather.

This piece of land was used as a baptist church, since demolished but some of the graves remain. They’ve made a nice little park area from the site, but it feels sad that the church has been lost, it would have been so important to many people in the nineteenth century.

The pub we had come to see, the Weeping Ash. Pinching the text from the company’s web-site about the pub’s history:

“This former post office stands on part of what was once a much-admired Victorian garden belonging to the house across the road – the home of William Medland, an important man in St Neots. Bank manager and town commissioner, Medland died in 1872 in his late 60s. His widow lived in the house until the 1890s, when it was bought for the Conservative Club, which is still there. Medland’s garden was well known for its many fine trees and shrubs, particularly for its ‘magnificent weeping ash’.”

I have no complaints about the pub, it was clean, well managed and sizeable. The reviews on-line are a little less impressive, with the usual sneering type:

“It’s full of lads in white trainers and white socks that are really excited but have no idea what their excited about and badly dressed girls”

Fortunately, we didn’t have white trainers or white socks to avoid clearly offending this customer.

“They gave me a empty coffee cup without saying I needed to go and fill it up myself like I’m supposed to know this”

I do see this occasionally, often when the empty coffee cup is traipsed half way across the pub by a staff member, and then the confused customer has to traipse the same distance back to get their drink.

I find simple things entertaining, so was very excited to see a new type of coffee machine at a JD Wetherspoons. Now, I accept that I should get out more rather than spend time writing drivel like this, but it pleased me. For £1.20 for unlimited hot drinks, a complete bargain as far as I’m concerned.

It was a little early, but I did get a quick half with my hot drink, just so I could comment on the beer quality. I’m very dedicated to ensuring beer quality, but I do it for very selfless reasons of course. I went for the Jemima’s Pitchfork from the Glamorgan Brewing Co, a not particularly interesting beer, but at least well-kept.

The very keenly priced avocado muffin, my new go to breakfast option since the recent price hikes on the traditional breakfast.

And that is pretty much that, a really fun weekend and I won’t mention my bravery on the zip-lining again as I mentioned it once yesterday. Road trips with exciting things like craft beer (or just beer), adventure and Greggs are one of my favourite things, a rare event as I’m nearly always on public transport which is of course also exciting, but a change is good for the soul.

Thanks to Liam for marvellous company and I’m already looking forward to the next one (although I’m not sure my one or two blog readers can cope with even more bravery comments, but there we go…..). Although I might make him get Untappd for the next trip.

June 19, 2022
Saturday : Arriving Into Wales (Zip-Lining Bravery)

Breakfast on the bright and sunny Saturday was a delicious chicken bake from Greggs. I didn’t want to eat too much as we were bravely going zip-lining later on in the morning, which I had been dreading for the previous two weeks.

We had an hour to spare before the bravery of the zip-lining, so we popped into Merthyr Tydfil to have a look at the hi-vis clothing market. Stuart from the LDWA has been muttering about when will there be content about Wales. Well, here it is. Soak up this Welsh blog content.

St. David’s which was constructed in 1847 for the increasing size of the English congregation arriving into the town, with St Tydfil’s catering for the Welsh speaking locals. The latter has shut now, so everyone is in this church.

A statue of local man Seymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland (1877-1928), in front of the town’s library.

Y Dic Penderyn, the town’s JD Wetherspoons. We popped in to use the facilities and weren’t tempted to stay for various reasons, mainly because I was worried about being ill on this bloody zip-lining that was careering towards us (in terms of time, not literally).

I thought that there would be a fascinating back story to this interestingly named street, but it seems that it was named after a nearby Chinese launderette. Very cultured.

Some random signs about the town’s history, I assume to try and liven up Hong Kong Alley.

The town could have been rightly proud of the former station building that was here, constructed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The sign here notes that it was designed to be like Paddington railway station in London, so this would have been a marvellous building to keep. Instead, the locals ordered it to be demolished and replaced with a Tesco. The railway still serves the town, but what a huge loss of a decent station building. Anyway, entirely underwhelmed with the heritage in the town, although impressed by the hi-vis jackets market, it was time to make the last bit of the driving (specifically Liam doing the driving, I sat there doing the worrying) before the zip-lining.

We arrived. I was pre-annoyed about the whole arrangement and blamed Liam for this being his idea. Technically it was my idea, but he had agreed to it, so that’s the same thing.

The check-in process, I was too concerned with the situation to concentrate on this. They do weigh you to ensure you’re within the weight limits, which I was pleased to note that we were. Although secretly I had hoped I had put on weight so that I didn’t have to do it. Everyone was very friendly and things seemed calm, with no ambulances on site or anything.

Liam was more excited than I was. I commented that perhaps we should go and find a pub if he was scared. He said he wasn’t.

Before we went for our go, we had a quick look at what to expect. This is the end of the zip-lining and this didn’t fill me with confidence as it looked quite fast.

This didn’t entirely help reassure me about the arrangements either if I’m being honest.

Watching the other victims coming down.

And here there’s a gap in proceedings, as we then went to get kitted up in the heap of equipment needed to do this zip-lining thing. It’s expensive, at £50 per person, but I had some vouchers that I was given that I wanted to use up, so it felt that it was free to me. There are plenty of staff around the place, which was reassuring I suppose, although I was surprised to see the number of people willing to pay this £50 each. I’m not sure that I would have been paying that personally for this ordeal.

There’s not much that we needed to be told by the team members, other than to enjoy the experience, which I didn’t plan to if I’m being honest. We were put into harnesses, as this is the fastest seated zip-line in the world or something, and then given a helmet and goggles. We then shuffled to the van and were driven up the big mountain to the top.

So, we were driven to where it says Zip World Top on the map and there are two zip-lines to go on, the first goes over the lake, then there’s a short walk before going down the second one. I was able to manoeuvre Liam and I near to the front of the queue for our session, although we were still waiting for the group in the previous time slot to finish. I suspect we were waiting there for around ten minutes in line, with the tension increasing as we shuffled nearer to the front. Liam mentioned he was just very slightly scared, but since nothing stresses, worries or frightens him, I doubted he was particularly on edge and I think that was his attempt at being reassuring. I ignored it.

I was waiting for my fear of heights to kick in, but I was reassured that the top of the zip-line platform is not on a sheer edge. That means if it were all to break and I fell off the zip-line straight away, I’ll fall about two metres, which seemed manageable, if not ideal. It’s the waiting for the things that’s the worst, but I was pleased that my fear of heights actually never kicked in, so I was unusually unstressed by the arrangements. I mentioned to one or two people (perhaps twelve) about how brave I was being.

Four people go down the zip-line at once in a line, so you can race if you want. I had no interest in racing, I was focused on surviving. There was a group of three younger women in front of us, one of whom was looking for someone to blame, so I felt a bond with her. I mentioned to the guy in charge that Liam and I wanted to go down together, so they set the three women off and there was lots of screaming. Not ideal.

Then it was our turn, two sisters, as well as Liam and myself. I moved Liam from the end position of the four as I felt the need for protection by being on the edge, so I was at the right-hand side. I did query with the guy about why was I wearing a helmet if this zip-lining was safe, and he couldn’t answer that to my satisfaction. He also confirmed that there had been no bird strikes of riders recently although he said he could find a gun for me to shoot them with if that would help. I checked on numerous other elements of the safety arrangements and they confirmed no-one had ever plummeted to their death. I ignored the “there’s always a first time” comment.

I had thought there was some sort of seat that you, well, sat in. But, it was all part of the harness arrangement I had been trudging up the mountain with me, so they just get you to sit back and put your legs up. After I queried six times that I wasn’t sure I was that versatile or flexible, we were all set.

There’s a board which is moved across which means that you can actually then go if you move your feet off the wall, but just as that happened, one of the sisters panicked and said she didn’t want to do it. They tried quickly to get her to change her mind, but they didn’t push that and just unhooked her as the board was moved back again to protect us from accidentally going. Liam reassured me that he didn’t think she could hear my safety questioning of the team members, so I didn’t put her off. She had though been evidently nervous before, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that she backed out.

And with that, I didn’t have much choice other than to be brave and think of Poland. It was actually all rather exciting, I never did get a fear of heights, as it was more like being in an aircraft (although more Ryanair than British Airways) and there was no fear of falling. Liam was trying to race down as he’s like that, but I quite enjoyed just being in the air. The guy had mentioned to tuck your legs under you if you started to sway and that trick worked for me.

We got to the bottom of the first zip-line and I was very excited at how brave I’d been. Liam had nearly gone through the two brakes of the safety system as he’s always enthusiastic like that, but my landing was more sedate. I then charged up the tower for the second zip-line, forgetting I’m scared of heights, and told the group in front how brave I’d been. They were equally impressed with their bravery, but I thought I just had the edge if I’m honest, although I didn’t say anything. The younger woman remaining from our group was disappointed that her sister had backed out, she thought that she would have enjoyed it. And I think that’s almost certainly the case.

The second zip-line was about the same speed and Liam nearly went flying through the braking system again, but he spent half of his journey down doing some odd acrobatics to show how agile he was. I just remained in the seating position they recommended, I don’t feel the need to be overly adventurous. Safely unclipped, I looked back up the mountain and commented to myself, and several people passing by, about my bravery. The mother of the two girls arrived and didn’t seem thrilled that she had spent £50 for one of her daughters to be driven to the top of a hill and driven back down again, but there we go….

No, this isn’t a SAS recruitment poster, that’s me after my very brave zip-lining experience. I did think about phoning (well, e-mailing, I’m obviously not going to phone people) the SAS (the military people, not the airline) to see if they needed any new applicants or even trainers, but I couldn’t find on the Ministry of Defence web-site a craft beer menu from the military bar and that would be a deal-breaker for me.

The expedition ended with a packet of crisps each from the cafe and I mentioned to Liam just how brave I’d been. I would do all of this again and there are a number of sites in Wales where this company operates from. There’s one where you lie down which seems quite exciting, but I might come back to that in the future. Liam spent the next fifteen minutes on his phone planning dates in the future when he could take his children down the zip-line, but that’s because he was primarily excited about doing it all again himself. I would say though that Liam was an ideal person to do this with, he’s good company and doesn’t panic about things, which is very handy in these near-death situations.

As if this adventure wasn’t enough though, it was then time to go paddle-boarding….

June 18, 2022
Friday : Off To Wales (Part Three – Gloucester and Beer)

In part three of this riveting series of posts, Liam and I have managed now to navigate our way around various Greggs across the country, have faffed about at a National Trust property and have now arrived in Gloucester. I admit, the Wales element of this trip is still a little way off in writing terms, but I’ve called it that as I was very brave in Wales and that’s how I want the weekend remembered.

We got to Gloucester and Liam mentioned that we had managed to park on Cromwell Street, which is perhaps best known for being where the crimes of Fred and Rosemary West took place. I hadn’t realised that this was in the centre of the city, I had just assumed it was in some obscure outlying area.

I’m not normally into dark tourism, but this is where the property was, now demolished and replaced with a small green area and a widened road. It’s odd to think of the crimes committed there, but there was no point dwelling on that as I’m sure the city has wanted to move on from this for some time.

We walked into the town centre and this is the signage relating to the East Gate.

And there are the remnants of the structure. These defences to protect the city were built by the Romans soon after they had established Gloucester as a settlement in AD 68. A thirteenth century tower was placed on top and the structures have been much changed, but some Roman remains are still there nearly two thousand years on.

A quick walk across the main square, or at least, a big square.

We were trying to kill an hour before moving the car to the hotel’s car park, as it was much cheaper after a certain time. As we were visiting the decadent pubs in city later on, we popped to the Wetherspoons outlet, the Regal, for a quick drink.

The interior of the pub and I did feel watched throughout by someone.

But I was too busy with my 50p Mini Cheddars to worry about people looking at me, whilst Liam had rather more decadent crisps. The beer is half a pint of Wychert from the Vale Brewery Co which was well-kept and slightly under-poured. I thought that I’d better have a quick look at the pub’s reviews, a little towards the bottom end of JD Wetherspoons outlets.

“This Wetherspoons has recently started offering Pizza on the menu. We have tried them a couple of times and they were delicious. However, today we ordered them expecting the same quality,but they were disgusting. There was virtually no topping on them, they were not even the correct shape! I complained about it, and I was given another one, which was much the same as the other one, but with dollops of cheese here and there. Needless to say, we will not be ordering a Pizza again.”

I don’t disagree with this review, as JD Wetherspoon pizzas are in my view cheap rubbish that would be best lifted off the menu, but obviously enough people like them. Anyway, there are two cultural references here that I liked, the dollops reminding me of Friday Night Dinner and the needless to say bit reminding me of Alan Partridge.

“Was served a pint in a badly chipped glass. When I complained I was told that they could not replace the drink as I had consumed some. The best they could do was tip the drink into a fresh glass. Very poor”

Always tricky, pubs usually do pour it into a new glass instead from my experience. This review could have done with photos so I could assess the badly chipped glass.

“Ladies toilets smell horrible and a notice on the door to warn of male workman being in there would of been helpful”

I wonder if there’s more a back story to this one.

“Got charged for a drinks mixer I didn’t order when brought my complaints to the manager nothing was resolved. In short this experience has turned me against pubs, first time going to one since lockdown ended & also Last time I will make that mistake, #StayHomeStaySafe #boycott #ItsMoreFunToDrinkAtHome”

It isn’t more fun to drink at home, so I ignored this review (beyond carefully reading it, copying it and commenting on it).

“The waitress brought out a plate with a very small jacket potato and a small chicken breast on it, the presentation was disgusting. We had to ask for a side salad for my friend. They could of at least put some peas, sweet corn or carrots on the plate with it to make it look appetising.”

Presentation of a meal is disgusting because there are no vegetables?

“salad was NOT fresh when spoke to manager about the salad she told me thats how it comes its pre cut and if they would make fresh salad no one would get food as they would spend all day cutting it”

Spend all day cutting it, that’s a classy comment I think, they should have given the manager some praise for that.

“This is honestly the most disgusting place I’ve ever been”

Some people need to get out more.

“Asked if EURO2020 could be put on the TV instead of the news which no-one was watching, but was told ‘no, we don’t do football here’”

And that’s a 5/5 from me. But that’s enough reading of reviews, I have a blog to write.

When I booked the hotels for this weekend several weeks before the event, the prices were high across Wales and England, the cheaper rates of the last two years have certainly gone away. I don’t know why the Travelodge in Gloucester was relatively cheap, but I picked it because I hadn’t been to the city recently, it was a short walk from the centre and there were nearby pubs.

I went to check-in whilst Liam parked the car, taking advantage of the cheap rate of £2 overnight. I had to wait a few minutes as the staff member was being ill outside, but the staff were so friendly that I felt entirely welcome. Travelodge might have some problems, but they do recruit some excellent staff, although whether or not they should have someone so ill behind the counter is a different point. But they gave me a heap of coffees on request and the booking was all as I expected.

There are two centres to Gloucester, or in leisure and hospitality terms anyway. There’s the Quays area and then the city centre, around a twenty minute or so walk between the two. We started in the Quays area as that’s where the hotel was located.

We weren’t entirely sure where to go for food, but I’ve been to some other outlets of Brewhouse so we thought we’d try there as they haven’t annoyed me in the past.

It’s not the best craft beer around, but it’s credible enough for my liking. The staff member at the door was helpful, saying that they were at near capacity, but she then worked out that a table would be available for us in around twenty minutes. I appreciated the helpfulness as they certainly were busy, and I decided I would ideally stay here for food.

There was some standing at the bar for around twenty minutes waiting for a table, but they kept us informed.

The beer choice. I work through the list in my mind, thinking about the beer styles, cross referencing them to Untappd and then having a final think about what I want. Liam decides which beer name he likes the best on that particular day. He doesn’t even have Untappd. I had two beers, the Unite Celebration, a creditable sour, and the Jamaic Ann Oatmeal Stout, which was a little lacking in depth of taste and mouthfeel.

They brew some beers here themselves, including the two that I had.

I liked the lighting. I had a lot of time to take photos of the decor as the food took over 40 minutes to be served, but to be fair, they had said they were busy and I was just pleased that we were getting food at all.

I went for the half beer can chicken, which seems to be what they shove the poor bird on to keep it tender and moist (after it’s already dead I’d add). I didn’t know what corn ribs were, but they’re essentially just bits of corn cut to make them easier to eat, which I appreciated as corn is unnecessarily fiddly. I thought that this was all very delicious, plenty of meat, the sauce had some flavour to it and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature. Liam had some pie and I don’t recall him complaining about it, so all was well and I think we were entirely satisfied with our choice of restaurant.

Next was TANK, an odd place which was poorly laid out with one clearly competent staff member and some less aware colleagues. I know this not only through my own observations, but because the competent staff member mentioned it as well. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide as it has some cask options, but their keg selection was more exciting in my view.

I went for the Dockside Dark from Gloucester Brewery, who operate this venue as a sort of taproom, and this beer is available on cask and keg, although I went for the latter. It was OK, not rich enough for my liking though, but still very drinkable. They didn’t have any tables available when we got there, although we moved inside soon enough and I noted quietly to myself the staff could do with cleaning the place. But, I mustn’t complain.

The docks at night.

Between the docks and the city centre is this sculpture which didn’t offend me, but which was voted as one of the worst in the UK a few years ago.

We then decided we’d better make the walk into the city centre and we went to the Good Beer Guide listed Pelican Inn, which was delightful in every way. The menus were on Untappd and it had that community feel to its arrangements. I think the service was a bit lacking in enthusiasm, but Liam got this round and so I can’t comment much more about that. He doesn’t ask interesting beer questions of staff though, he’s too busy seeing which beer has got the name he likes the best.

I’ve just realised that Stuart from the LDWA, who does have Untappd (unlike Liam) as I got him into that, had been to this pub. Another handy feature of Untappd is that I know that, although it’s not clear what I can do with that information. This happens a lot with Nathan, who seems to have been to every pub in the UK. I went for the Wholesome Stout from Wye Valley Brewery, which was excellent, rich, full-bodied and, well, wholesome. It’s always a delight to see Untappd screens, not least so I can look at little pictures of myself at the bottom of the screen and remind myself I need to change my profile photo on the app.

A decorated postbox. I’d never have the patience to do this and I would be highly annoyed if I had spent hours on it and then someone pinched it.

Gloucester, including some photos of the Cathedral, at night and some of these came out better than others. I’m still playing about with my new phone to get photos look as I want them.

We thought we’d have one final drink when we were back at the Quays, ticking off the JD Wetherspoon outlet which has the intriguing name of the Lord High Constable of England. Below is the history of the pub name that I pinched from the pub’s web-site:

“This building stands on the east side of the docks, between Llanthony Warehouse (now Gloucester Waterways Museum) and Llanthony Road, where it crosses Llanthony Bridge. The name ‘Llanthony’ is taken from the now-ruined medieval priory on the west bank. Llanthony Secunda Priory was established by Miles de Gloucester in 1136. Like his father and grandfather, Miles was High Sheriff of Gloucester and was also Lord High Constable of England.”

This pub is better rated on-line than their other pub in Gloucester that we had visited earlier in the day and I was surprised how busy it was. We got the only table that was still available and the atmosphere was calm and sort of welcoming despite the busy venue. It could have all been a little cleaner, but it was towards the end of a night and it was busy, so perhaps I’m being a little aspirational there given that it’s a Wetherspoons outlet.

“I and my partner apparently had a ‘complaint’ made against us for kissing in a booth, out of view and restrained”

There weren’t many reviews that caught my eye, although this one makes me wonder how they were out of view.

“I brought an alcoholic drink from bar without being asked to show my id and then later was asked to show my id to a higher member of staff witch by law you cant do that once you have been served”

I don’t think there is such a law…..

“I would give it a 0 if I could, the tables were disgusting, the management and staff were so rude and I wanted a refund and she refused to give it to me because they “already started making my food” which isnt allowed?since I work with food and if the customer wants a refund, its law tou have engine them one!”

What laws are the residents of Gloucester following?

I went for the Old Thumper from Ringwood Brewery which was OK and well-kept, but I wouldn’t write home about it (although evidently I popped my thoughts here).

A quick couple of photos from the Quays, before it was back to Travelodge ready for our day of bravery starting the next morning. A suitably busy day, evident that it’s taken me three blog posts to write up.

June 17, 2022