Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Good Beer Guide

Tuesday to Thursday : Off to Barnsley for the LDWA 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 20, 2022
Tuesday : A Bright and Sunny Day in Lincoln Before the Downpour and Bar Billiards

These blog title posts aren’t exactly carefully crafted pieces of literary genius, but at least it gives some background to this photo, a bright morning in Lincoln. Everything felt quite relaxed and calm, holiday makers ready to walk up a big hill to see the cathedral, locals seeming to be unhurried on their way to work and it felt like it’d be a trouble-free sort of day with no rain in sight.

As can be seen, some people waited behind the barrier for the train to go through, whilst some energetic and go-getting people such as myself rushed up the steps to take this photo. Although then I realised that I wasn’t too go-getting when I had a little rest after galloping up the steps.

Back to Lincoln Library as I wanted to get some things done and there are strict rules about plugging things into the wall. A power breaker duly acquired, which I thought was a little excessive, but all was set for the morning.

Staff walked by this, but it offended my sense of the proper keeping of books, look at them all slanted about. On a tangent, I was quite excited to hear an argument between a member of the public and a staff member as there’s a limited amount of external drama for me to listen to in a library. Spending time in a JD Wetherspoon pub usually gives me exciting content to comment on.

Anyway, back to my story. The member of library staff told a polite man that he couldn’t print out old newspapers on library printers as it was a breach of copyright. This is complete nonsense and I was slightly tempted to get involved in this matter, but I thought I’d better not as it was genuinely nothing to do with me. She didn’t back down though, she told him that this had always been the policy of Lincoln library and that unless it had changed on her day off the previous week then nothing had changed. I liked the passive aggressive behaviour really of that comment, a slight element of sneering, although she seemed slightly wounded when the member of the public said that he had been doing this all of last week.

Almost excited by what she perceived to be the rule breaking of her fellow staff, she didn’t back down, but as she was so certain so was right, she announced she’d get another member of library staff to confirm the policy. Five minutes passed and I could almost sense the argument going on elsewhere in the library when she realised that she was wrong. She sheepishly, although still with some annoyance in her voice, came back and said that there had been a misunderstanding, which there hadn’t been as she was just wrong. She announced that the library would accept printing of newspapers on their printers and she was pleased that they had come to a resolution. To be fair, the resolution was that the member of the public did what he came in to do and would have already done so if she hadn’t interfered. But, she was getting ready to go and shout at another customer who was doing something else she perceived to be wrong at a library computer, so that matter passed.

I thought after all this excitement in the library (it’s relative this excitement thing) that I needed a little drink, so I went to the Witch and the Wardrobe. This is another pub where the pumps are blocked by customers seated in front of them, so I’m not entirely sure what the drinks options were.

Although since it’s a Marstons pub, I was hardly ever going to be excited by the beer options and the house beer from Ringwood Brewery was badly kept. The service was friendly, but the pub was neither clean not had decent beer, so this wasn’t ideal. The crisps were very acceptable though and this pub should be a licence to print money given its location. The pub isn’t particularly well reviewed on-line either, it’s an odd place, but I wouldn’t recommend going there for anyone who likes beer. It’s good for crisps though, go there and fill your boots with crisps, they’ve got that spot on.

Although primarily about designated drivers, I ensured I sent this to my friend Des.

A rather attractive view of the River Witham.

And looking the other way along the Witham.

St. Swithins Church, a Victorian church which isn’t currently open to the public.

I couldn’t put it off any longer, I then decided to climb the mountain, also known as Steep Hill. I pretended that I was Dave Morgan and started off striding up the hill. Three metres later I decided I was bored of pretending to be Dave Morgan and I ambled slowly up the mountain taking photos every thirty seconds or so.

Photos of the hill, evidence of my stopping every few seconds.

Top of the hill where I stopped to find somewhere to lie down. This area is known as Castle Hill and it’s a rather beautiful area, although I was distracted with the lack of oxygen being this high up.

Approaching the Cathedral.

Very slightly lop-sided. I didn’t go into the Cathedral as I was disappointed at the scale of the admission charges, which were £24 per adult including entry and going on the tours. This will have to remain one of the few cathedrals that I haven’t visited, there’s no need in my irrelevant view for entrance fees set at that level. I accept it’s marvellous for short-term financing of the building, but as a long-term mission to engage people in religion and history, it seems very risky to me. The model at Peterborough Cathedral seems much more moderate, free admission and then offering excellent and engaging tours for a fee or donation. How on earth the cathedral is valuing entrance at the same price as the Tower of London I’m not sure, but I do feel sadness at the number of families who won’t be able to afford to visit the building. But, it’s their building and their choice, but as long as the Church of England don’t express surprise that people don’t engage with their other historic structures.

Lunch, my free coffee from O2 and a chicken bake. Living the dream and all that.

I was thinking what a glorious day it was, the sun shining and everything quite balmy.

Layout of the former St. Paul in the Bail church and there was a religious building on this site from perhaps as early as the seventh century. The Victorians built one of their new churches here in 1876, after a few centuries of demolition and rebuilding, but that was taken down in 1972. This is all that remains.

Old gravestones shoved into the tarmac.

Lincoln Castle and the weather started to look rather less balmy than I had been anticipating.

Torrents of rain meant I had to hide under the gateway to the cathedral whilst rivers of water flooded past my feet.

After ten minutes of studying the underside of the gateway, the rain went away and I got a photo of Lincoln castle without a thunderstorm above it.

Lovely square, it’s the same one as I photographed earlier, but I had recovered from the mountain climbing expedition to get to it by now.

The cathedral, which I still really wanted to go in, but I decided they’d made their opinion on visitors welcome, for the few and not the many. I can’t hold a mood for as long as my friend Nathan, but I can last a few hours.

More of the formidable money making machine that is Lincoln Cathedral. I had a look at their menu and the beer choice was limited to Budweiser, so that annoyed me again, and they were charging £4.95 for a bottle as part of their for the few, not the many theme.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Prince of Wales pub which is operated by Stonegate, but I was suitably impressed. The interior was clean, there were power points, the decor was modern and the staff members were friendly. I went for the Atlas from Welbeck Abbey Brewery and this was well-kept and suitably decadent. I also stayed here for longer than I had planned because a group came in which provided me with some entertainment when one of them announced he was having the halloumi burger as deer was his favourite meat. I put this update straight onto Facebook (I set the bar very low in my social media updates) and waited excitedly for the food to be delivered. To cut a long story short, the staff replaced the burger willingly and were very professional about the whole thing.

The outside of the Prince of Wales Inn, much better than I expected and I’d recommend it.

BeerHeadZ was my next pub to visit and my expectations were higher for here.

I decided to get two beers, the Voodoo People from Leviathan Brewing which I forgot that I’d had before, and the Jack in the Basket from Howling Hops, which was an impressive and smooth imperial stout. The crisps were decent as well.

Quirky interior, I liked this bar a lot.

I don’t normally take photos in the toilets, but they’ve made an effort here and it seemed wrong not to acknowledge that.

An interesting take on politics from Cloudwater.

I thought at this stage that I’d better taken a walk back to the footlands of lower Lincoln, this is Michaelgate.

Photos of climbing down the mountain.

This is known as the Jew’s House and the building was first constructed between 1170 and 1180, one of the relatively few residential properties with Norman architecture left in the country. It takes its name as a Jewish man lived there in 1290 and the locals must have a long memory if they’ve called the building that ever since. The property has been used as a restaurant for the last half a century and it’s a remarkable survivor (the building, not particularly the restaurant, although 50 years is good going).

Joiner’s Arms which had been closed the previous day due to staff shortages.

There were no other customers and so the atmosphere was a little muted, but everything was clean and comfortable. They only had a couple of beers, although the landlord pro-actively apologised for that, but the Bullion from Nottingham Brewery was beautifully kept, so I had no complaints.

Where’s Nathan when you need him…. I’d have beaten him easily on this table, I could just tell. I think this is the only pub with a bar billiards table in Lincoln.

Walking back through the centre of Lincoln, there’s a feeling of history all around this rather lovely city.

I thought I’d stay out a bit longer as I wasn’t particularly engaged in going back to the Travelodge. I also had my laptop to get work done and power points were available at the JD Wetherspoon operated The Ritz. This is half a pint of the Animate from Beermats Brewing, it wasn’t kept as well as it could have been, so slightly disappointing.

Just as I was planning my food arrangements, McDonald’s sent me a notification saying I could get a burger for nearly free. I don’t much visit McDonald’s in the UK, but I wasn’t going to turn down a bargain. And I never said that this blog was always full of fine dining and culinary decadence did I?

June 15, 2022
Monday : A Day in Lincoln and the Cardinal’s Hat

My plan for the next few days was to visit Lincoln, which was the first casualty of Covid a couple of years ago, when I had to cancel my hotel and train bookings. It was also the only money I lost on travel, an £18 pound rail ticket to get there wasn’t refunded, but the return was, as train services were cancelled during that weekend because of the Covid worries. In fairness, compared to what others lost, that was trivial and I was very fortunate with Covid relating bookings. Anyway, back to the present (well, back to three weeks ago, as I’m still catching up with this blog), leaving the Travelodge, I walked past the queue for a passport, which even at 08:00 was wrapped around the Passport Office building in Peterborough.

Wetherspoon breakfasts are getting too decadent in price for me now, so I just settled down with my £1.20 unlimited coffee and waited for the train to Lincoln. I can’t complain about the value for money on hot drinks in the pub, especially as I used their power sockets to keep my devices charged up.

Fun fact, Peterborough is twinned with Bourges in France and also Vinnytsia in Ukraine. I’m surprised that the city leaders haven’t twinned the city with one of the Peterboroughs in the United States, or even the one in Ontario in Canada, as that would have made for some interesting holidays, or business trips, whatever they’re called.

The railway station, in all its glory. Located 120 kilometres north of London on the mainline, there are frequent services up to Scotland, although I was getting ready to board a more provincial train.

I was quite taken with this LNER clock, but then again, I’m easily pleased.

I had obtained my train ticket to Lincoln for under £5, another rail sale ticket, and it was all clean and comfortable (the train, not the ticket). I had a reserved seat on this train and also had the entire table for four to myself which was handy.

Lincoln railway station and note the professional photography skills of my finger over the camera. I’ve got used to the phone now, so photos shouldn’t be obscured in future. Hopefully and I can’t promise anything. Formerly known as Lincoln Central, the station was constructed in 1848 for the Great Northern Railway company. There was another railway station nearby, Lincoln St. Marks, which was closed in 1985 and for a change, this decision made sense. But more on this in tomorrow’s riveting update from Lincoln.

The view from the JD Wetherspoon’s Square Sail. I’m still ticking them off my list…. The reviews are fairly average for one of the chain’s venues and it has a modern feel to it and I liked these views from the upstairs tables. I had a little read through the negative reviews, as that’s the sort of thing that passes for entertainment for me on a Sunday evening now and I liked this 1/5 review:

“After waiting over half an hour we my Husband and I (10th Wedding Anniversary!), received 2 mugs of cold Tea, well stewed”

Puzzled as I am that they didn’t just get the tea as self-service and with no disrespect to Wetherspoons, but perhaps a special anniversary deserved a little more of a decadent venue.

This humoured me as well:

“The food was cold the hottest thing on my plate was the English mustard.”

The entrance to the Drill, a drama theatre. It takes its name from when the building was a Drill Hall and it has only recently re-opened following what was feared to be a permanent closure.

I rather liked the head, designed by Rick Kirby.

Located on Free School Lane and next door to the Drill is Lincoln library and I had a quick inspection of the local history section and I was suitably pleased with it. The building was opened as a library in 1914, moving from the Assembly Rooms.

The city’s war memorial which was repaired in 2005 after it started to fall into disrepair.

They took the iron railings during the Second World War to help the war effort and I’m not sure whether that was appropriate or not. Although, in the end, the bulk of this mass collection of metal that they took was just dumped.

And a quick visit to JD Wetherspoon’s, the Ritz. This felt a little bit more rough and ready than their other venue in the city, but I think I preferred this one as it had some characters in it. This former cinema, named Ritz which will come as no surprise, was opened in 1932 and the on-line reviews are again fairly average for the chain.

I’d agree with this customer, but am disappointed that they didn’t upload a photo of their mound of sausages:

“If you are out of a particular item, let the customer know rather than simply decide to substitute it. My mixed grill had no chicken and no lamb, and simply bunging on extra sausages doesn’t make up for that”

And in the middle of another review, someone was complaining in general about the pub and mentioned the pub’s:

“Professional coffee drinkers”

I think I manage that sometimes….

Some of the pub’s decor.

With that it was time to move onto the nearby Travelodge, where I had a cheap room for three nights. The Travelodge room did not surprise and delight me, indeed it annoyed me. This ground floor room didn’t have opening windows so I decided I’d be in a general mood about the room, which wasn’t in a particularly good state of repair and goodness knows what the stain on the curtains was. Anyway, it was cheap.

Departing from my decadent hotel room, I noticed the Lincoln Imps on this closed shop, which was a Boots until recently.

The war memorial again, with St. Benedict’s Church behind it.

This is Lincoln Guildhall, but what’s rather exciting (to me) is that this was the site of the gateway to the town on Ermine Street. The gateway was built in 211 AD and was known as the Stonebow, surviving until the fourteenth century. A new structure was completed in the following century and that in turn was faffed about with in the nineteenth century by the Victorians. It’s still where the meetings of Lincoln City Council take place, a building with considerable historic interest.

The Guildhall’s coat of arms.

George Boole (1815-1864), a local man who was mostly self-taught and he went onto become an important mathematician and philosopher, and I hope my friend Nathan is impressed that even I know of his importance to maths (Boole I mean, I’m not sure how important Nathan’s legacy is to the mathematical community).

Off to the Good Beer Guide listed Cardinal’s Hat pub, which I very much liked, with a suitably interesting keg and cask choice. The service was friendly and the whole pub felt historic and interesting.

Decadent surroundings to enjoy my Voodoo stout from Ossett Brewery, reminding me of my visit to the Rat & Ratchet pub in Huddersfield last year.

Lovely room, I like sitting by books.

The pub has a newspaper for a menu which has their food and drink list as well as some gossip about the pub. I like the idea of this, it might not be entirely practical, but it’s quirky and different.

And as I liked the pub so much, I went for a second drink, the Orbital Horizon from the wonderful Atom Brewery in Hull. Which then promptly reminded me of their pub in Hull, Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange…. This was a very decent beer, a jam doughnut and chocolate sprinkle pale ale, this is just the sort of drink that I like. I am not threatened by beer with a flavour of doughnuts, indeed, I am very open to the concept.

It had started to rain by the time I left the pub, which was far from ideal. I’d recommend the Cardinal’s Hat and the building is authentically old, having been built in the fifteenth century as a residential property. It was used as an inn from 1521 until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when it became a shop. After the Second World War, it was acquired by St. John’s Ambulance and has recently been restored back into a pub, and a fine job they’ve made of it.

I had wanted to go to another pub listed in the Good Beer Guide, but it was closed due to be short staffed, more on that tomorrow. This is the rear of Lincoln Guildhall.

St. Mary’s Conduit, named after St Mary-le-Wigford’s church which is sits in front of.

The conduit was used from the sixteenth century until the turn of the twentieth century (1906 to be exact) to supply drinking water to local residents. They built it by pinching bits of the stone from the Carmelite Friary which has been dissolved following the Reformation, hence the rather quirky looking nature of the structure. There’s far more information about this at https://www.thecollectionmuseum.com/assets/downloads/IS_arch_19_st_marys_conduit.pdf for anyone interested.

June 12, 2022
Friday and Saturday : Plasterer’s Pizza and the Delights of Gorleston Pubs

This blog is getting very disjointed I know, that’s all of the staying in Norwich causing that…. Anyway, my Friday evening involved meandering along to the Plasterer’s Arms, one of my favourite pubs in Norwich. It was the Legstretchers social event that was kindly organised by Maria and I think 12 or so people were there. Despite running Legstretchers for four years and being an active walker (sort of), I must admit to having been to more socials than walks over the last year, I’ll try and correct that at some point.

On the food front, as that’s my favourite aspect, the pizzas were a little small, but were perfectly tasty and I was delighted to be given the extra slices that others didn’t want. I must have looked the hungriest. Again. All told a very lovely evening, especially seeing some people who I haven’t been able to catch up with for a while.

Then on the Saturday there was the excitement of a day in Gorleston with Nathan. At Norwich bus station, I accidentally commented to the bus driver about how expensive First Bus have become and I think that annoyed him, so I probably shouldn’t have passed on my wisdom that public transport fares are going out of control. The driver said that it was cheaper than a taxi, which I accept is true, but that is hardly setting the value for money bar particularly high. It was a busy service but we found seats, although we moved to the back seats when the bus got to Great Yarmouth, as unlike in the Inbetweeners, there was no-one to throw us off.

Several photos in this post are the ones that I took for Untappd, they’re not designed to be entirely representative of the beauty (or not) of the pub that we were in. This is the William Adams, operated by JD Wetherspoon, which was open the earliest for beer. I’ve visited this pub several times before, but never mentioned on this blog much else about it. It’s a relatively small pub for the chain, built on the site of a former chapel (and some graves were found when there was an archaeological dig) and is on one floor only, with the exception of the toilets.

The pub is named after a local hero, a lifesaver who managed to rescue 140 people from drowning, which is an exceptional amount given he wasn’t a lifeguard or member of the RNLI. Instead he worked as a swimming instructor on the beach and used that job to save anyone who was in trouble. He died in October 1913, aged just 49 and there is a now a road as well as this pub named after him, although I’m unsure which he’d be most pleased about. I’d like a pub named after me, or a railway station.

I had a quick look at the reviews, which are towards the higher end of the Wetherspoons scale (yes, it’s reached that point that I can judge that….) and one of my favourite themes came up:

“This [pub] one seems to be run by over zealous bouncers/thugs intent on squashing any fun out your evening by making sure groups of 35 to 45 year old ladies don’t laugh to loudly or have to leave the building?”

I think most people can imagine the back story here.

“S@#t place. No signs to say no kids after 9pm avoid at all costs.”

And this 1/5 review and although there are actually signs, are there many pubs that still welcome children in after 21:00? Nathan had a muffin thing, whilst I had already eaten, this is a reliable breakfast stop to be fair.

Next was Bar 1 and the staff member was friendly, apologising that it looked a bit of a state, but he explained a rugby team had just left. That’s a fair excuse for a slightly messy pub, but he was already cleaning it. It seemed a slightly odd name for a pub, but it’s well reviewed and seems to be popular in the local community, so that’s a win for everyone. Given it was only just midday, I was quite impressed at the amount of beer that the rugby team must have consumed.

The Timothy Taylor’s Landlord was perhaps a little past its best, but sufficiently drinkable for me not to worry about returning it. The glass did though have lipstick marks on it which definitely weren’t mine. Not ideal, but I liked the pub’s environment.

I’d say this is a decent pub for those wanting to watch sport and I liked the interaction from the staff member. The beer selection wasn’t particularly exciting, but the prices were reasonable.

Next was the New Entertainer, a quirky pub in numerous ways, including the shape and the main entrance which is at the rear of the building and leads straight out into a road. Not ideal after several pints. I wasn’t expecting much from this pub, but I very much liked it, it felt like one of those venues that you could easily make friends if new to an area. I went for the Fastolf Pale from Humpty Dumpty Brewery without much initial excitement, but this was very well-kept and had something of a depth of flavour. The pub is well reviewed on-line and although it perhaps felt initially like a local pub for locals it was all well managed, I’d certainly recommend it and they had three different real ales on.

Next was the Oddfellows Arms which was closed when we hadn’t expected it to be earlier in the day, so we returned later on. It took us a little while to work out how to get in, but it transpired that this is the back of the pub.

And this is the front of the pub.

This was perhaps the most modern of the pubs that we went to in terms of the beer options, this is the Camphillsner from Ampersand. Laid-back and friendly, I liked this venue. As an aside, I’m currently in Poland (Siedlce to be exact) and am on track to actually catch up with all my writing deficiencies this month. There will be a lot of time spent with my laptop in bars and cafes. What a time to be alive and all that stuff.

And a little bit of history, this is the oldest house in Gorleston, the medieval guildhall.

Next was the Feathers, a Craft Union pub, which has about as much craft beer in it as B&Q.

The service wasn’t what I would call overly welcoming, but it also wasn’t rude and in fairness it was busy, it’s a real community pub and there are low prices. Back on the Landlord from Timothy Taylor’s, it was well kept and tasted as it should, so no complaints there. The drinks options just aren’t very decadent for my liking, but it serves a purpose.

Next was the Dock Tavern and Nathan ensured that we were noticed by not being able to work out how to open the door. Actually, in fairness to Nathan (and I am very fair indeed) that’s the situation that I usually get myself into, so I have sympathy. Although that didn’t stop me doing an apologetic look at the locals to get some sympathy at the whole arrangement. The service at the bar was warm and engaging, with the Nog from Woodforde’s Brewery being well kept.

Nathan put this, the Short Blue, on our list of pubs to go to as a bit of a wild card, because it is well reviewed, but it isn’t known for its beers.

It was unfortunately a disappointment, the service wasn’t really there and the selection of real ales was limited to Woodforde’s Wherry. The beer was on the turn and if the pub had another ale I would have returned it, but as it was just drinkable, I persisted. The positive reviews appear to be for the food, but we weren’t there for that and it wasn’t available on the day of our visit anyway. But, we visited and gave it a chance, but it was more expensive than the other pubs and I can’t say I’ll be hurrying back.

With that it was time to walk back to the bus, past Mr Chi’s.

Beautifully kept exterior of the Subway.

Back on the bus, we were very excited to see Liam’s bridge as we drove by on the bus.

And there it is.

We had been tempted by the KFC in Gorleston because we’re into fine dining, but as the bus to Norwich turned up at that point, we decided to eat in Norwich. Subway was the location we picked, Nathan is a former regular here and I had a free six-inch sub, so win-win. Very delicious it was too.

Next it was Riley’s for pool and look at the delicious Guinness…. I like their careful pouring of the product in the appropriate glass.

After a strong start from Nathan, I caught up and we drew 4-4 before the lights went off at the table. Nathan insisted on playing in the dark and so he claimed the final frame even though it was nearly impossible to see. I didn’t say anything of course, I pretended he could have the victory, but I bet Ronnie O’Sullivan wouldn’t have counted frames he played in the dark.

A quick one in the Malt and Mardle, a wonderfully friendly venue and I’ve done an interview with them. A rather lovely IPA from Brew By Numbers, with the service being warm and conversational as usual. This micropub is well worth a visit, and indeed, I got them extra customers the previous evening when I kept recommending them.

The Artichoke was busy so we were forced to sit outside, with two women coming to ask if they could sit on the other end of the table. Then their two friends plonked themselves down between us, which equally annoyed Nathan and me (we get annoyed easily, sometimes by the same thing and also by bad beer), but we’re too laid-back to say anything or even look slightly annoyed.

I’ve been meaning to go to the Star Fish Bar for a while, as it’s located the rather excellent Leopard pub. It was all a bit generic and basic, although at slightly expensive prices. Nothing disastrous, but it’s way off the quality of Lucy’s, I now demand a butcher’s sausage and no generic rubbish.

Nathan won at bar billiards, I’ll give him that. We played this one in the light. He’s getting a lot better to be fair. Nathan only knew about 28 other customers in the King’s Head, so a lower number than normal. He’s very social.

Pickled eggs and beer, what a combination. Anyway, I thought that we were on top form on this expedition, full of exciting new ideas and the like, one of my favourite days out in a while. All really rather lovely.

June 10, 2022
Fleet – Prince Arthur

I’ve now completed all the Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Farnborough, although there are only three and one of those is effectively in a shed that the council has stopped the public from visiting. Going to Fleet for the day, there’s only Good Beer Guide pub listed there and it’s the JD Wetherspoon outlet, Prince Arthur.

I’ll use JD Wetherspoon’s history of the reason for the pub name:

“Fleet’s development as a town was due, in large measure, to the nearby army camp at Aldershot. In the 1890s, its commanding officer was Prince Arthur, third son of Queen Victoria. During his time in charge, Prince Arthur lived in Fleet. This was the first shop in Fleet with two entrances and had ‘a good turnover of groceries, including butter and tea’.”

There’s an odd thing about JD Wetherspoon pubs that you can, after several years of training by going in them so regularly, get the vibe almost as soon as entering. There are the glossy new pubs with shiny plugs, dimmer switches, every style of menu at the door, then there are the pubs that look as though they’re near to falling down, mostly the older ones in London that they’re straining to use every inch of space as they’re so busy. There are fabulous interiors in historic buildings and then pubs such as this, mostly from the turn of the century, when they were a little less decadent in the design amidst a wave of new openings. And these ones tend to have the best staff, they’ve almost moulded into the community in which they serve, the staff knew the customers and most of these are locals. These pubs are not flashy, but they’re reassuringly present and it’s noticeable that some of their most loyal older customers sit near to the entrance excited to see their friends come in. I like these pubs.

That egg looks far from ideal and I’m not quite sure why they’re serving them over easy in some attempt to perhaps replicate dining in the United States, but fortunately, the yolk was still runny. I’m not saying that my morning would have been ruined if I couldn’t dip the toast in the egg, but I would have muttered quietly to myself (and would have probably sent the egg back as I’m annoying like that). All else was fine with the breakfast and for the money it was entirely fine, we’re looking at under £5 for unlimited coffee and a traditional breakfast.

Half a pint of Illustrious from Irving & Co Brewers, a small brewery from Portsmouth. Quite a fruity pale ale, this one had a pleasant aftertaste, was well-kept and was priced at the ridiculously good value of £1. The staff here were friendly and personable, with more conversations between team members and customers than I’ve seen in a JD Wetherspoon outlet for quite some time, it had the feel of a community pub.

It’s a relatively large pub which stretches back some way, with numerous power points dotted around the place which is quite handy. The online reviews of the pub are quite reasonable, although they’ve annoyed the usual selection of customers over the years, including the:

“Shoddy short shelf life beers which often run out due to them buying up leftover stocks. Poor quality, end of life produce.”

Which is a persistent lie that only recently seems to be dying out…..

I’m conscious that some people dislike JD Wetherspoon, but the quality of the service, the range of the products, the cleanliness of the venue and the value combines to form a reliably positive experience. This particular pub does need a refurbishment at some point as it’s getting a little tired, but it seems a very sensible addition to the Good Beer Guide to me.

February 21, 2022
Farnborough – Prince of Wales Pub

On my continued trek around pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide, the Prince of Wales is located around a fifteen minute walk from the centre of Farnborough, although is quite near to Farnborough North railway station.

There’s a mixture of traditional and modern design in the pub, I think it all works well.

The cask and keg options. There was a friendly welcome from the member of staff at the bar, with the surroundings being warm and peaceful.

Some effort has been made with the bar snacks, I approve of this arrangement.

The selection of real ales, a colourful and well presented bar. Interestingly, there are Siren Craft Brew and Brewdog bar mats, another touch of modernity.

The Princely Porter from Ascot Brewing Company, a decent porter with a pleasant chocolate flavour, although I’m not sure that I got much of the dark berry fruits that the brewer mentioned. The Roast Ox crisps complemented it beautifully.

I can’t say that the situation with dogs here is ideal, although it’s not really for me to criticise as pubs at the moment can’t really afford to turn away custom (I more mean dog owners rather than dogs themselves). However, the dogs here were being unruly, jumping on tables and barking loudly and for a prolonged period. The environment soon switched from cosy and welcoming to a place which was considerably less appealing. There was a craft beer that I was going to have from Brew York, but I decided to leave it as the environment lost its excitement for me.

There were no particular problems with the pub, as the staff members were polite, the surroundings were clean and comfortable with the beer range being really quite decent for a pub on the edge of a town. They’re not currently serving food, but I’m not sure it would be ideal for customers trying to eat a Sunday roast whilst navigating around the dogs. It’s also well reviewed on-line, so they’re clearly consistently pleasing customers. They do seem to have abandoned their social media accounts though, leaving Twitter untouched and deleting Facebook, and they’re not responding to reviews, so it’s difficult to get an understanding of what is going on here in terms of events and menus.

The pub is though not just in the Good Beer Guide, but it has been in for over forty years, it has won numerous local awards and their offering craft beer is a really positive development for such a pub with long cask traditions. Dogs aside, this is a very decent pub and I’m sure that it’ll remain in the Good Beer Guide for some time to come.

February 21, 2022
Basingstoke – The Angel

I didn’t have long in Basingstoke, but I made time to pop to one Good Beer Guide listed pub and the nearest was the JD Wetherspoon operated Angel. This is an odd pub, it’s really not that big and was at its capacity in terms of tables taken when I visited, so they were losing customers who couldn’t find a seat.

Service was friendly and welcoming, I went for half a pint of the Lowry from Hydes Brewery, who are based in Salford and that came to the grand total of £1. Rather than rewriting the history, this is what JD Wetherspoon say about their pub:

“This former Lloyds No.1 bar opened in 2002. In 2015, it was renamed The Angel after The Angel Inn which stood behind Barclays Bank, in Market Place. The historic inn was the venue for dances which were attended by the novelist Jane Austen. The Angel closed in the 1860s. A new Angel was built soon after, on the corner of Wote Street and Potters Lane, but was demolished in the 1960s, during the rebuilding of the town centre.”

I stayed at the bar which was bright and colourful. I spent most of the time people watching, as it was hard to get lost in a world of reading when trying to ensure I wasn’t in the way of any customer. Although I carefully avoided standing near the real ale options, as a new pet hate of mine is when people sit there and block the view of those (terms and conditions apply, such as when the pub lists their beer on Untappd…..). Anyway, I digress again.

The Lowry beer was fine, although unremarkable, a few Citra hops shining through an entirely drinkable beer.

The reviews for the beer are around average for JD Wetherspoon outlets, perhaps slightly above average. I noted this review:

“Enjoyable evening, having met up with friends, enjoying catching up laughing tell jokes. Bar staff than comes over and says, we are not serving you anymore your table is too noise too much laughter coming from it, we thought they were having a joke, but no they wouldn’t serve us because we were too noisy. Really!!”

Good.

“We ordered 6 breakfasts and waited 1 hour 20 minutes for it. When it arrived it was cold, rubbery and tasteless. The portion of beans consisted of 18 – it was so funny we counted”

I fear there might be a Facebook group about beans soon, as if the one about chips isn’t enough…..

“Staff just out of nappies no social skills. Serve youths before more mature customers even when you been waiting longer just to get noticed”

I can’t imagine why the staff ignored this customer…..

“Our evening was spoilt by an over zealous manager….. Who got upset when we sang happy birthday to our friend. It put a dampener on the rest of the evening. It was not rowdy. It was a quick song song. You run a pub not a library…..”

I’m liking the pub more and more….. Unnecessarily raucous.

“Haha we got told to stop laughing . We’re in the world can’t you go out for a beer and have a good time . This is weatherspoon not the bloody Ritz”

Marvellous. Anyway, I’ve got distracted again….

There’s not much else I can note about the pub as I wasn’t there for long and everything was quite busy, but the staff were seemingly enjoying themselves, or as much as they could. I can see why the pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide as there were seven or eight different real ales and that’s enough to justify an entry, although the surroundings weren’t particularly cosy (but that’s often the case in these former Lloyds venues). There is another JD Wetherspoon outlet in the town, the Maidenhead Inn, and I suspect that the surroundings there are a little quieter and more sedate.

February 21, 2022
Reading – The Retreat

On my little tour of Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Reading (and any others recommended to me en route) I popped into The Retreat after dodging the flying wheelie bins in the area. I had been stopped a few minutes before by a woman who told me that a chunk of a tree had fallen off in the gales, although I’m not sure what she expected me to do about it. She asked me if she could have this lump of wood, but I didn’t feel that it was really my place to decide that either way. I couldn’t work out whether she wanted half a tree for some purpose at her house or whether she was worried that it would fly off and hit a car or pedestrian. Anyway, she walked off looking happy with her tree acquisition, but I’m not sure that I aided much.

As is evident from my never ending posts about pubs, I nearly always decide that the service in them is friendly and welcoming, and that was indeed the case here. But, it’s much more rarely that I decide that a pub goes further and that the customers are also keen to engage with anyone coming in. I’m always heartened when this happens, as it’s apparent to me that if someone had just moved into the area and come in here, then they’d be made to feel comfortable and keen to become a local. As is likely evident from where I’m going here, this is true of this pub. Indeed, it reminded me of the welcome offered by the Hop & Vine in Hull a few years ago, which has seen me divert to the city on numerous occasions to go back.

This pub is not just listed in this year’s Good Beer Guide, it was first listed in the book in 1974, showing some considerable beer heritage. And, as another one of my flights of fancy, I noted the owners have made the effort to write a comprehensive history of the pub, something which I always think is a delight and done far too infrequently. Pubs so often have a long heritage and so often there is nothing mentioned by the owners about their history. Anyway, I digress.

I went for half a pint of Harvest Pale from Castle Rock Brewery, which was well-kept and tasted as it should do. There were several real ales available, all reasonably priced. I didn’t opt for Woodforde’s Wherry, although it reminded me of my visit to their brewery a few months ago. I needed to eat elsewhere, but I was tempted by the bar snacks here, but that’s often the case.

The recommendations of pubs that I asked for from a nearby customer transpired to be excellent suggestions, although I’ve still got a few more to go. Thanks to one of the pub’s customers, I’ve also discovered how to get rid of pigeons, although I won’t go into that too much. I very much liked the inviting atmosphere that they had going on here and if I had more time I would have likely lingered for hours.

Doing some work on mental health for another organisation, I’m reminded by pubs such as this just how much they serve the communities in which they are based. I am convinced that anyone lonely, unsure or in need of company would be made entirely welcome here, and that’s the best praise I think that I can give The Retreat. So very lovely and an outstanding pub that I suspect I’ll be diverting back to come and visit again, perhaps on the day of the Pickled Onion Contest…..

February 18, 2022
Reading – Greyfriar of Reading

Cask (eight options) and keg (fourteen options) meet here, a Good Beer Guide listed pub which is also an Untappd verified venue (wooooo – another venue badge…..) and is well reviewed on-line. I’m not sure that the quality of the experience is evident from the exterior, but I had high hopes after reading about it. The advantage of having beer options listed on Untappd is that I’m excited before entering, or at least my expectations have been moderated if the choices aren’t very decadent.

It was quite dark inside, so I struggled to get a clear photo, so this will have to do. There are plenty of cask and keg options, with the service being efficient and polite, with the far wall off to the right being covered in pump clips to add a little decoration to the arrangement. This pub seemed to have a bit of everything in terms of customer demographic, young and old, male and female, quiet and loud, all fitting together well, so I’d suggest that this is very much a pub at ease with itself.

The Inner-City Sumo from the formidable Turning Point Brewing Company, memorable for me as they brew the Yellow Matter Custard beer. This beer was delightful, a heap of passionfruit and orange and aroma to mach. It’s actually also got guava, but I have no idea what that tastes like, as I’m not a fruit expert. It’s a shame that more beers aren’t designed to taste like crisps or chocolate bars, as I could add an element of knowledge to my comments there…..

The Night Lapse, also from Turning Point, which was perhaps a bit too roasty (as they put it) for me, but a well kept cask beer which had a depth of flavour and no shortage of coffee notes.

I very much liked this pub and am pleased that it has reached the Good Beer Guide, although I assume that’s primarily because of the quality of their real ales. I liked the keg options, I liked the environment and I suspect this will be one of the best pubs that I visit in Reading. How lovely.

February 17, 2022
Reading – Allied Arms

There are more Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Reading than I had expected, over ten in the centre (or within easy walking distance of it) and I’ll try to get to as many as possible. This is the Allied Arms, one of the few pubs that doesn’t serve food (other than bar snacks) and it has some history to it, which I might as well quote from their web-site:

“The Allied Arms has been a pub since 1828 but the building dates back to the 16th Century. Over the years it has been used as a butchers and brewery as well as a pub. The inside decor is warm and cosy and includes old beams which likely came from the ruins of Reading Abbey after the dissolution by Henry VIII.”

I liked a building with some heritage to it and it’d be good to think that the old beams theory is true.

Unfortunately, the stout I ordered ran out as it was being poured, so I switched to the Loddon Hullabaloo which was adequate and at the appropriate temperature. I had hoped for something darker and the pub will usually have that offer available, I was just slightly unfortunate today that the barrel ran out. Nonetheless, there were a range of beer styles, and although nothing exceptional, it was entirely adequate. Pricing here, which I knew about in advance from reviews, is a little expensive and I suspect that might cost them some custom, although it’s not unreasonable.

The interior of the pub, all bright and feeling historic. There’s a front and back room, both served by the same bar, as well as a large outdoors garden. I can imagine that on most weekends the seating gets taken quickly, so the extensive external area must be quite handy.

The Loddon Hullabaloo, which is the pub’s house ale, produced by the Loddon Brewery who are based on Dunsden in Oxfordshire (I thought that sounded quite a long way away, but I’ve realised how near Reading us to the border of Berkshire and Oxfordshire).

It’s a nice enough little pub, with the staff member being friendly and welcoming, so there was an inviting and quite cosy atmosphere. They’re still requiring masks to be worn, which I’m happy with that their being choice and I had one ready, so all was well. Given the building’s heritage and the range of real ales, I can see why it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

February 17, 2022