Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Two Julians

Cromer – Wellington Pub (Two Julians)

The first pub of the day was the Wellington on Garden Street which has been operated by the same family for thirty years. It’s been a pub since the beginning of the nineteenth century when it was converted from fishermen’s cottages, but it was rebuilt in the 1890s after a fire. After a period as an S&P pub it became part of the Watney Mann estate, but they sold it in 1970 and it has remained free trade since.

There was perhaps an absence of welcome if I’m being honest, but the service was efficient and the pub was busy with the staff concentrating on a few larger orders when we arrived. There were no tables free when we arrived, so we sat at the bar and everything was clean and tidy. There was certainly quite a variety of customers in the pub, including families, solo drinks, different ages and it gave it a community feel to it which I rather liked.

There were three beers available, Ghost Ship from Adnams, Wherry from Woodfordes and Golden Jackal from Wolf. I went for the Golden Jackal and that was well-kept and tasted of a good quality, with Julian’s Ghost Ship also being agreeable.

I’ve been out of the trade for so long that I’m no longer aware of new drinks, but I hadn’t heard of the Disaronno Velvet before. Sounds suitably decadent though.

The entrance to the sizeable courtyard. The pub usually serves food but for whatever reason it wasn’t when we visited. A customer came and politely asked if they could eat their chips in the courtyard given that there was no food available, but the staff member said they couldn’t. I can imagine the pub has difficulties with people doing that without asking, so I can see why they wouldn’t want to.

It’s a decent courtyard space and gives more seating options given that it was full inside.

The reviews are a bit mixed, but I can imagine it’s challenging running a venue which is popular with tourists as that creates all sorts of staffing complexities. I had a look at the reviews though as I like to read about a bit of drama.

“My husband and I visited this pub today on a lovely day we had a glass of Aspall cider each and I realised my glass had a big crack so I went to the bar and asked if I could have a clean glass but you will never guess what the barmaid did??!! Well this barmaid poured the cider I had in the cracked glass into the clean one!! 😳, I just couldn’t believe it, what if there are splinters of glass in it!!!”

A customer not happy with food service times:

“Amazing food in the Smokehouse but….. Closes at 4pm (yes 4pm ffs!) during the week. I know it’s Cromer but that’s a ridiculously early closing time. Really wanted to eat here again but somewhere else that’s open until a grown up time got my money….”

But I liked the venue’s response:

“Hope you enjoyed your grown up meal!”

Sub-optimal….. Anyway, I digress. The Wellington have four rooms for those who want to stay the night and their food offering is the Smoke Kitchen where the meals sound delicious although there’s no pricing on the web-site. Anyway, we enjoyed this pub, it had something of an atmosphere to it, everything was clean and it seemed to be welcoming to all. A very solid start to our day.

August 2, 2023
Norwich – Edith Cavell Pub

The Edith Cavell is back open again, so Julian and I thought that it would be only polite to go and have a little visit. In normal Two Julians style, this post will also be appearing at our web-site at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/. It’s a Victorian corner pub which was known as the Army & Navy Stores until 1981 when it changed to its current name. There have been a few periods when it has been called other things, including rather oddly Coles, with some slight variations to the name along with some troubled times for some operators of this venue.

Edith Cavell is something of a local hero, she was a nurse from Norfolk who was working in Brussels at the outbreak of the First World War. When the Germans took over the city of Brussels, Cavell started to assist British and French soldiers there to leave the occupied territories so that they could fight against the Germans. So, the Germans shot her in October 1915 with the defence that:

“It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it was necessary. She was judged justly … It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed; but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because they were committed by women.”

Cavell was buried at Norwich Cathedral and there’s a memorial to her located opposite to the Edith Cavell pub.

Back to the pub, the interior of the venue has been redecorated and it has a cosy and warm feel to it. I’m not sure how functional some of the seating is as I prefer tables, but it’s all inoffensive. It was also clean and warm, with the reduced lighting adding somewhat to the atmosphere. It seemed inviting and it’s in a beautiful location in Tombland and overlooked by Norwich Cathedral.

Apologies that the lighting made it difficult to take a clean photo, but there’s Camden Pale, Camden Hells, Lagunitas IPA, Brixton Pale Ale and Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’.

And apologies again for the photo, but Birra Morretti, Amstel, Beavertown Neck Oil, Guinness and Cruzcampo flavoured water. My first impressions were that I found the set-up a little depressing as it’s nearly identical to some of the Ibis hotels that I’ve stayed at recently, but no point being too judgemental too early.

Julian had arrived before me and asked about their range of real ale, but they don’t sell that. It transpired, as we have similarly highly developed ordering strategies, that Julian and I both tried to order the Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’, but they had run out of that. The service was polite though and it’s cashless, something which I have a lot of sympathy for, but it’s going to be a challenge for them in terms of reviews as there are some militant cash is king customers around who will make their views known when they realise.

I went for the Cruzcampo flavoured water, which Heineken are throwing huge marketing spend at in a bid to position it as a reasonably priced premium beer. It’s not a great surprise to see it so badly reviewed on Untappd, it tasted bland, generic and pointless to me, it perhaps needs to be served in a hot environment so it’s a refreshing option at least.

The pub is owned by Stonegate, who had to force their way in earlier in the year to “make it safe”, so it’s had some very recent challenges. This presents some problems for the new tenants as they’ve now I assume hit the Stonegate tie, which is forcing them to go for some rather generic keg options. Julian is a real ale man, whereas I’m more excited by decadent keg options such as offered by the Artichoke, Leopard, Plasterers and Malt & Mardle, all a relatively short walk away. There are no beers here which surprised and delighted me, with the problem that some of these drinks such as Beavertown are a chunk over £6 a pint, which is a brave position to be in given the current economic climate.

The venue is planning to open a separate gin bar on the first floor in a few weeks, in the space that was formerly used by Prime to serve their steaks. They’ll be able to get some decent mark ups on that sort of drink and I can imagine it’ll be popular on Friday and Saturday evenings, although there’s the limitation that the venue is relatively small. I imagine there will be a rush to sell cocktails as well, another gross profit winner. I’m sure that they’ll make a decent job of the interior of the first floor to ensure that it remains comfortable.

For me, this isn’t a venue that I’d return to on a regular basis, although I can understand the attraction and don’t want to be negative. Writing just for me, I don’t mind whether a pub does real ale well or craft beer well, there are some smaller breweries offering both types of beer which continue to surprise and delight me. But, just as I don’t run to the bar with excitement when seeing Greene King IPA, I’m not going to rush for premium priced keg beers that I can get in any number of other places.

But, positivity is the key, the owners are trying something new, they’ve ensured that the pub is open for the local community and I’m sure it’ll be the offering that many customers want. And variety is the spice of life, it would be a nightmare if every pub was the same with the same choices at the bar. The pub was clean, the staff were friendly, the atmosphere was inviting, it felt safe and so that’s all to the good.

PS, apologies again for the poor quality photos!

July 27, 2023
Norwich – Weavers Arms

The Weavers Arms on Muspole Street has recently reopened, so Julian and I felt the need to pay it a quick visit (this post will also be appearing on our web-site at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/). The venue has gone through a succession of owners, as well as new names, but the incoming tenants are also behind Brick Pizza and the Yard restaurant, so they have some considerable experience. There is another Woolpack in Norwich, operated by Greene King, which might be the reason that they haven’t returned to that name, although it’s always a shame when heritage is lost.

There’s some religious heritage to the site, as not only is it opposite St. George’s Church it also stands on the former site of the residential property used by the Prior of the Augustinian Priory of Our Lady Walsingham. It has been a hospitality venue called the Woolpack since the middle of the eighteenth century, hence why its recent change of name feels sub-optimal. The listed building record notes that there is an re-used sixteenth century wooden beam on the ground floor which is likely from 1510 and so it might have been in the Prior’s living room before the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

There were four real ales available and there were a couple of new beers here that I hadn’t had before. The combination of having a local brewery along with some ales from further afield that customers haven’t had seems eminently sensible.

And there were some craft keg options as well, although other drinks such as coffees, cocktails and generic keg are also available as well. For the size of the venue, the choice of drinks seems entirely reasonable and met my expectations.

The back bar arrangement. The service was attentive and polite, with the venue being relatively busy on the Saturday evening that we visited. Julian is excited and delighted about their extended hours on a Friday and Saturdays night, as we both share enthusiasm for longer hours in pubs so that we’re not forced into visiting cocktail bars. Which has been known.

To ensure that our research was thorough, I had half a pint of all four of the real ales, with the prices for these being around £2.10 each which isn’t unreasonable. They were all well kept and at the appropriate temperature, so there’s clearly some cellar knowledge here. The lighting was a little dark when we visited, but that seemed to fit the inviting and cosy nature of the venue, this isn’t somewhere that needs fierce lights. We sat at the bar, carefully ensuring that we weren’t blocking the view of the beers, where the seating was comfortable and the interior redesign has been sensitively done.

I went for the Slap Bang Citra from North Riding Brew Pub, which has a decent flavour to it but really needed more citra with a beer name like that. Brother Rabbit is one of the few beers from Thornbridge that I hadn’t tried, it’s a suitably decadent golden ale. Then comes the old reliable of Encore from Lacons Brewery and the session bitter of the JHB from Oakham Ales.

Although we had arrived too late for dining, the pub is offering food, with some tempting delights including the chicken & tarragon pie and the beef shin & Guinness pie. For those who don’t go straight to the pies section of the menu, there are also salads, steaks and fish options. It feels like a compact and manageable menu, I suspect the food quality is very high given the provenance of the owners. There are three rooms in this venue, but as it was busy I couldn’t easily go around taking photos.

Onto the toilets, which are in a more recent extension to the building. My friend Gordon also visited the pub this weekend and sent me some photos of the venue’s rather more, er, revealing artwork in the facilities although I hadn’t noticed those. One thing they’ll need to resolve is actually putting male and female signs on the toilets, the whole arrangement at the moment is confusing and a customer was commenting about it to a staff member.

Julian has decided to make extra visits to the pub to ensure that his high standards are being met, and I’m pleased to note that his considerable research efforts have confirmed that all seems well. The pub is a little bit tucked away and unlikely to get much passing trade, which all means that it’s going to have to get a solid reputation to ensure that customers go out there. However, from what I’ve seen, it looks likely that they’ll make a success of this pub.

July 24, 2023
Two Julians – We’ve Got Our Own Place!

I’m aware that my blog has been a little slow recently and so partly as a combination of that (don’t worry, the new server is sorted and the problem should be fixed very soon) and wanting our own space I’ll like to announce that the Two Julians also now has its own website 🙂

The content will still be posted here, but have a look at our latest study tour at Beccles along with an archive of older posts at our new place.

We’re at www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/.

July 6, 2023
Beccles Pub Day – Two Julians

This content is also available at our web-site at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/.

Another day, another study tour. This time to Beccles, to see what delights could be offered in this fine Suffolk metropolis. I boarded the X2 bus at the bus station, whilst Julian boarded a little further down the route and he marched magnificently down the aisle like a strutting peacock.

Safely in Beccles, we were starting our expedition at the Ingate. And the list of pubs that we visited were:

Ingate

Wine Vaults Bar and Restaurant

Bear & Bells

Waveney House Hotel

King’s Head Hotel

Unlike in Wymondham, where we completed all nine venues listed on Untappd, we had a little more difficulty completing Beccles. The Butchers Arms doesn’t open until later in the day and nor do two of the social clubs. We also missed out the Caxton Arms, partly because their lack of real ale meant it didn’t show up on the CAMRA map. However, we’re not amateurs at this, oh no. We’ll be back on another study tour and will also take in some nearby countryside pubs. We’re not one trick ponies who just do urban pubs, we’re two trick ponies who cover the countryside as well.

I would have much liked to have gone in the Ale of a Time shop which was selling a range of beers, but unfortunately they have limited opening hours. Good to see this sort of place opening though.

I make no comment.

We made time to pop into the town’s church.

And off we go at the end of the day. Julian made the ridiculous comment that I needed a new bag, but I ignored that. My McCain’s bag has been going strong for over a decade and it’s not going anywhere (well, technically, it goes loads of places, but you get the idea). Safely back into Norwich, we had enjoyed yet another marvellous day out.

The Ingate is a fine pub, which very much deserves to be in the Good Beer Guide, that was a surprise and delight. The Wine Vaults was more food focused but they were welcoming to drinkers, with the same being true of the Waveney House Hotel and its fine views of the river. The Bear & Bells wasn’t what I expected, but it was hard to fault the King’s Head, which is the JD Wetherspoon venue in Beccles. As mentioned, we’ll be back soon enough, but our next adventure is to Cromer, the pearl of North Norfolk, as well as a trip to Ipswich to add to the mix. And we’re not ruling out doing some even wider straddling and might perhaps treat ourselves to a London study tour at some stage.

July 6, 2023
Wymondham Pub Day – Two Julians

Our study tour of the week was to Wymondham and we managed to visit all nine venues which CAMRA have listed. Julian and I are both unanimous in just how rigorous our testing needs to be, so we didn’t want any venue to be missed out. Here’s Julian at Wymondham Abbey, which we found time to go and visit. We’re not one trick ponies, we also have plenty to say about public transport and history.

On the subject of buses, I was once again delighted to take advantage of the £2 single fare, with the buses sort of running to time.

The pubs or bars we visited were:

Robert Kett

Queen’s Head

Cross Keys

White Hart

Green Dragon

Wymondham Sports Bar

Feathers

Ex-Services Club

The Railway

Wymondham is certainly not badly served by the pubs and there’s plenty of choice for visitors and locals. The Robert Kett is more of an estate pub, but the rest are located in the town centre. The Queen’s Head and the Railway are more food led, with those liking historic interiors being recommended to visit the Green Dragon and the White Hart. The Wymondham Sports Bar was an unexpected highlight, although there’s some confusion as to whether CAMRA members can visit the Ex-Services Club or not. The Cross Keys was the liveliest of the venues, with the Feathers being the only Wymondham pub listed in the Good Beer Guide with the Green Dragon having lost their position in the book.

Julian and I rarely complain about anything, but we did comment several times about how bloody hot it was during the day.

It did rain at some point, but we were too busy studying one of the pubs in detail.

The length of this study day meant that we didn’t get back to the bus stop until around 20:30, but at least we left in daylight. I hope that my comments about all the venues are sufficiently positive, as it’s marvellous that these pubs are all still open and operating. In these challenging times, pubs are an important part of the community and I’m delighted that we were able to visit them all.

Previous study tours have included to North Walsham, Aylsham, Bungay and Dereham. I’m pleased to report that there are several more study tours currently being planned, including one by train to widen our coverage territory even further.

June 23, 2023
Wymondham – The Railway

This was the ninth and final pub of the day for Julian and I on our study tour of Wymondham, with some slight concern as we approached that it was shut. It would have been something of an anti-climax, but I’m pleased to say that it was open and numerous customers were enjoying the outside seating area.

The frontage of the pub, which was for a long time a hotel, from another angle. It’s located just a short walk from the town’s railway station, but the pub name might have given that away to my assiduous readers.

This signage feels like something from a couple of years ago, but they don’t appear to be entirely enforcing these requirements now.

The bar and another reminder that they’re short of staff. We were served by a friendly staff member and I was pleased that she was able to point us towards a table with a plug by it as my phone was running out of charge. As can be seen, there weren’t unfortunately any real ales available.

The range of keg beers with a relatively limited choice.

However, there was Blue Moon which I’m always quite partial to, served with the obligatory slice of orange. This was sufficient for me and tasted as expected.

It’s a large pub and everything felt clean and comfortable. Not that I’m really one to offer decor advice, but I was a little surprised at the lack of railway memorabilia or posters on the walls, that would have felt more appropriate to me. However, I was just pleased that I was able to leave with rather more phone charge than I entered with.

Another room in the pub, there were no issues with finding a seat. The venue seems quite food led, although drinkers are welcome, with numerous people eating meals. They’re trying to keep the prices affordable and the quality high, if we hadn’t of just eaten I think that we would have pleased with the offering here.

A covered area outside, this looked suitably inviting. This area looked new and as if the pub has recently gone through something of a refurbishment.

I liked this pub, although it had the weakest selection of beers that we encountered during the day. The service was friendly, the pub was clean and I always enjoy Blue Moon so that sufficed me. I thought that the limited beer options might have been some issue with the venue being part of a pubco, but the pub’s web-site notes that they are a family operated free house. Although we didn’t eat here, this appears to be a strong point of the pub’s offering and at some point I may return for a quick meal. For anyone with a wait for a train (or, more specifically, a train departing from Wymondham), this seems a suitable place to come and visit.

June 23, 2023
Wymondham – Ex-Services Club

I used to be a member of the Lowestoft Ex Servicemens Club, although not for reasons of ever being in the military, as I’m not sure how useful I would have been to them if I’m being honest. CAMRA note that “CAMRA members are admitted up to 6 times a year” and so Julian and I thought that we’d pop in when passing. We are very thorough in our study tour research and if CAMRA say it’s good to go in, then we feel obliged to give it a little try which made this our eighth venue of the day.

Unfortunately, the barman informed me that CAMRA members couldn’t enter and the information from CAMRA thus seemed wrong. Rather awkwardly but fortunately for us, a helpful customer told us that we were welcome but just needed to sign in. The barman fortunately decided not to contest this, but it’s unfortunate as otherwise we would have had a clean sweep of nine excellent welcomes in Wymondham.

Back to the beer options, there were three real ales to choose from and for non-members they’re priced at slightly above pub prices, although members are I understand charged a lower rate.

I went for the Oakham Inferno and this was well-kept and suitably refreshing.

The bar area and there were plenty of snack options to be had. The club was busy when we went, so we sat at the bar and gossiped about numerous people we know, in that way we have of informing each other of random news. Everything was clean and comfortable, although it was rather hot inside.

The members in the club were all welcoming and I think this is probably just a venue that doesn’t get many people just wandering in off the streets in the early evening and so perhaps we caught them unawares. I suspect that the system is that a member can guest someone in, hence how we were allowed to be served, but I found the set-up just a little awkward and it’s wasn’t clear for a while whether we’d just be asked to leave. It’s a shame, as without generalising I think CAMRA members would enjoy the club as it’s got a decent selection of beers and an amenable group of members. For anyone wanting to visit, I’d be tempted to contact the club in advance just to check where the land currently lies.

June 23, 2023
Wymondham – Feathers

Our seventh venue of the day was the Feathers pub, the only Good Beer Guide listed pub in Wymondham and I haven’t visited here before. We had to wait for this pub to open as it closes in the afternoon, also choosing it for food as we hadn’t found anywhere appropriate and had been rather powered on Mini Cheddars. Anyway, I digress. Historically this pub was known as the Plume of Feathers and it has been a hospitality venue since the late eighteenth century.

There were five real ales available and I went for the Here Comes Summer from Mighty Oak Brewing. When it got a bit busier nearly all of the customers sat at the bar which made seeing what beers were available more difficult, but in fairness to the pub there is a separate blackboard with the options listed out. The service was immediate and friendly, it was yet another welcoming venue.

The food menu, part one.

The food menu, part two.

The pub had a cosy and comfortable feel to it.

A bicycle on the wall.

There’s plenty of character here.

I consider this genius (but I don’t get out much), and I know that Julian was also impressed, which is having little scissors to cut the sauces with. Absolutely inspired, although ironically the sauce packets they used were some of the easy ones to open so I didn’t get to use the scissors.

The Here Comes Summer beer was well kept and had pleasant citrusy notes.

I went for the chicken and leek pie, which was served as a large portion which satiated my appetite. The pie was generously filled and the chips were fluffy on the interior and firm on the exterior, with the vegetables retaining some bite. This did the job and it was all served piping hot and was brought out without too long a wait.

The pub is very well reviewed on-line and is clearly popular with locals and visitors to the town. Its position in the Good Beer Guide seems justified, it is a traditional pub which felt competently managed. Definitely recommended and it’s not the pub’s fault that we left slightly sleepy after being well fed and having endured miles of walking during the day to get from venue to venue. These study tours are hard work, the community service that we offer here is selfless.

June 23, 2023
Wymondham – Wymondham Sports Bar

This was the sixth pub or bar that Julian and I visited on our day trip to Wymondham and, perhaps unexpectedly, it was one of best. The frontage isn’t necessarily the most inviting, but it is welcoming to everyone and there’s no membership needed.

Wooo, Everton 🙂 There’s a couple of corridors to navigate through before reaching the bar area.

We stayed for a couple of beers here as they were keenly priced and we were waiting for the nearby Feathers to open. They only have one real ale, the Golden Jackal from Wolf Brewery, which was well kept and at the appropriate temperature. The ready salted crisps and Mini Cheddars were also delightful.

The venue’s pool and darts room.

As would be expected, there’s lots of sports branding with sports also being shown on screens in the bar. The service at the bar was friendly and warm, it felt like a welcoming venue even though I suspect it’s supported primarily by regulars with likely not many occasional visitors. When I asked where the toilets were, I liked that not only did the staff member respond helpfully, but other customers also joined in with the same answer. It reminds me of when I was in San Diego and was once again muddled up with some public transport and about twelve nearby people answered when I asked one person, so keen were they to help. I mention this less than riveting story as it suggested to me that there was a strong community feel to the arrangements here.

Nearly every pub or bar that I’ve been that has a meat raffle also has a strong community spirit.

I liked this bar, it’s one that I’d likely visit regularly if I lived in the town. There might not be bar billiards, but I’m sure that pool would keep me entertained and the customers seemed a friendly bunch. The bar was clean, the service personable and the environment comfortable and inviting. All rather lovely and better than I had anticipated.

June 23, 2023