Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Chesterfield – Market Pub

    Chesterfield – Market Pub

    This pub near the market, hence the name, has won numerous awards in recent years for its food and real ale. I can’t find much history about the pub itself though, there’s nothing obvious on-line and the pub don’t have any information on their web-site.

    All clean and comfortable inside the pub, lots of wood to give a traditional feel. CAMRA note that this is a Greene King pub, something which if true they certainly keep hidden as there’s no branding or dull beer selection on offer. The service was prompt and efficient, with the prices marginally towards the higher end of the real ale scale.

    The Portland Black from Welbeck Abbey Brewery, a local brewery I hadn’t heard of until earlier today when I had another one of their beers in the nearby JD Wetherspoons. Not sure that I got the promised vanilla aroma, but the beer was served at the appropriate temperature and had a rich smoky coffee flavour.

    This is more of a food venue, but they didn’t seem to mind a few drinkers in the front area of the pub. The food also looked of a decent quality and it seemed to be a popular location given how busy it got, with the streetfood menu and selection of pies all looking rather on trend.

  • Chesterfield – Chesterfield Alehouse

    Chesterfield – Chesterfield Alehouse

    This micro-pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide and has won numerous CAMRA awards over the last few years. It’s the first micro-pub to open in the local area and I’m very much a fan of these small and quirky locations, they’re nearly always unique in their style.

    I have little to say about this other than it’s as near perfection as I could want, with some beautiful options. Quite magnificent and I’m struggling to remember a selection as good as this.

    I went for the Moncada Impy Pudding, which was probably a stupid decision given that it was late afternoon and I have other pubs to investigate. I had a half of this imperial stout and it doesn’t come cheap, but this beer was, well, exceptional. The beer was rich, decadent with its richness, with subtle initial flavours of rice pudding and then an aftertaste of cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate. That taste of rice pudding was ridiculous, absolutely beautiful and it was so rich that my half pint took the best part of an hour to get through. I may comment about this beer for a while.

    As for the pub, the service was polite and authentic, if not particularly deep in engagement. But, I don’t much care, that beer selection….. And apologies to the bar that I put a copy of the local CAMRA magazine on the table to take away (the magazine I mean, I wasn’t taking the table), and it managed to stick to the table and some of the front cover is still there. I don’t know what cleaner they’re putting on the table, but it’s quite powerful.

    Anyway, as a pub this is lovely. Absolutely bloody lovely.

  • Chesterfield – Cannon Mill

    Chesterfield – Cannon Mill

    I managed to stumble on this mill building (not literally) whilst meandering around Chesterfield, and it’s one of the oldest industrial buildings in the town. Formerly part of the Griffin Foundry of John & Ebenezer Smith & Co, it’s now standing looking a little redundant and not particularly in keeping with the local area.

    Just to confuse matters, this building was constructed prior to 1788, but there’s a date of 1816 on the front and a cannon design. Apparently this relates to the period when the building was used as part of a cannon foundry, which was a key part of the site’s role as they made cannon balls and ordnance for the Napoleonic Wars. The site was later sold to Chesterfield Gas & Water Company and then there were numerous other owners, with nearly all the buildings on this site demolished except for this former mill.

    An overshot iron water wheel (I copied that from the listed building record, I’m not a water wheel expert). The building was restored in 1957 and given the area is now being redeveloped for housing, another restoration is planned to ensure this piece of heritage remains intact.

  • Chesterfield – The Portland Hotel

    Chesterfield – The Portland Hotel

    This hotel was constructed in 1899 and it was designed to serve the new Market Place Railway Station which opened in the same year, the third station to be built in Chesterfield. Unfortunately, the railway station was entirely demolished in 1973, with rail services having long since been stopped to passengers in 1951 and to freight in 1957. It’s a JD Wetherspoon venue now, perhaps one of the few pub operators who can fully utilise a building of this size.

    The real ale selection is extensive, as I’d expect from JD Wetherspoons, with this being a rather lovely beer and from a brewery that I haven’t seen before. It’s from the local (well, local to this pub) Welbeck Abbey Brewery in Worksop and the beer is named ‘Wake Up and Smell the Coffee’. The beer doesn’t taste particularly rich, but it has deep aftertastes of coffee and I like that very much. Apparently they use the coffee grounds from the Harley Cafe in Worksop, a little bit of a back story for the beer.

    The service in the pub is friendly and everything seems sort of clean and organised, so it’s all comfortable. There are also numerous people tapping away happily on laptops, this must be an ideal location for those who fancy working from home. Well, not so much at home as in a pub, but it’s the same principle as far as I’m concerned.

  • Chesterfield – Greggs (Burlington Street)

    Chesterfield – Greggs (Burlington Street)

    It’s true to say that I talk and write quite a lot about Greggs, it’s certainly my favourite chain.

    So, I was pleased to be given this free savoury item from Vodafone Rewards. Actually, I think this is a stupid promotion for Greggs, it’s unusable for people who don’t live near a Greggs (although I accept that isn’t many people) as it has to be claimed within an hour and the codes frequently get used up quickly. It’s a strange way of rewarding non-customers over customers as well, I suspect that this has a negative overall impact on Greggs. But, since Greggs seem to know what they’re doing, I’ll just carry on accepting the rewards when they’re sent.

    As Greggs go, this was pretty average. The entrance mat was damaged, the hot food section display was broken with paper signs explaining the problem and the range of items was sparse. What they did have in the main counter was cold and my chicken bake, usually a product of quality, was unexciting. This wasn’t just a chicken bake that had just gone cold, it had clearly been there for far too long. The staff member, who was on her own despite a queue forming, was helpful and friendly, but it all felt a bit barren.

    But, my chicken bake was free, so I won’t complain….. And I’m prepared to give Greggs another chance. Actually, probably many tens of chances as they’re still my favourite chain and I’ve missed them on my travels.

  • Northern : Nottingham to Chesterfield

    Northern : Nottingham to Chesterfield

    The train journey from Nottingham to Chesterfield cost me £5.50 for the 38-minute journey, not a bad price, although this is only available as an advance fare. I hadn’t realised that the Northern Rail name was no longer in use, the company is now referred to as simply Northern. Since 1 March 2020, so just over a week ago, the company is now operated by the Department of Transport. The ‘Northern by Arriva’ branding appears to have been removed, simply now saying ‘Northern’.

    The service began in Nottingham and carried onto Leeds, not being particularly busy between Nottingham and Chesterfield at least. The train was clean and there were table and standard seats available, with power available at the seats. The guard who checked the tickets was quite an exuberant character, pleasant and keen to help customers. The train departed and arrived on time, with no delays en route.

    Arriving into Chesterfield railway station where there were no ticket barriers or ticket checks. As a keen supporter of the rail network, I’m pleased to be in Chesterfield, the burial location of George Stephenson, the “father of the railways”.

  • Malta – Southern Region – Snakes

    Malta – Southern Region – Snakes

    I wasn’t entirely thrilled to see this. Apparently there are black Western Whip snakes and Leopard snakes roaming around free and unhindered in the area….. I checked and the Leopard snake doesn’t eat prey the size of a leopard, it just has similar colouring and is also known as a ratsnake. The black Western Whip snakes can grow to as long as two metres in length, and although I’m sure it’s a very lovely animal, I don’t want to meet one in the wild. Fortunately, we didn’t see any snakes whilst in Malta, but I tried to walk quite heavily to scare any off that might be nearby.

  • Malta – Southern Region – Fawwara Church of the Annunciation

    Malta – Southern Region – Fawwara Church of the Annunciation

    There has been a church on this site since the early seventeenth century, although the current building primarily dates to the early eighteenth century. The earlier church had become a bit dilapidated and mostly fallen down, so it wouldn’t have been a difficult decision to make. The construction was funded by the Xiberras family and was constructed to a better design standard than the original structures, being dedicated in 1708.

    The church wasn’t open when we walked by, although it remains in religious use. It was originally dedicated to the Assumption of Our Lady, although this was changed to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary when it was reconstructed.

  • Malta – A Very Curious Custom

    Still intrigued by the book about Malta written by Thomas MacGill in the 1830s, he tells of a very curious custom that it is fortunately long since consigned to history. Or, certainly in Malta at least.

    “A curious custom exists in the Island of giving puppy broth to people pining away from a fright, and in some cases obstructions in young people. The puppy is thrown alive into boiling water, and boiled down to a strong broth, a basin of this is given to the patient, who is kept in ignorance of what it is made from, until it is eaten, then he is informed. He is shown the remains, the idea is that one disgust cures another, it is said to have a good effect.”

  • Malta – Gozo – Accommodation in the Early Nineteenth Century

    Malta – Gozo – Accommodation in the Early Nineteenth Century

    Back to the book written by Thomas MacGill in the 1830s, I noticed his summary of the accommodation in Gozo. It seems that visitors weren’t always as well attended for as they are today. Referring to what was later renamed Victoria, he wrote:

    “Only a very few years ago, strangers visiting Gozo, were forced to carry with them not only their bedding, but even the common necessities of life, and trust for cover to the hospitality of some Convent. But such is the march of improvement, that now, within the walls of the citadel, there is an excellent house of entertainment kept by an Englishman named Griffiths, where clean and comfortable beds can be had, and dinners, with good wines, in English style and at a moderate charge. In the town also, there are now some houses of reception, kept by natives and one kept by a man named Filippo is very comfortable”

    I am grateful that today we have Google Maps which aids in finding hotel accommodation, I’d dread to return to a time when I’d have to ask the locals “where is Filippo’s accommodation?” in a bid to find somewhere to stay.