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Ely – Hereward Pub

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

This is another Stonegate pub in Ely and although it seems to be suffering from some poor reviews at the moment, I thought it only fair to try it for myself.

The bar was tidy and organised, and a staff member came over to serve me when she saw I was waiting. All very efficient and the staff member was friendly and engaging, so it felt a welcoming pub.

An offer that has limited availability during the week, but that’s a good ideal when the offer is on.

Unfortunately, there was just one real ale which was actually available, which was the Jenning’s Cumberland beer. It’s a golden ale which is middle of the road, but it was keenly priced and tasted well-kept.

The lunch offer was better advertised than in the Minister Tavern that I had visited just before, which is also Stonegate. Again, fairly priced and the real ale I had was discounted because of my CAMRA membership.

The interior is functional and clean, although there’s little of historic merit. I actually thought that this pub was better than some of the reviews suggested. I visited on a quiet Friday afternoon, but I got the impression that this was a much livelier venue in the evenings, which might explain some of the more negative reviews.

The service was warm and friendly, the tables were cleared down regularly and the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. The selection of real ales, down to just one, wasn’t great, but the staff member apologised for that so I assume there’s normally a wider choice. But, it’s a perfectly acceptable pub and worth visiting.

August 18, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 26 and Ruby’s

This is week 27 of eating at every food stall at Norwich Market and the randomly drawn location this time was Ruby’s, which Nathan and I visited in 2023. I had a burger back then which I thought was decent, with Nathan having the BLT, so I had high expectations for this repeat visit.

The menu boards and there have been price rises of around £1 on everything since we visited in 2023, which is a larger percentage increase but these prices are still towards the lower end of the market pricing. I have to note that the prices for hot drinks are very low, just 70p for a tea and 80p for a coffee.

Not the fault of the stallholders, but there are bloody pigeons everywhere. Could be worse, there could be more seagulls. Note the signage on the left for quality, delicious beef burgers.

The burger which was nicely presented in a fresh roll and with salad which added taste and texture. I’m afraid to note that the burger itself was, if I’m being honest, sub-optimal, devoid of taste, seasoning and flavour. The burger was hot, properly cooked and all of that, just completely lacking in taste. By the end I was thinking they could have just ditched the burger and instead doubled the salad, which is a somewhat extraordinary thing for me to say given my life-long resistance to lettuce.

James had the cheeseburger and was also disappointed, replacing an experience he had at Reggies a few weeks ago.

Overall, the service here was friendly, the roll was fresh, the prices were reasonable and so that was all positive, although this wasn’t the burger taste sensation that I had hoped for. Either the burger quality has gone down, or perhaps I’ve been so surprised and delighted at the quality of the food stalls at the market that my expectations have increased.

August 18, 2025
Redhill – Garibaldi (Good Beer Guide)

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

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

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

There were also a few craft keg beer options.

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

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

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

August 18, 2025
Norwich – Gentleman’s Walk and No Trams (Old Image)

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

August 16, 2025
Norwich – London Street / Guildhall Hill (Old Image 1919 and New Image 2019)

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

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

August 15, 2025
Norwich – Ferry Road (Old Image)

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

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

August 15, 2025
Ely – The Minster Tavern

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

This Stonegate pub is located near to Ely Cathedral and the building looks interesting and well presented. It seems that the pub was formerly known as the Greyhound in the nineteenth century, but it hasn’t retained any of its historic interior.

I didn’t sense any ghosts or hauntings during my visit…

There was nothing particularly interesting in terms of real ale, but there was a choice of four different ales, which is a reasonable number. The Hobgoblin was the darkest they had during my visit and it tasted well-kept and was at the appropriate temperature.

The bar was organised, the staff were serving customers in turn and it all looked clean and tidy.

I had intended to get food, but there were signs for their Friday special offer of a meal and a drink, but few menus actually available to explain what was on that offer. Indeed, I found the menu too late, otherwise I’d have ordered from it.

The main menu was quite reliant on their two meals for £9.49 or £10.49 and all their desserts were two for one. This inspired thinking makes the menu mostly useless for one person, so I abandoned my plans to eat there which was a little frustrating. The entire menu, especially the breakfast selection, does though seem rather dated and tired, similar to what Wetherspoons were doing fifteen years ago. Having said that, I didn’t notice anyone seeming to be unhappy with their food, so it seemed to be meeting expectations.

The pub was advertising its music quiz.

There was a quieter area to the rear of the pub, which was extremely hot during my visit, but this was during the summer heatwave and so wasn’t really the pub’s fault.

Overall, the location was pleasant and the prices were towards the lower end of the scale for pints. They also offer a discount for CAMRA members which makes the pricing even more acceptable. The staff were also friendly and helpful, so there was a welcoming feel to the whole pub.

August 15, 2025
Ely – Drayman’s Son

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links. I didn’t note at the time, likely as I didn’t know, that this is the taproom of the rather wonderful Three Blind Mice brewery]

I had intended to visit Ely museum and some other historic sites today, but it’s too hot, so I decided to visit some pubs instead. This wasn’t a difficult decision if I’m being honest.

The Drayman’s Son was the pub that came recommended, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my visit. It was on-trend, friendly, innovative and interesting. Ely isn’t perhaps overwhelmed by pubs like that, so I hope that this one does well.

The barman was helpful and engaging, and actually responded to my question of “do you have any dark beers?” in an enthusiastic manner. Sometimes the response in summer to that question is more like I’ve stabbed their kitten to death on the bar. He was conversational and engaging as well, it was an excellent first impression. There’s an interesting beer selection as well, there were numerous options on there that were tempting.

They had Prasto’s Porter from Boudicca Brewery, so I didn’t feel I couldn’t order that (I’ve rather overdone the negatives there…). Emma should be pleased with me! The porter was excellent, served at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature and having a rich and pleasant taste.

A map of where customers to the pub had come from. It’s a nice idea that works well in a pub like this. And, given the ridiculous heat when I visited, that fan was really appreciated.

Quirky and interesting, it’s a well thought out use of this former shop.

I like the railway memorabilia, it’s appropriate to Ely and it adds extra character to the pub. The pub also offers a discount to CAMRA members who show their card.

It’s only a small pub and there are just individual toilets, but they’re clean and functional.

I liked this pub, it’s contemporary without feeling forced or staged, and the service was friendly and engaging. The beer selection had been thought through and the pint I had was well-kept. In a town where pubs can fall into the trap of being just too generic, this was perfect.

August 15, 2025
Gorleston – Dr. Kenneth Hamilton-Deane

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image link]

Gorleston is one of those towns which seems to be quite enthusiastic about the number of blue plaques which it puts up. That seems a marvellous idea to me, it’s far better to have too much history than not enough. Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society are the organisation responsible for these plaques, and there are many others located around Gorleston and Great Yarmouth. He lived at 225 High Street, Gorleston, which was also known as Surbiton Lodge but it’s been demolished and replaced by flats now. He died in 1993 and is buried at Gorleston Cemetery and Crematorium. The plaque indicates that Hamilton-Deane practised medicine here from 1923 until 1985, which makes him one of the longest serving GPs in the country.

There’s more about him and his life at http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/exceptional-gorleston-doctor-william-hamilton-deane-honoured-with-plaque-1-1068846.

August 15, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 25 and Bodega

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

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

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

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

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

August 14, 2025