Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • London – Southwark (Borough of) – Anspach & Hobday

    London – Southwark (Borough of) – Anspach & Hobday

    Someone mentioned the Bermondsey Beer Mile to me last year, but most of the premises along it were shut last year when I visited, so the options were limited. Things have improved somewhat since then and there’s a good choice of venues open, although the downside is that they’re often small and Covid-19 has restricted the number of customers who can visit.

    This is the rather lovely taproom of Anspach & Hobday and they have a couple of other venues in London, including a new taproom in Croydon. The staff member at the door was friendly and helpful, telling me that they had a table for six available that wasn’t needed for nearly an hour until the next reservation, and I could have that. This pleased me. This isn’t a large location though, it has just a handful of tables inside and a small number outside, so I was rather fortunate.

    The beer fridges and the bar area, although table service was offered. It’s card only here, which I like, I agree with them that it’s the way forwards. The brewery produce quite a range of beer styles, and although it wasn’t available when I visited, I’d like to try their Sea Salt & Chilli Stout at some point.

    The beer list, including some of their own beers and some guests. Nicely balanced selection, including numerous different beer styles.

    The beers I went for, which are the Pacific Ale from Stone & Wood on the left and the porter from Anspach & Hobday themselves on the right. The former was refreshing, but not overly exciting in terms of the flavours. The porter was rich with its chocolate and coffee flavours, and it tasted fresh and was at the appropriate just slightly chilled temperature. Nice.

    The environment was clean and comfortable, I liked this taproom. Friendly staff, relaxed vibe and all really rather lovely.

  • LDWA 100 – Nick Rickard (the Story of the 100)

    LDWA 100 – Nick Rickard (the Story of the 100)

    A few weeks ago I posted (frequently actually) about my completion of the LDWA 100 and I’m delighted to be able to read the stories about the adventures that others have experienced on their attempts to walk 100 miles. Nick Rickard was one such successful completer and given that he was new to the LDWA, that’s a quite amazing achievement. And, not only that, he walked the actual planned route of the 100 in South Wales and he managed to add on a few extra miles as well. I’d say that’s a success.

    Incidentally, I love the bit about the elaborate hoax, that would have been some practical joke to play on people……

    Nick’s adventure is another entertaining and might I even say inspirational, account, of a walk not without its challenges. And given the solo nature of this walk, I’m very impressed. I would add that although Nick mentions the wettest Welsh spring on record, Dave Morgan would want me to add that it didn’t rain much on the actual event, nor on the weekend that it would have taken place last year   🙂

    Anyway, enough weather chat, onto Nick’s story of his brave experiences.

    I completed the LDWA Y Sir Fynwy as a virtual event over the late May bank holiday weekend.

    I’d joined LDWA a couple of months before and, with the lockdown restrictions, hadn’t had the opportunity to get out for any LDWA events. When I saw the LDWA 100 it caught my interest. Any the virtual format meant that I could enter without any qualifying events; if the event had gone ahead in ‘live’ format I wouldn’t have been able to do it this year as a new joiner.

    It was also only a short trip across the Severn Bridge from Bristol to Chepstow so it seemed a good idea to take on a route that others had already planned rather than coming up with my own. With not much free time in the lead up to the weekend, I hadn’t been able to study the route. I’d printed off and downloaded the maps, and had tried to plan my start time to hit towns in daylight for shopping so I was happy that I would be safe. But I would normally like to spend time poring over the map detail to understand where I might go wrong, where the hillier and flatter bits were, etc, so that I can spend more time enjoying the sights and experience.

    So feeling more tired than ideal and what is perhaps best described as ‘sub-optimal dietary functions’ I got a lift across to Chepstow school and was pleased to see two others there also about to set off which reassured me that this was real and not an elaborate hoax. I set off shortly before 6am on Saturday morning, immediately passing Chepstow Castle (above) and then out onto the Severn estuary. The first part was flat with constant views across the Severn bridges and I made really good progress. After Severn Tunnel Junction, the route turned inland and the climb up Gray Hill afforded great views back and a hazy view across to the North Devon coast.

    Pushing on through Wentwood and past some very friendly and inquisitive young goats – that were brave enough to lick my already slightly aromatic shoes – I made it down into Usk for the first stop where I topped up food and drinks at the local shops.

    I was pleased with the fast progress I was making and I was a couple of hours ahead of my hard target of getting to Abergavenny before the shops closed for the evening. It was warming up in the afternoon sun and was warm as the route roughly followed the Usk at low level through fields and woodland.

    Reaching Abergavenny, I took full advantage of the kebab shop and convenience store to refuel and resupply ahead of the next long and overnight leg, and spent a while in the glamorous surroundings of a bench by the car park after seeing it was a long and continuous climb on the road out of Abergavenny. The climb was rewarded with a beautiful ridge and panoramic views. Just after descending off this I came across a field of very friendly and very noisy pigs/hogs. It was fine in the daylight but I feared for anyone entering that field in the dark being confronted with a very unusual noise.

    On through Llanthony, with a water top up at the campsite tap, and it meant I could do the main climb in, just about, daylight which had been my optimistic target. So I was thrilled to only be putting the headtorch on as I was on top of Hatterrall Ridge and it was lovely along there and the following descent into Longtown.

    It was from here that I started to struggle. The, erm, digestive issues, had not gone away and, accompanied by a glitch on my phone mapping app, my nighttime navigation on the paper maps was slower than I wanted. I knew this was a long and unrelenting stretch and morale definitely dropped. I made some silly little navigation mistakes. Especially in Pandy where I spent ages in the housing estate trying to find the way out of the urban maze and wondered how many other residents had been and were yet to be woken by tired people stumbling up and down cul-de-sacs.

    The wettest Welsh spring on record conspired for some very slow going fields across the rolling farmland. Whoever in the South Wales LDWA had come up with the idea of small silver reflectors on gateposts, and then going out to physically fix them, was a big help as in some cases it made it easier to cross a field at night compared to day as the target stile reflected back immediately in the headtorch beam rather than trying to pick out which gap in the hedge might be the right one. Especially as the mud meant that there was little trace of a worn path on the ground. Despite being a good night towards the summer solstice, the night section went on far too long for me, possibly not helped that the section I found myself in from Pandy to Monmouth was perhaps the least distinctive.

    Daylight brought a lovely sunrise and cloud inversion. By now I was finding the negative in everything so my feet which had previously been wet from all the mud were now wet from all the dew on the long grass! I could feel that so many hours in wet socks was starting to take it’s toll on my feet and then were beginning to feel quite tender.

    By chance, a friend of mine was camping on the route about 5k short of Monmouth so as it was now daylight I called in there for a cup of tea and water top up (I hadn’t eaten overnight and knew I wouldn’t eat again before the finish) and got some company on the leg to Monmouth which was really needed as I was struggling to keep any sort of a pace. We met a man in Monmouth who had just finished and I was equal parts happy and jealous knowing that it was a long and increasingly hot and hilly trudge back to Chepstow.

    I didn’t enjoy the Monmouth to Chepstow section at all. I was getting slower and slower on my tender feet and unfortunately was too focussed on trying to move forward without making navigational errors that I didn’t pay any attention to the scenery. Texting my lift about estimated finish time saw the target move ever outwards. I was grateful that quite a lot of this was in shade as my now the midday Sunday sun was making for a very warm day. It is probably an unfair perception brought on by my tiredness, but I felt the last bit was rather brutal and whilst off the beaten track perhaps missed some of the sights that the Wye Valley has to offer. Maybe it wouldn’t be the same but I pondered whether an easier run in might have been a better choice.

    But I eventually got through Tintern and back to Chepstow school by late Sunday afternoon prompted by the thought of a former friend and his legendary pointy stick that he used to cajole backmarkers into forward progress.

    With my navigation errors, and a deliberate detour to see the tunnel entrance at Severn Tunnel Junction, I clocked up just over 105 miles against an advertised 100.8miles. Better value for my entry fee!

    I’m really grateful for all the effort that went into the route and event planning and it’s such a shame for South Wales LDWA that they couldn’t have hosted this for real. It was nice to see some other LDWAers and their support crew out as virtual company on my way round. I’d recommend the last leg of Monmouth to Chepstow for anyone wanting a vigorous c20 mile workout.

    After shower, kit wash, and bed, the next morning was spent trying to pull my photos, route, and waypoints into the evidence pack required by the validation team. Certainly a learning point for me here. Other virtual events I’ve done have been either on honesty or, for podium prizes (which I never trouble!), a Strava/Garmin gpx track. So having only skim read the evidence email beforehand, I was surprised by the amount of information required by the validation team. Thanks go to them for what must be a very extensive and thorough exercise, and I hope I got enough photos on the way round to support my solo submission; fingers crossed.

  • London – Merton (Borough of) – Site of Wimbledon’s Plough Lane Stadium

    London – Merton (Borough of) – Site of Wimbledon’s Plough Lane Stadium

    Clicking on the above dual map makes it a more viewable size and it shows where Wimbledon’s football ground stood until relatively recently. It’s where the cursor is on the map and not the Plough Lane Stadium, which is where the club is now. The football team became quite notorious in the 1980s when they played at the original Plough Lane site, but the ground proved difficult to upgrade to meet new safety requirements of the time.

    This is what the football stadium looks like now. The old stadium, which was used by the football for first team matches between September 1912 and May 1991, was finally demolished in 2002. Safeway had wanted to build a supermarket on it, but the council faffed about a bit, so the project got delayed and then cancelled. A new more recent project has seen a large housing development built on the site of the former stadium.

    To mark the site of the former ground, this sculpture was placed on the corner of Plough Lane and Durnsford Road in 2010.

    The club’s crest is visible on the back of the sculpture, which was designed by Sam Burford. I’m not sure that I really understand what the whole sculpture is all about, but it’s useful that the site of the former stadium is marked.

  • London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – By The Horns Brewery Tap

    London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – By The Horns Brewery Tap

    I’m slowly, but very surely, working my way around London’s breweries and this one in between Tooting and Wimbledon is also listed in the Good Beer Guide (which I’m also working my way around). So, yesterday I made a booking on-line for today, and then was on course to arrive half an hour early so went to sit in a nearby graveyard to wait. Incidentally, I liked that it let me make a booking for one person, I inwardly tut when I see somewhere only allows bookings for two or more people.

    There was a friendly welcome from the staff member, who explained the ordering process which was done on-line using a QR code. It clearly wasn’t entirely packed with customers as the staff member knew my name when I said I had a reservation, but I’m always happy that I’m in the right place. The ordering system was all efficient and easy to use, and the environment was comfortable. It’s not the largest indoors space, but there are several tables and the outdoor area gives them more flexibility on numbers.

    I was given the chance to move my reservation outside into the hot external seating area, like everyone else seemed to be doing during my visit, but I was quite content inside in the cold. I’ve had enough of London’s heatwave…. I’d actually had enough of the heatwave yesterday about ten minutes after it started, but I digress…. The cricket was also showing on the television and the staff member mentioned I could turn the volume up if I wanted. I didn’t, but I liked the engagement and I also liked the ready supply of power points dotted around.

    There’s an in-house pizza oven and the taproom surroundings are industrial and what I consider to be on-trend and exciting.

    The reasonably priced pizza menu is visible in the above photo (click the image to enlarge it).

    The brewery’s web-site seemed to focus on IPAs, but I noticed they had two darker options available and so I went for half a pint of each. The Lambeth Walk is a porter made by the brewery and it had a pleasant taste with an aftertaste of chocolate and coffee, although it wasn’t quite as rich a flavour as I had expected. A nice beer though and it tasted well-kept (it should since they made it here so it’s hardly gone far) and was at the appropriate temperature. I don’t like porters that are served at some point near freezing, although I might have forgiven that today given the heat. Anyway, it was all perfectly served.

    I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Deep Funk which is also made here, it’s what they call a farmhouse stout (is that a thing?) and it’s a rye kettle soured stout mixed with a graf, which is effectively a beer cider (I had to Google that). I wasn’t sure whether I was ordering an artisan craft product or an expensive snakebite, but either way, I liked it. A complex taste, or as much as beer and cider mixed together can be, and there were some interesting flavours going on. The mixture of sourness and sharpness worked for me, although I’m struggling to put that effectively into words. It’s not hugely well rated in reviews, but it’s something different and I like trying new concepts.

    Anyway, I liked this brewery and the taproom set-up, it was a relaxed environment and the staff were friendly and everything was organised. There’s usually a wider beer range I understand, but I was entirely satisfied with what they had. I’ve mentioned already that the whole look is quite on-trend, but I don’t think they’ve tried to create that deliberately, it’s just a by-product of friends interested in making craft beer. All really rather lovely.

  • Southrepps – St. James’s Church

    Southrepps – St. James’s Church

    Southrepps is a small village in the north of Norfolk, which we visited when marshalling the LDWA 100 and we’ve also used it as a checkpoint during events. However, although the church remains today a large structure, it was once a much more substantial building with side aisles and there was clearly some wealth here in the past.

    The Grade I listed church dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, although it was constructed on the same site as an earlier building. The four-stage tower, which is grand and rather beautiful, dates from the middle of the fifteenth century. There are scallop shells in the stone, as the church is dedicated to St. James of Compostella.

    The font, which is from the fourteenth century (and has recently been restored), and the base of the tower. There are six bells in the tower, with one dating to fifteenth century, four of them dating to 1641 and the other one is more recent, from 1988.

    The side aisles were removed in 1791 although the arcading is still visible on the side of the nave. I assume that the structural situation and lack of finances at the time meant that the removal of the aisles was inevitable, but I wonder if the congregation of the time were somewhat saddened at the situation. There wouldn’t have been much of a congregation by the end of the eighteenth century and funding a church of that size would have been of some considerable burden to the locals. The impressive roof is a more recent addition, having been reconstructed at the beginning of the twentieth century.

    The medieval screen with its oak panels, which I assume were painted over following the Reformation as there isn’t much imagery remaining.

    The church’s grand chancel, much restored in the nineteenth century.

    It’s fair to say that the window arrangement in the chancel allows a considerable amount of light into the church.

    What I assume is a piscina in the wall of the chancel, perhaps original to here or perhaps from the end of one of the removed aisles.

    There isn’t much left from the medieval chancel, as nineteenth century modernisations swept most of that away, but these sections remain.

    Unfortunately, it seems that the stone here is still crumbling (but on the bright side, the church was granted some restoration funds a few weeks ago), but I like the touches of medieval history that remain here.

    This is a rather beautiful church and an effort is made to keep it open which is really lovely. The tall tower, one of the highest in the county, is a reminder of the wealth which once existed in Southrepps, despite the impact that the Black Death had in the area.

  • LDWA 100 – Rory Bennett (the Story of the 100)

    LDWA 100 – Rory Bennett (the Story of the 100)

    Over the last weekend there were hundreds of entrants in the LDWA 100, all brave attempts to walk 100 miles in 48 hours. Every one of those walks comes with its own story, with some being successful in their aims and some not, but that doesn’t take away from the achievements that were still reached. One of the little interviews I did before the event was with Rory Bennett, and although I’m collecting up other stories to post a selection of experiences, I felt that this one warranted its own post.

    We had a Facebook group and WhatsApp group for entrants and I was aware that Rory was retiring as he posted briefly about his decision at the time. I noted Dave tried to offer him encouragement to keep going, as this completing 100 miles is very much a mental challenge, but sometimes it’s best to concede defeat and try again another day (or learn from the experience and not try again another day, which is usually my strategy).

    In Rory’s account below, I thought that the issue with the battery pack is interesting, sometimes these things can seem like it’s life’s way of telling you to stop, although a lack of power is in itself potentially a huge problem (I mean that in terms of navigation really, although some of us have a need to check social media feeds as well).

    And so, this is Rory’s story of his walk, one which I found a very honest and interesting account of his adventure.

    In the months prior to this 100 I had been focusing on pushing myself mentally as I knew physically I could take on the 100 having completed one with huge support last year. There were 2 aspects that I would follow through to make this a greater challenge to myself.

    Firstly, I would be walking the majority of the route alone relying on shops to refuel and the huge effort put in by the LDWA into the social media channels and the WhatsApp group to keep my mind sane. I would only be joined at 2 points on my walk by friends and family totalling around 25 miles, and at the half way point (The Skirrid near Abergavenny) for a ‘checkpoint’ with my half way bag and pre planned change of boots for the night section.

    Secondly I had planned to set off at the earliest point possible (midnight on the Friday night). This was initially to make sure I caught the food shops on my return leg so I could stock up for the night walk, but I also had this desire to see how my mind and body would cope walking through 2 nights having not experienced it fully before.

    I had managed to grab just under 2 hours sleep Friday evening before the alarm went off at 11pm. After some last minute preparations and an impromptu ‘first baby kicking’ special moment for me & my partner I was out through the door just after midnight and starting on my next 100 journey.

    View from Hergest Ridge towards the Black Mountains

    It was a beautifully warm night and over the first 16 miles I had plenty of hills, encounters with bats, deer, worms and sheep before rolling down into Kington with my first view of daylight which was a welcome sight.

    Marker stone distance marking Pandy, the halfway mark and Hay Bluff in the background

    The next 15 miles into Hay flew by and I was making good progress and feeling fine, only hampered by soaking wet feet. After a quick refuel and a change of socks I headed out of Hay, up Hay Bluff and down the Black Mountains onto Hatterall Ridge.

    The ridge with The Skirrid & Sugar Loaf in the background

    It had all been going a bit too well up until this point and the monotonous ridge line of the Black Mountains soon hit home. Thinking I was making serious progress, all excitement soon past when I realised I had only covered a mile or two. With the heat increasing I really began to feel the pain in my feet having not properly dried them out in 12 hours and the constant pounding on hot ground.

    The pain was all worth it when I hit Hatterall Hill and descended down into Llanvihangel Crucorney where, most importantly, a well stocked checkpoint, fresh boots and family awaited. After a 20 minute sit down (my first break up until this point) we were back up and running and onto the halfway mark – up and over Skirrid.

    Halfway at The Skirrid trigpoint

    Maybe not my finest choice to push myself over halfway, but a beautiful mountain and one of my favourites.

    Unfortunately that was the end of my good run. What I hadn’t realised is that spilt liquid from a bottle had knocked out my battery pack which I was relying on for the night section to keep me on track and in touch with fellow walkers and family. Not a problem for the daylight though as I was using paper maps. Queue the next issue – I hadn’t had chance to recce the next section as it was mostly lanes with a couple of linking footpaths and I thought it best to concentrate on the night section. On paper it looked simple but in reality it was an absolute killer. Firstly I had a nightmare of a time trying to navigate a footpath that was on the map but classically didn’t exist. After hopping over ditches, hedges and fences I made it back to signs of normality and back onto the lanes.

    The next problem was the mileage – I was expecting to cover this section in 3 hours, be in Ewyas Harold by around 7:30pm where fish and chips and my partner and puppy would be waiting. In reality this section took over 4 hours, was five miles longer than I was expecting and meant I had to really push to make it to the stop and the ever crucial food restock. By this point I’d been thinking for a while about stopping and slowly the thoughts had come clearer and clearer.

    With the prospect of being nearing 2 hours behind schedule, 65 miles in on 2 hours sleep and 21 hours walking, completely exhausted and no way of keeping in touch with family and fellow walkers through the night section I decided to bow out and catch a lift home. It was a really tough call to make but at the time I just couldn’t face heading back out into the dark alone. Especially as parts of the next section had some particularly difficult navigation in.

    In reality I should have taken an hour out and reconsidered my options, but I don’t regret my decision. It’s funny how much of an impact exhaustion can have on your body and mind. Physically I felt great and the next 40 miles didn’t seem a problem. Mentally I was in a bad place, had tears in my eyes and couldn’t face taking another step. Really the scenarios leading up to this moment were all small and manageable but together and combined with lack of sleep pushed me over the edge. I should have mentioned it sooner to fellow walkers who are always full to the brim of constructive advice that maybe would had got me through the night but i’m certainly not thinking of what ifs.

    However that was all the point – I wanted to push my body and mind to the limit. To see what I was capable of in that situation. On Saturday I found my limits, for now. Now I just have to find a way around them and extend them, to push them further. To say I was gutted to withdraw is an understatement. It really hurt for a while after knowing I failed to achieve what I had set out to do, especially as I’d never pulled out of a challenge walk before. That being said, I’m certainly more determined for the next one with a huge amount of lessons learnt along the way. I’ve never felt this good after walking a strong 65 miles and I’ve also never before planned 3 x 100+ mile walks within 24 hours of a challenge walk – bring on the next one & the Trans Pennine 100!

    PS. if you’re ever passing Ewyas Harold, The Old Stables fish and chip shop is seriously on point. I would probably recommend driving there though…

    [I’d add that I think Rory’s suggestion on this fish and chip shop is a marvellous one!]

    When I started planning this walk it felt like a potentially very lonely 100. What it turned out to be was a nationwide walk with friends. The constant support prior to and over the weekend was a huge bonus and completely unexpected. A huge thanks goes out to all the organising team behind this event for making it happen and for being on call with constant support, banter and congratulations for what seemed to be every minute of the weekend (did you even sleep??) And a massive congratulations to everyone who got up and stepped out of their door. No matter how far you walked you achieved something seriously impressive. It certainly was a 100 with a difference!

    [I did sleep a little, but the excitement of the whole event meant I had to keep checking what was happening (as did Dave Morgan and Alan Warrington who were ever present], I didn’t want to miss any gossip! Also, people sacrificed time to help me with my 100, so it was a delight to help others with theirs]

  • Accor Hotel at Heathrow – A Bit Shut

    Accor Hotel at Heathrow – A Bit Shut

    I arrived with great excitement to my Accor hotel near Heathrow (I’m not going anywhere from the airport, it was just where I was staying) and had the slightly annoying situation that it was shut. I said to myself that this definitely wasn’t ideal. A staff member on site helpfully told me that I’d come to the right hotel, but that it had been shut for five months. They added that this was the problem with booking with third party sites, and I’d need to contact them to deal with the issue.

    Unfortunately, I hadn’t used a third party site, I’d booked directly with Accor. So I phoned them and was delighted when a real life person answered the Platinum/Diamond support line (I was pleased my call got routed there, it made me feel important….). They were really quite friendly and they apologised several times, realising that the booking was valid for a shut hotel (if there’s such a thing as a valid booking for a shut hotel). The first stage of their resolution was to set up a complaint which they immediately upgraded to Stage 2. I don’t know what that means, but it sounded exciting. The second stage of their resolution was to rebook me in a nearby Novotel hotel as I didn’t fancy sleeping at the airport (I didn’t intend to recreate the film Terminal) and Heathrow never liked that at the best of times, so I imagine it’s impossible now. That worked out (the rebooking, not the sleeping at Heathrow), although they couldn’t get through to the hotel to guarantee the booking, but they booked it internally anyway.

    The resolution team is meant to be getting in touch with me over the next couple of days, although I like the hotel that I’ve been moved to. They did tell me to keep my receipts and get a taxi there, but I couldn’t be going through all that stress so I just walked the thirty minutes to the new hotel. It was a lovely walk near the Bath Road with the sun setting. Not the three night stay that I had expected, but I won’t complain at three nights at the Novotel.

    I would be annoyed, but I like Accor and to be honest, I quite like the drama and excitement….. The two staff members on the phone actually sounded interested in helping, so that was all positive. Although I’ve now got to work out where to get the 222 bus to get to the Piccadilly line….. I could get the Hotel Hoppa bus and charge Accor, but I hate that service and I don’t fancy faffing about sending receipts. Anyway, that’s another adventure I’ve gotten myself into.

  • Colchester – The Magnet Micropub (Interview)

    Colchester – The Magnet Micropub (Interview)

    I’ve worked my way around many pubs in Colchester, but I was delighted to hear (on an LDWA walk where one of the walkers is friends with the owners….) that there’s a new one opening and especially so as it’s a micropub. I drone on about those a lot and I suspect many more will open in the years to come, which is something rather positive for the hospitality industry.

    Anyway, although I haven’t had chance to visit yet, the owners kindly agreed to do a little interview. This also means that I am now planning a little road trip with friends to visit Colchester pubs again (any excuse I admit….), including the Magnet.

    The pub opened in late May 2021, so this is all new and exciting. I like the “an idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub”, as I’ve had great (or what I considered to be great) ideas with friends in similar circumstances. I also think that this idea must have been formed in the very lovely Hop Beer Shop, which I visited last year.

    The micropub is located in part of the former Norfolk pub on North Station Road, a short walk from Colchester railway station. Which makes it an ideal location to pop to before getting a train (or having just got off one for that matter). The pub takes its name from William Gilbert, a local scientist who did work on magnetism, so relevance to local heritage which I rather like.

    The owners are Robert and Ian, who have been spending the last few months getting everything ready for their new venture.

    What made you open a micropub and who is involved in the project?

    An idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub in Chelmsford at the tail end of 2019 which was then amazingly followed through. The micropub is co-owned by Rob and I. Prior to this we had both worked in finance.

    Have there been any obstacles in your opening, other than the huge challenge of Covid-19?

    The biggest challenge has been finding suitable properties and then educating landlords / freeholders etc., on the benefits of a micropub, particularly when changes to planning permission were required. As regards The Magnet itself (aside from Covid-19 related restrictions) the biggest obstacle was getting the utilities isolated and connected.

    Projects like this sound fun, has that been how it has worked out so far?

    We have been very lucky with the trades persons and suppliers that we partnered up with. Their level of expertise and enthusiasm has been unbelievable. Also the friends and family members who have lent their time and skills to the project,

    Your pub has been formed from part of the former Norfolk pub, how many people will it seat?

    It will seat approximately 50, including the courtyard area.

    What sort of atmosphere are you hoping to achieve?

    Relaxed but convivial, with conversation promoted.

    Do you have a favourite other micropub in East Anglia? Have they inspired you with this project?

    Following on from the last question, Farmers Yard in Maldon, and Mawson’s in Southend, in terms of atmosphere.

    Will there be decadent bar snacks available? I have a passion for locally sourced Scotch Eggs! Although I’m also content with scampi fries…..

    At the moment we have locally produced crisps and cakes, but are thinking of expanding our savoury bar snack offerings. So if you have any suppliers that you recommend, we would be grateful to hear them.

    Will the vibe be more craft beer or real ale? Or a crossover between the two?

    We built a small dedicated cold room and are able to serve both cask and keg at a perfect temperature. We have three handles for cask, and five keg lines which currently host two IPAs, a pilsner, a fruity wheat beer and a cider. We also offer cider from the box, locally distilled spirits and a range of bottled drinks

    Which breweries are you looking to source from?

    As both Rob and I are new to this game we are currently only sourcing from local breweries (predominantly Colchester Brewery) but as we get more experienced we may start to expand the net wider.

    Do you have any longer-term plans for the micropub with regards to things that you want to achieve in the future?

    It’s still very early days for The Magnet (we only opened on May 21st). So making it a success is priority number one.

    The pub has a website at https://www.themagnetpub.co.uk/.

  • Barham – Sorrel Horse Inn

    Barham – Sorrel Horse Inn

    We popped into the Sorrel Horse (a pub name that I’ve never heard of, but there’s another similarly named location near Woodbridge which apparently has a bar billiards table) whilst marshalling the LDWA 100 near to Ipswich. I had a vision of some sort of gastropub so I was already slightly pre-annoyed as it sounded decadent, but it soon became apparent this is a properly welcoming and accessible pub.

    The pub history seems a little complex, but CAMRA suggest that this building dates from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, located on the old Norwich road. There has also been a Sorrel Horse Inn for at least a few centuries, but it only moved into this building in the early nineteenth century. That’s not entirely rare as pub licences and names often moved about a bit, but either way, there’s a long heritage here. There’s also still accommodation offered at the Sorrel Horse, which is fairly near to Ipswich, but still in a countryside location not far from the River Gipping.

    We sat outside as it was warm and there were no wasps visible, and there’s plenty of space. They probably needed to clear the tables away a bit faster, but it was one of those environments that was welcoming and comfortable. There was a kids play area at the pub, but that was kept separate and there are numerous other outdoors areas located away from it for those who don’t want to sit next to screaming and over-excited children. But it’s a useful facility for parents who want to try and visit the pub and have children in tow.

    The food menu and I was tempted by a few options, but I couldn’t order any given that we only had about 30 minutes before we needed to go and marshal nearby. The pub uses The Round app which worked well and it was easy to order, with the staff members being visible and personable. Judging from photos on reviews, the food appears to be home-made and perhaps a little rustic in its appearance, but the prices are reasonable.

    There were three real ales available, all of which were perhaps a little routine and not overly exciting to me, but I went for the Young’s London Original and it tasted fine, was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature. Prices were moderate and the crisps were suitably delicious.

    I popped inside the pub to use the toilet and it had a relaxed and traditional feel to it (the pub, not the male toilets), and somewhere that I’d rather fancy coming back to (again, I mean the pub, not specifically the male toilets). I like under-stated and comfortable pubs and I can cope with having Young’s London Original…… Nice.

  • Norwich – The Leopard

    Norwich – The Leopard

    I’m not sure how I haven’t written about the Leopard before, so it’s time to resolve that omission now as this is in the Good Beer Guide. Although I wasn’t intending to write about the pub when I was there (as I thought I had), so excuse the limited amount of photos.

    The Leopard was a pub which was a little, well, unexciting several years ago and because of that it was one that I rarely visited. It found itself new landlords six or so years ago, although they’ve now moved on, but not before leaving a modernised and vibrant pub behind them. The Leopard also won the CAMRA branch pub of the year in 2019, a considerable achievement given the competition. The new landlords are welcoming and personable, so I’m sure that the pub will continue going from strength to strength.

    This is informative and useful, there’s an ales/keg beer list, alongside the bottles and cans list. Nicely done, I like it. There isn’t the depth of choice that is offered at the nearby Artichoke, but there’s still plenty available and it’s far beyond what most pubs offer. The staff admitted themselves there was a slight lack of dark beers on the ales list at the moment, although this seems to be an availability issue. I’m sure they’ll be back later on in the year, but there was still a dark option to choose from, the Ampersand Forenoon (although I thought that had a thin mouthfeel, but the taste was pleasant). Having so many bottles and cans adds some variety and depth though, so it caters for pretty much any taste.

    The staff members were knowledgeable as well, I like the welcome offered here and the service is attentive and warm. This is also one of my preferred pubs for working in during the day, I came here with my laptop several times last year and it’s a peaceful and calm environment with a sizeable beer garden. Not that I sit in the beer garden much, I think wasps are naturally attracted to me and that annoys me. The pub itself was clean and I liked that they’ve made it easy to understand the Covid-19 arrangements, with clear signage throughout.

    I managed to try several drinks during the evening, although for anyone interested they can be seen at https://untappd.com/user/julwhite. I’m not sure there was anything I noted as exceptional, but I did enjoy the Peach Melba Sour from Pilot. I’m getting into sours now, although I still think that they’re something of an acquired taste for many drinkers (myself included in the past).

    This is a photo from last year when Bev was trying to talk to the pub’s dog as if she was Doctor Dolittle. This is appropriate as she was here on this visit as well, we had arrived at the Leopard earlier on to have a long gossip about Gordon (it’s OK, he won’t read this) and the camping weekend of last week, before Steve and Rob came to join us later on. It was useful to hear Rob’s perspectives on future 100s, he’s another of those LDWA walkers that I think will just take part every year. I’m not sure that I entirely understand it, but I’m very impressed by it. I’m not entirely sure that Steve and Bev are that tempted into walking 100 miles, but they’re certainly becoming better at these longer distances   🙂

    Anyway, I’ve started writing about the 100 again, which wasn’t my intention here. The Leopard is a decent pub which is one of my favourites in Norwich and I’d say that the service from the staff is perhaps one of the best of any pub in the city. So, all really rather lovely and I look forwards to many more visits (and its closeness to the Artichoke makes it easy to pop to both).