Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Essex

  • Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    This is the tap room, or micropub as they refer to it as, of the Billericay Brewing Co. The frontage of their building is a little, well, plain, so these marquees at the front to give extra space make it look more appealing than it might have done in the past.

    The interior is a little rustic in appearance and it’s quite small, although the aforementioned marquees have given them some extra space. It got busier when I was there and the staff member spent much of the time answering the phone to take bookings, so it’s clearly a popular location in the evenings.

    The beer selection which is chalked up on the board.

    I started with the chilli porter as I like that sort of combination of flavours, and there was a stronger kick than I had expected from the chilli. But, it was still very drinkable and I’d certainly order this again because of the richness of flavour. The chilli element also only really became evident as an aftertaste, it was a sufficiently intriguing drink that I’d mention it to others.

    My second drink (in photo above) was the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, which seemed to be the favourite of the pub judging by what everyone else was ordering. The name adds some extra spice to the whole arrangement and was what I’d consider to be a perfectly acceptable hoppy session beer, albeit at 5% ABV.

    I liked this pub, which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, and would return here, although would be conscious that I’d need to book if visiting in the evening. Welcoming, slightly quirky and laid-back, all rather lovely. They do some experiences such as Brewer for the Day, which sounds a pleasant way to spent a few hours and they deliver the 18 pint polypin a couple of weeks after.

  • Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    OK, I admit there’s no real archaeology here. But this is the view from my hotel window and I puzzled over why the road and roundabout looked a bit strange and put it down to the road once going straight through. As it happened, this was an event in Chelmsford, it was a flyover which was pulled down a few months ago. They quite liked the flyover in the city, but it was falling down and the engineers agreed that this wasn’t ideal. So they knocked it down in case it fell down on some cars and lorries. And, I think it all looks better now without having it, although car drivers in the area probably don’t agree as apparently the roundabout is now too busy. Well, there’s a solution here, and that’s more public transport. But, I digress.

    It’s an aside really, I like how urban development changes a landscape and traces of it remain. I need to get out more, I admit.

  • Chelmsford – Travelodge

    Chelmsford – Travelodge

    I’ve moved away from Accor Hotels on this trip as I’m booking everything at the last minute. Accor do this moderately irritating thing of returning their room rates to a higher price nearer the date of booking, which is fine if they’re full, but not ideal if they’re not. Travelodge just charge what they need to do to get rid of the rooms, a strategy that I prefer as a customer.

    The reception area, which was the scene of some moderate drama. I went to check-in, but there were no staff members visible. A very angry lady behind me confronted a staff member when she appeared, telling her with some force that she was tired of her key card not working. The staff member was polite, but defensive, which escalated the matter and for a good minute I watched this argument developing. At that point, I felt the need to be moderately rude to ask if I could actually check-in if they were just going to have a heated debate about how the hotel was run and what was the area manager’s phone number. It wasn’t an ideal first impression, but the staff member was polite to me, likely pleased the other woman had gone back to her room to phone the area manager.

    Incidentally, the hotel appears to be a little lax with GDPR. They had the prices of what each customer had paid for their room on sheets left at the reception desk and I was pleased to discover that I had paid the least. This isn’t really information that should be left around though and I would have been most annoyed if other customers had received a better bargain.

    The room, which was clean and well presented, with a bath and shower which only some of the rooms had (as in only some of the rooms had both, not that some rooms just had an empty bathroom). This was all fine, especially for the not much over £25 that I had paid.

    The food in the photo looks dreadful and the reviews of their bar cafe are equally poor. I’m not really sure why they persist with trying to serve mediocre meals, I can’t see any benefit to annoying customers with low quality food.

    Housekeeping cleaning rooms only once every six nights is clearly ridiculous, way more than other hotel chains I’ve been in. There’s being careful with the current health situation and just not bothering to clean the rooms….

    The milks in the room were out of date. I do check these and I probably need to get out more…..

    All in all, I thought that this was a perfectly good deal for the two nights which cost just over £50. There are extra charges for parking, wi-fi and breakfast, although I didn’t need any of these. The hotel seemed quiet and in relatively sound repair, so I was content with my stay. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the city centre and there’s an Aldi supermarket opposite for those who need supplies of any sort.

  • Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    This is one of my random then and now photos, comparing what Chelmsford Cathedral (then St. Mary’s Church as it didn’t become a cathedral until the twentieth century) looks like now, compared to what it looked like in 1892. The Francis Frith photo is towards the end of this post (if for some reason it doesn’t load, it’s 31510 in their collection) and as can be seen I haven’t done a great job here of taking a comparable photo.

    The area has all been reset, so the path which once led to the church door on the right (the priest’s door) has been removed and there’s a war memorial there now. Well, mostly removed. There’s a section still left of the old paving in front of the door, although it just leads to the grass now.

    There were once iron railings separating the path from the graves, which were likely removed during the Second World War for the war effort. The tombs are all still there in the same place, or at least, they seem to be, but there are graves missing from the right hand side of the older image. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that they have numerous stones lying flat and I had thought that this was done more recently.


  • Chelmsford – Banksy on Manor Road?

    Chelmsford – Banksy on Manor Road?

    This figure was painted between 2014 and 2016 onto the end of this wall on Manor Road. I accept that it might not be Banksy, and indeed I accept that it’s nothing really like what he’s done, but I still like the imagery. I also like that no-one has painted over it during the last five years or graffitied anything else on the wall.

  • Chelmsford – United Brethren

    Chelmsford – United Brethren

    The United Brethren pub is a short walk to the town centre, a little tucked away just off Moulsham Street. It’s not in the Good Beer Guide, but CAMRA noted that it was the sole pub in the Brighton based Pin-Up Pub Co estate (I’m not quite sure why their sole pub is nowhere near their brewery). The beer selection wasn’t quite as exciting as I might have hoped, it was limited to two real ales and no dark beers at all.

    The service was though engaging and polite, so the environment was warm and welcoming, even though I was the only customer. I went for half a pint of the Captain Bob from the Mighty Oak Brewing Company, a reasonable session beer which is meant to have hints of gooseberry (I felt like I had returned to the Hop Beer Shop and the beer I had just had….) although I couldn’t detect them. It was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature, but nothing I’d write home about. Just write about here instead.

    The decor seemed a bit muddled to me, but I’m not an interior designer and so struggle to comment much on that. There’s often music played here in the evening, hence why I went in the early afternoon. I looked back on Untappd to see if the beer selection was a bit more exotic before the health crisis, but it doesn’t seem to have been, although at least they had some stouts from Pin-Up. Anyway, all entirely comfortable and friendly, as well as being quite spacious (especially when you’re the only customer).

  • Chelmsford – Hop Beer Shop

    Chelmsford – Hop Beer Shop

    This is another listing from the Good Beer Guide and is apparently, according to CAMRA, the first micro-pub which opened in Essex. I like micro-pubs as they usually have an informal and welcoming atmosphere, although these are challenging times for them as they’re often quite small in terms of their size. Hence the name…. Also today, the Government has confirmed that Essex is going into a different tier, which means that as from next week, this pub’s trade will be even more adversely affected.

    The welcome was friendly and immediate, with the staff member finding me a suitable place to sit, which was about the last seat going. There were some interesting options for beers and ciders, with plenty of cans and bottles as well offering a wider choice. The environment in the pub was welcoming, even though all of the customers seemed to know each other. I suspect that someone new to the area would soon feel part of the crowd here.

    I went for the Al Capone from Mighty Oak Brewing (which isn’t on the board as it had just become available) which is relatively local as it’s brewed in Maldon. The beer had a flavour of gooseberry, which isn’t necessarily something that sounds delicious, but it was an agreeable taste. The beer was well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and was something a little different.

    The selection of cans and bottles that are available to take away. All told, I liked this pub, there was a laid-back environment, decent selection of beers and I can see why it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Chelmsford – Statue of Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal

    Chelmsford – Statue of Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal

    This is the statue of Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal (1776-1846) and it was installed on the renamed Tindal Square in 1850. The bronze statue was designed by EH Bailey and sits on a sizeable stone pedestal.

    Nicholas, if I can call him that, was born in Chelmsford and went on to become the Chief Justice of Common Pleas and a respected judge. He was also chosen to defend Caroline of Brunswick, the then Queen of England, at a trial in 1820 when she was accused of adultery. The King didn’t want her around, but the people loved her, so Caroline wanted to assert her role as Queen. The defence was successful, but the whole situation was a little ridiculous, even at King George IV’s Coronation in 1821, Caroline wanted to attend and he barred her at the door of Westminster Abbey. Sounds quite an exciting drama.

  • Chelmsford – The Ship Pub

    Chelmsford – The Ship Pub

    I’m not particularly keen on Greene King pubs, as I may have mentioned a few times before, as the excitement of choosing between Ruddles or Greene King IPA can be too much for me to bear. But, the Ship in Chelmsford is in the Good Beer Guide, so I felt there must be something special about it.

    The interior is themed as a ship, which is handy given the pub name, and I like the decor as it’s quirky but not ridiculous. The pub was also busy when I visited in the early evening, indeed, busier than the other two Good Beer Guide pubs that I had just visited. Based on that popularity, it’s clear that the pub is doing more than just a few things right, with a really relaxed ambience.

    More ship stuff. In normal times I would have taken better photos and meandered around the pub looking at old things (decor I mean, not customers), but now isn’t the time to do that. The service was friendly, prompt welcome at the door, table service and a knowledgeable staff member. There were three beers from Greene King and one from Bishop Nick brewery, the Respect. This is a red ale which was acceptable if not riveting (note the word play there given ships….), which was the best choice I could see given that there were no darker options. It was all OK, but I’m not sure I’d want to recommend anyone comes here who likes craft beer or dark beer, but there are nearby alternatives for that.

    One thing puzzled me (again), which is that the pub’s web-site says that its beers are supplied Ridley’s Brewery. Ridley’s Brewery was a major site in Hartford End, which Greene King bought out and shut down, like lots of things they do. The Bishop Nick beer I had is from a new brewery established by a relative of the Ridley family and they supply to a large number of pubs in Essex.

    I’m not particularly bothered about what my beer is served in as long as it’s clean, although it’s not entirely usual to serve real ale in a Guinness glass. But, anyway, this pub is clearly providing a valuable community service (that sounds like some reoffender project) and the reviews are generally positive, particularly for the food which is served. Based on that heritage and welcome, I can see why the Ship is listed in the Good Beer Guide….

  • Chelmsford – Turtle Bay

    Chelmsford – Turtle Bay

    Turtle Bay were once my favourite UK chain, serving decent Caribbean food which had a bit of spice to it. I felt that they went downhill a bit across the country last year and I’ve mostly ignored them since. However, their app gave me a free meal earlier in the year in Norwich which was rather lovely, and they’ve now sent another on-line voucher. I certainly won’t complain.

    The interior is bright and decorative, with the staff member who served me being pro-active and engaging.

    Some considerable thought has gone into the design of the toilets.

    This is Turtle Bay’s own milk stout, which I think is made by Hunter’s Brewery. Tasted OK, sweet and creamy, although not a great richness of flavour. But, it’s nice to see restaurants making an effort like this and I’m not sure why the Caribbean has a history of stouts, perhaps it’s down to Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

    The meal which Turtle Bay kindly gave to me, which is the half a jerk chicken with spiced fries. The chicken was very tender and fell straight off the bone, with the portion seeming quite generous to me. Fries were decent, crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior, but I still have no idea what bloody use that watermelon is to the meal. But, perhaps it’s authentic, I don’t know. The chicken was a bit blackened in places, but I like that, I’m not a fan of soggy chicken skin, I like it firm and a bit burnt.

    I’m not sure that Turtle Bay is as good as it once was, but it’s certainly better than it was at its worst. The service here was above standard and they delivered a clean and comfortable environment. The Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce in the bottle which is on the table is still beautiful, I suspect I went through the majority of the bottle. Anyway, since this meal cost me the grand sum of just under £5 for the beer, I certainly can’t complain and I note that the recent reviews for the restaurant are pretty positive. So, hopefully the future for Turtle Bay is bright in these challenging times.