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  • Dereham – St Withburga’s Well

    This well was originally the burial place of St. Withburga, but it is said that in 974 monks from Ely took her body to be buried at Ely Cathedral. When the locals discovered that someone had pinched the saint they had happily buried in their graveyard they were rather displeased and decided to go and have a fight with the Ely monks. The fight didn’t go very well as the Dereham men got into boggy ground in Ely, so they came home. When they arrived home they found that the burial site was now full of water, and they liked this water and so it became a pilgrimage site, although it’s behind iron railings to stop people from falling into it. The water still flows today, and it remains a site that pilgrims come to visit.

    St. Withburga, or Wihtburh, died in 743 and she founded a religious house in Dereham. She was also part of the family who ran the local area and her body still remains in Ely Cathedral, although relics relating to her were mostly destroyed during the Reformation.

    The inscription on the stone reads “the ruins of a tomb which contained the remains of Wethburga, youngest daughter of Annas, King of the East Angles who died AD 654”.

    The EDP from 1896 mentions that the site of the well was once a baptistery where locals were baptised, but this was changed in 1752 when it was converted into a bath. Then in 1793, a brick bath house was built over the top and apparently one local decided to have a bath in the water every single week. He apparently lived “to a good old age”, so it didn’t do him any harm.

    The well is located just in front of St. Nicholas Church in Dereham.

  • Norfolk Broads – Ranworth Church (St. Helen’s)

    St. Helen’s is sometimes known as the ‘Cathedral of the Broads’, so it seemed apt to visit it whilst we were on the Hike Norfolk annual boating day trip on the water. The earliest part of the current building dates to the late thirteenth century, with substantial parts being added in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

    The pulpit is a little understated compared to other parts of the church. At the end of the nineteenth century, the entire church was in desperate need of repair and it also needed a new roof. It was closed for four years and finally re-opened in 1903 with a new nave roof and the addition of some new windows.

    The EDP noted at the time that “a difficulty often encountered in remote and sparsely populated parishes is the possession of a spacious and costly church of which Ranworth is such an instance. The most casual observer must at once perceive that the condition into which this beautiful church has fallen is more the result of neglect than wilful spoilation”. Incidentally, I rather like the word ‘spoilation’, it was a word commonly used in the Victorian period and is rarely used today.

    The church has a rather beautiful rood screen still in place, and although some is missing, it’s one of the best in Norfolk.

    The font is made of Purbeck marble and is relatively plain in its design.

    The churchyard is well kept and the church has constructed a rather delightful and unobtrusive cafe in the corner. Unfortunately, the cafe was unexpectedly shut during our visit, but the menu looked very reasonably priced.

    The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the church on 25 November 1976. A date rather near to the day that I was born….

    The church organ, which dates from the late nineteenth century.

    The Ranworth Antiphoner, which is perhaps one of the most exceptional liturgical books on display in any English church. Indeed, it’s so amazing that it’s surprising that it remains in the church, although rather wonderful that it does. The case in which it is now displayed was constructed by the inmates of Norwich Prison, and it is apparently very secure.

    It dates from the fifteenth century and was commissioned for the church, although it went missing after the Reformation. Fortunately, it came up for auction in 1912 and was acquired once again for the church. The church opens the case on a regular basis to change the page which is displayed.

    I’m surprised that the church allows unsupervised visits to the top of the tower. But, it’s a great thing for a church to do, and it offers excellent views over the local area. There are around 90 steps and you just have to hope that not too many people are coming down as you go up (or the other way round) as there isn’t exactly much space. On the way up to the top, which involves two ladders right near the top (I was very brave) it’s possible to see the church bells.

    And the underside of the bells….

    Views from the church tower, definitely worth the climb.

    The weather-vane on top of the church.

  • Norfolk Broads – Facilities on the Water

    Helpful facilities for those working on the Norfolk Broads…..

  • Chambery Walk

    Just photos on this post, this was a walk from Chambery railway station to the north-west of the city. It’s about three miles and was surprisingly pleasant, as the areas either side of the river are quite industrial. The river, with its impressively clear water, is La Leysse which is an Alpine river which crosses the region before ending up in Lake Bourget.

    Next time I visit the region though there are proper mountain walks to be completed!

  • Annemasse – Annemasse Railway Station to Bellegarde

    I didn’t get long to spend in Annemasse as I was getting a train to Chambery but first I had to get a train to Bellegarde. The station exterior above looked modern and well presented. The railway station was first opened in 1880 when the line was introduced to run from Paris to the Mediterranean.

    In March 1944 the allies dropped aid parcels in the area, with many of them landing near to the railway station. Today most of the rail routes are regional, there’s also a TGV service running through the station from Paris to Thonon-les-Bains.

    A memorial to those who had died in the wars.

    The ticket wasn’t unreasonable priced. I also much prefer the French tickets to those issued in the UK, they’re larger and have far more useful information on them. The cramming in information onto the smaller UK tickets usually means that it’s not as clear as it could be.

    A map at the station of the local rail routes.

    The train.

    The view from the train, which varied and was often interesting.

  • Annemasse

    I didn’t have very long in Annemasse during my visit, since I had a train to catch to Annecy. There seemed to be a lot of people going to work in Geneva from Annemasse, but the cost of living is much lower in France as opposed to Switzerland.

    A healthy local snack…..

    Église Saint-Joseph (St. Joseph’s Church) was constructed between 1941 and 1946, with the structure being made of reinforced concrete. The proposed bell tower wasn’t though ever built, so the church technically remains unfinished.

    Annemasse market, which takes place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

    I have to confess, I never did work out exactly what this was….

  • Flights – London Heathrow T5 to Geneva (British Airways)

    I took this flight from London Heathrow T5 (as can be seen above) to Geneva in March 2016 in an A319. It’s memorable to me only because I remember the rather impressive views of the mountains near to Geneva, the rest of the experience has now become lost to the mists of time….

    My flight was in Club Europe and although BA have now changed how they band their flights, this was in the old Band 2 sector. That meant that a pretty decent salad was served, in this case a prawn salad with the obligatory BA seeded roll.

    I’m told that this isn’t the best champagne, but I have no clue about such things, it tasted fine to me. Again, since I took this flight, BA have changed which champagne they provide in the cabin though.

    The photos above are of the mountain views that I had, which the pilot said were in the Mont Blanc region. Whether or not it is actually Mont Blanc I have no idea, so I’ll have to visit it one day to find out. It looks a bit hilly though to me, rather higher than Beeston Bump in Sheringham….

  • Ely – Ely Cathedral

    I had a little time spare in Ely and so I decided I should spent all of that in the city’s beautiful Cathedral. Work started on the current building in the late eleventh century, although there was a church here before that date.

    The Cathedral fell into a state of disrepair in the sixteenth century and there was talk during the Commonwealth period of entirely demolishing it. The Cathedral was repaired in the late seventeenth century and there were substantial repairs which took place in the mid nineteenth century.

    It’s possible to just enter at the end of the nave and take a look at the interior for free, but it’s not possible to go any further without paying. I was aware though that visitors are able to pay and get free entry for the rest of the year, which is what I decided to do.

    I do rather feel though that the Cathedral has gone just a little beyond what is reasonable with its attempts to upsell to visitors. It was plainly visible during the short time I was at the counter that visitors were uncomfortable with it, and if Greggs tried that on me I’d be e-mailing them…

    So visitors currently ask for a ticket, and are then upsold to a tower tour, are then upsold to the stained glass museum and then upsold to a luxury package which includes a hot drink in the cafe. There’s then an upsell to a basic guidebook and then a more advanced guidebook, with visitors being given nothing for free such as a basic leaflet.

    When visitors leave the Cathedral they’re also forced to go through the shop and there are some rather unnecessary displays aimed at children. I wonder whether the management should be told they’re not running Alton Towers and I did half expect to find a Starbucks half way down the nave, but they have managed to draw the line there. Although I’d consider accepting a Greggs in the nave if they felt it would be financially advantageous…

    The Cathedral’s charging policy has ensured that the building was quiet inside, and the number of visitors on a warm summer’s day seemed rather low to me.

    A view back towards the entrance. I need to go back to using my proper camera either the Cathedral is leaning or my phone was tilted slightly…

    In 1322 some enthusiastic civil engineers were busying themselves constructing a new Lady Chapel and it’s thought that this work caused the central Cathedral tower to collapse. This was far from ideal and the engineers thought they’d better stop and deal with the minor problem that the building had a large hole in it and the choirs were badly damaged.

    So, some philosophers and architects got together to design a replacement structure and this is call the Octagon, or Lantern, Tower. It’s beautiful and is now one of the building’s architectural highlights. The decision not to replace the tower was partly for structural reasons, but it has also given it an individual character.

    The window of the Lady Chapel, which was sadly seriously damaged during the Reformation when a large number of sculptures were destroyed. Work on the Lady Chapel had started in 1321, was suspended when the civil engineers caused the collapse of the central tower, but the work was eventually finished in 1349.

    One of the hundreds of vandalised sculptures from the Reformation.

    The other end of the Lady Chapel, which was used as a parish church for some centuries following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its reconnection with the Cathedral is relatively recent, from 1938.

    The choir stalls.

    The transept has some considerable height to it.

    And the other side.

    The beautiful painted roof of the nave and although the paintwork dates from the nineteenth century Victorian restoration, the wood under it dates from the fourteenth century.

    A sculpture designed by David Wynne which aims to portray the moment that Mary Magdalene recognised Jesus.

    This is the tomb of Bishop Thomas Goodrich, the Bishop of Ely from 1534 until 1544. He was granted the role by Thomas Cranmer and had previously been a Royal Chaplain. He decided he liked the Reformation and in 1541 he ordered the destruction of the sculptures in the Lady Chapel, the smashing of much of the stained glass windows and the removal of shrines. He later became the Lord High Chancellor and when the Monarch once again went Catholic he decided that he would shift his most sincerely held religious views again…..

    An interesting little memorial.

    The Cathedral’s time capsule placed there to mark the Millennium.

    The rather grand entrance to Bishop Alcock’s Chantry Chapel, work on which was started in 1488. The Bishop founded Jesus College at Cambridge University and there were initially plans for the chapel to be larger.

    I liked this because of the animal (I have no idea what it is) that was looking at me…. It’s the tomb and canopy of the Tiptoft Family and probably dates to the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

    The Cathedral’s pulpit and when I was there someone came to offer prayers from it every hour. I thought that was a nice touch, nothing too excessive, but just a reminder that the building is a working and active religious institution.

    The tomb of Henry Caesar, who was the Dean of Ely between 1614 and 1636. Money which he left to fund scholarships to Jesus College at Cambridge University and to offer extra pay to Minor Canons and Lay Clerks was borrowed by King Charles I and never repaid.

    The rather colourful tomb of Robert Steward, a close relation of Oliver Cromwell, which dates to the late sixteenth century.

    I have read books by Charles Merivale, but I didn’t realise that he was also the Dean of the Cathedral. He was one of the people responsible for planning the first Oxford versus Cambridge boat race, which first took place in 1829 and Merivale rowed for the Cambridge University team.

    The bell from St. Nicholas Church in Feltwell which fell in 1898 and which was given to the Cathedral in 1976. The bell was originally cast in the fifteenth century.

    One of the Cathedral aisles.

    I thought that this was interesting, it’s the original floor tiling which led from the North Choir Aisle to the Lady Chapel. The tiling dates to the early fourteenth century and was intended to form the design of a mosaic.

    My visit wasn’t as long as I’d like, but since I go back for free for another twelve months, I shall be back, and will go on a tower tour when the weather is favourable.

  • Flights – Los Angeles to London Heathrow T5 (British Airways)

    After I’d spent a very enjoyable five weeks in the United States, it was time to return to London Heathrow, this time using British Airways. I had got to LAX nice and early, ensuring that I had sufficient time to go to KFC.

    It was an evening flight and the boarding process seemed particularly efficient, although it transpired that there was a reason for this….

    I had selected an aisle seat and I took my seat next to another gentleman (I say another as if I’m a gentleman….) ready for the red-eye flight. A crew member came up to tell me that the cabin had less than 15% occupancy, so he suggested that I take an entire row of seats to myself.

    This was the row of seats that I selected for myself, which was rather nice. Unfortunately the new iteration of BA seats means that the arm rests don’t fully lift up, so I wasn’t able to make up a Club World bed arrangement. The quiet cabin certainly made the journey a lot more comfortable and the crew member told me that the other cabins were equally light of passengers.

    Liam would have been pleased with the in-flight entertainment option of Alan Partridge…..

    The pre-meal snack of pretzels, which I have become rather fond of over my years on BA. They were removed for a while, but they’re now back! The white wine was perfectly acceptable as well.

    I’ve always thought that BA meals in economy are of a good quality, although they’re rarely well presented. This is a chicken tikka, along with a salad, roll and crackers. There was also a Lily O’Brien dessert, which I always appreciate.

    This was the second meal, which was some form of fruit dumped in a bowl (I would have preferred crisps) and a burrito, which was served hot.

    Overall, this was a really enjoyable flight because of the amount of space that I had in the cabin. It was like being in premium economy and the number of passengers also meant that there were never queues for the washrooms and it was easy to get additional drinks from the crew.

    I asked the crew member why the flight was so low on passengers and whether this was usual for the time of year (I flew in early February 2018). He said that he said it was rare to be that quiet, and he thought that the real reason might have been Norwegian Airlines and their cost-cutting. I’m surprised that this would have had a sufficient effect, but anything which forces down prices is good to me.

    The cabin was unusually clean when I boarded, something BA are sometimes rather hopeless at. The crew were all pleasant and helpful, and this was perhaps my best trans-atlantic flight in economy that I’ve had with BA. Whether or not I can be lucky enough to get such an empty cabin in future is perhaps rather less likely….

  • Wetherspoons – Norfolk

    As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited   🙂

    There are eleven JD Wetherspoon outlets in Norfolk, and another two which have closed. I’ve now visited all of the eleven open pubs and both of the closed two. Two of the pubs, the Whiffler and the Bell, opened in the 1990s, so were part of the early expansion of Wetherspoons out of London.

    There is talk of opening an outlet in North Walsham in what were formerly the council offices, although it must surely be a close call as to whether a pub would be viable in a town of that size.

    Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

    Number visited : 11/11 (open pubs) 2/2 (closed pubs)

    Favourite pub in county : City Gate

    Bell (Norwich) – The Bell was one of the first pubs that JD Wetherspoon opened up outside of London and it’s a former inn which has a central location in the city. It’s a large building and although it’s often known as the Bell Hotel, it no longer provides accommodation. There was a large expansion to the pub in 2017 which caused it to close for several months, which took over space in offices next door.

    The pub, before the renovation, had customer areas on three floors, although it’s now just over two floors as the toilets have been closed on the top floor. There is a downstairs area to the pub which has its own bar, although unfortunately the quiet little seating area that was once down here has now been turned into toilets following the renovations.

    The upstairs of the pub is now much larger, with corridors shooting off opening out into new rooms with plenty of space. It’s another well thought out design internally, with the introduction of many more power outlets for customers. Customers like me, who find it a handy location to do work in for a few hours.

    The real ale selection is usually extensive, although sometimes rather lacking in darker ales. The staff have always seemed knowledgeable and interested in the selection of ales, only once did a staff member not know, but they sought out help immediately. Despite the extra seating areas, the pub can still fill up quickly, especially during lunch-times. It has a rather too busy feel to it for my liking, but it’s usually possible to find quiet areas.

    I do wonder what they do with breakfasts here though, I’ve never been in a Wetherspoons where there are so many complaints about cold food. Perhaps their heat lamps need replacing…..

    [closed] City Gate (Norwich) – This was always my favourite JD Wetherspoon outlet in Norfolk, primarily because it never felt overly busy. Although, that’s likely why they closed it, and it was quite an early closure, I think having opened in 1999 and lasting only for a few years. It was then taken over by another pub company who renamed the place the Regal and then turned into an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant, called Merge. I quite liked Merge, other than when they had someone singing on the stage, which didn’t really work. However, they received a poor food hygiene report, and although they turned it around, combined with the opening of Cosmo in the city, they couldn’t make it work. It’s now a part bar and part bowling alley.

    The building has previously been a cinema, known as the Regal (explaining the later name change of the pub) and Wetherspoons converted it into a pub. Slightly ironically there was a pub next door called the Barn Tavern, which was closed in the 1990s. The City Gate was a slightly strange design internally, as although it had a lot of height, it didn’t have a great deal of seating space. The bar often got congested and although it was turned into a pub into a sensitive manner, it clearly wasn’t viable financially.

    Glass House (Norwich) – This has always been my favourite Wetherspoons in the city as the building is quirky with lots of hidden little corners. It used to be a glass factory, hence the pub’s name, and it opened at a similar time as the Queen of Iceni at the turn of this century. It can be tricky to know where to stand for service as the bar is split into sections, although the far end nearer the pub garden is usually the best location.

    There’s a usually quieter room upstairs which overlooks the road, as well as a balcony which overlooks the large pub garden. I find that the service in this pub is generally friendlier and more engaging than some of the outlet’s other pubs. Not that it’s of much importance, but I’ve never established whether the pub is called the Glass House or the Glasshouse, and Wetherspoons themselves seem to use both forms.

    More recently they’ve ditched one of their grills, seemingly so they can make pizzas, which has meant the menu hs heavily reduced and steak club and chicken club have been lost.

    Globe (King’s Lynn) – Now the only remaining JD Wetherspoon left in King’s Lynn, following the closure of the Lattice House, this is also a Wetherspoons hotel. It’s a large and cavernous building which has plenty of seating areas across the ground floor. The building dates to the eighteenth century, although the interior has been stripped of any historic interest by twentieth century renovations. These though took place before JD Wetherspoon purchased the building, otherwise I suspect they would have been kept.

    It has always seemed a welcoming pub during my visits, seeming to be organised and well managed. I feel marginally sorry for the staff given the 2019 Christmas meal debacle, which seems to have been causing problems in many Wetherspoons outlets what with not supplying gravy and using unusually low quality ingredients. This review probably sums it up….

    “What a mess the Xmas Dinner is trash says gravy but wasn’t and nincompoop staff says doesn’t come with any”

    [closed] Lattice House (King’s Lynn) – This quirky little pub (and by quirky I partly mean that there were several bar areas, making it difficult to know where to stand to be served) is perhaps the most historic that Wetherspoons operated in Norfolk. Unfortunately they closed it in 2016 and it briefly became a Hawthorn Leisure pub, before closing for a period. It’s now a private restaurant, which has managed to hit the news for banning anyone under the age of 23. I’m unlikely to go there now, not because I’m under 23, but because there happen to be many people in that demographic who like fine dining and appreciate it, and I can’t see why they can’t enjoy it.

    The pub was formerly a private residence which was built in the medieval period, and archaeological investigations over the last couple of decades have discovered that it has been extended and rebuilt on numerous occasions. The exterior and interior of the two-level pub kept that historic integrity and JD Wetherspoons did a rather neat job with the renovation. There are numerous original exposed beams and I recall the real fires adding character. It was though just a short walk away from their other outlet in the town, The Globe, which was larger and had hotel rooms.

    The freehold of the building still appears to be owned by the local council, who has leased it for a long period. The bulk of the current building dates from the fifteenth century and it was already a pub when JD Wetherspoon took it over.

    Limes (Fakenham) – I’ve never been to this pub when it has been anywhere near full, and I note that their menu prices are some of the lowest in the area. I’m not entirely sure how it justifies staying open, but since it wasn’t on the list of pubs that Wetherspoons sold off, it is clearly doing sufficiently well. I’ve received either exceptionally good service here, or pretty indifferent service, it’s rarely somewhere in the middle.

    The Limes was a pub before JD Wetherspoon took it over, although it wasn’t one that I’d ever visited, although the internal renovations seem substantial from the photos I’ve seen. It opened as a Wetherspoon pub in 2012 and was also a private residence for a period before the 1980s, as well as having been a hotel.

    Queen of Iceni (Norwich) – Located on Norwich Riverside and often still referred to as Lloyds, this is rather more pleasant on weekdays than on weekend evenings. The music goes up, most of the customers seem to leave and then, er, I’m not sure as I’ve already left. I’m still trying to establish why the pub moved its stairs a bit to the right last year, something which very much confused me when I tried to go upstairs…

    There’s a corner behind the bar which overlooks the river, which is usually quieter than the rest of the pub. It’s also where a few months ago I sat whilst listening to an elderly woman say to her husband (or what I assumed was her husband) that “this is the worst meal I’ve ever had, it’s dreadful”. Thirty seconds later a staff member comes by to offer a check back and the same woman said “everything’s delicious”. She then berated her husband, after the staff member had left, for not saying anything.

    The pub is rather open plan and lacking in any historic interest, although this is primarily because the site doesn’t have much history. Indeed, twenty years ago there was a road underneath what is now the pub.

    Red Lion (Thetford) – Opening in 2012, this building had previously been used as both a pub and a restaurant, receiving an expansion when JD Wetherspoon took it over. They created a rather pleasant courtyard area in front of the bar, with the external wall they’ve cut through still clearly visible, although this is still a relatively small pub for Wetherspoons. It is though one of the better reviewed Wetherspoons in the county, perhaps excellent management, or perhaps the people of Thetford are just nice.

    It’s a generally quite busy location, although I’ve never seen any trouble in there. It did though get national publicity in the years before it was a Wetherspoons when some thugs attacked it during some national football tournament, causing significant amounts of damage and injuring some inside. They committed the attack because the owners were Portuguese, and that apparently justified the violence and hatred.

    And I like a bit of excitement in a pub, which I assume happened to this customer judging by the TripAdvisor review….

    “This is the second time I’ve visited the red lion weatherspoons in thetford with my girlfriend, and the first time I have ever used the toilets. Upon arriving, I needed to use the toilet before I sat down to eat. My girlfriend said she also needed to go so we both made our way upstairs. I then left the men’s toilets with the intention of waiting outside for my girlfriend, however I could not locate them, I was faced with 2 other wooden doors that read ‘private’ and another semi-opaque divider with no sign whatsoever. I concluded that the female toilets were either downstairs or the entrance may be somewhere beyond the glass divider. I entered the mysterious glass doorway only to be rudely shouted at by the branch’s manager in a disgusted tone as if I was some kind of sexual deviant. Realising my mistake I then left the lobby/lounge/seating area of what I discovered to be the ladies toilet and enquired as to the lack of signage.”

    Romany Rye (Dereham) – This pub opened in 2011 and was a conversion of the former Phoenix Hotel. It was a very comprehensive conversion as it’s hard to establish the pub’s former lay-out, but it has remained in use as a hotel. There’s a comfortable lower area at the front of the pub with more traditional tables, and there are higher tables in the back bar. The male toilets are slightly difficult to find, located right near to the entrance of the bar.

    I’ve always thought that this pub has rather a relaxed and informal atmosphere, although I’ve seen more disruptive customers in this pub than in any other Wetherspoons outlet in Norfolk (other than Lloyds in Norwich) and I’m not quite sure why. The staff are always particularly knowledgeable about the real ale which is a substantial bonus, and there are usually some ales or ciders of interest that are a little different.

    Troll Cart (Great Yarmouth) – Until 2017 I usually avoided this pub, but only because it was nearly always full. It had originally opened in 1996, making it one of the oldest Wetherspoons in East Anglia. The pub recently closed to incorporate offices which were located above the bar, which has now meant that there’s more space and there’s also a hotel at the Troll Cart.

    The building isn’t of much historic interest, but the modernisation has greatly improved it, as well as making it much easier to find a seat. I’ve experienced problems ordering at the bar here, just by being overlooked, but this is no longer a problem as I can just order by using the app.

    The pub is named after the carts which were used to navigate around the town’s narrow rows, scores (although I’m not sure if that’s just a Lowestoft and Beccles term) and alleys.

    The Whalebone (Downham Market) – This Wetherspoons opened in 2018, and it took me a few months to get to visit it, and I’m surprised that there’s enough trade to justify it being here. However, when I went it was certainly busy enough, although another local publican has complained that the chain has destroyed the trade for other pubs in the town. There’s quite a modern feel to the pub, which happened to be rather untidy when I went, although the building itself is historic. The conversion into a Wetherspoons has been sympathetic, although this has long since been a pub, so it wasn’t a change of use. In the nineteenth century, there were whalebones placed outside the pub, but sadly these have long since disappeared.

    Whiffler (Norwich) – This is one of the most untypical Wetherspoon pubs that I’ve been to in the country, let alone just in Norfolk. It’s an estate pub which is quite a way out of Norwich city centre, indeed, about three miles from their other central pubs. It’s a large pub which opened in 1938 and which was nearly demolished in the 1990s to be turned into some anonymous retail outlet.

    Wetherspoons opened the Whiffler in 1999 and given the number of other local pubs which have closed, I suspect it wouldn’t still be trading without their involvement. It’s perhaps not a pub that they would purchase now, but there’s a strong community feel, which is hard for any large national chain to develop. The service is generally brilliant, one of the friendliest and most helpful of any of their pubs in the county.

    The William Adams (Gorleston) – This opened in 2018 on the site of a former garage, although its construction was delayed following an archaeological dig which found a number of bodies. The pub takes its name from the local lifesaver and swimmer who it is thought saved around 140 lives. He died at the age of just 49 and was honoured at first with a road which was named after him, but now he has this pub.

    There are a few pieces of artwork which liven the interior of the pub up, although it’s quite a bland interior in terms of the pub design. There’s a long bar long the right-hand side, a variety of different seating types internally and an external garden area. The toilets, as usual for a Wetherspoons, are upstairs. The staff seem enthusiastic and efficient, with the pub being clean and organised when I visited. There are a generous supply of power points around the pub, which are particularly useful for me.

    As an aside, I’ve never seen such a high percentage of customers using the app to order food and drinks as I have here. That does have the advantage of meaning that queues at the bar seem minimal. Two younger customers managed to order meals here, I assume via the app, and the pub took the food off them and shoved it into boxes according to this review, not entirely classy….

    “Was told you had to be 16 to order food, had passport with me and was 16. Was then told I had to leave because my friend was not 16 bearing in mind we had ordered our food already. Because our food was already made they didn’t give us a refund they put our food in cardboard boxes with no fork or kings and expected us to eat it as it was. The beans were mushy and the it was all cold. We also ordered 2 large Pepsi’s and they were put in tiny take away cups with the ice taking out and there was most definitely not the full drink inside”