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Category: Norfolk

Norwich to Heathrow (Skopje Trip)

I set off for Heathrow yesterday as there was a cheap offer advertised by Accor and, naturally, I hadn’t formed any other plan. This is what travel looked like before people insisted on having itineraries, aims and a vague sense of personal responsibility. Anyway, here’s the train to Stansted Airport which departed on time and without issue. There was no driver until one minute before departure and I was slightly hoping for a delay repay, but it wasn’t to be. I’d add at this stage that there isn’t any fascinating content in this post (not that there usually is), but I like a complete write-up for my own memory. And, imagine, a future historian might query why civilisation failed and they might discover the answer from this blog.

Safely in Cambridge.

There was a six minute connection time to get the Great Northern train to King’s Cross and it took me four minutes to cross Cambridge railway station so anyone with accessibility issues would have likely missed it.

Setting off and the train remained relatively quiet, which made it easier for all the people with seats to keep them there. These trains, similar to Thameslink, don’t have power points but I do like the ironing board seats, although I seem to be about the only person who does.

I always like arriving into King’s Cross, it’s a beautiful station.

And safely into Hayes and Harlington railway station using the Elizabeth Line. There’s a decent fair from Norwich to here, it came in at £12 which felt rather reasonable.

I thought I’d pop to the Botwell Inn, the JD Wetherspoon operated pub located near to the railway station. This real ale went back, it was vinegary on the taste, but the manager was quick at checking it and replacing it. Actually, the manager was very good in general, this always feels like a well-run pub and real ale based issues are inevitably going to occur.

The replacement beer was the Wolf of the Woods from Twickenham Fine Ales with a biscuity, toffee and nutty taste to it. It also cost only £2.39 a pint which is the usual bargain price from the chain.

I decided that it might be useful to actually plan my week at this stage, since it was already Sunday evening and I had no idea where I was going. I do know that I needed to be back in Bristol for Friday morning, so I needed a plan to get there cheaply. I decided on a route via Skopje, booked the flights, trains and National Express, ready now for the craft beer festival. I mentioned a few days ago that this is one of the countries that I haven’t visited, so it felt a wise choice.

Given that I was lingering here, I paid £6.39 for the steak pudding with chips and that included the Guinness 0%. It’s not exactly going to surprise and delight those who like fine dining, but it’s hard to complain too much at that price.

It was an hour walk to the hotel and this time I decided to have a look at the church in Harlington for the first time, but more of that in a separate post as I don’t want some ecclesiastical masonry interfering with this post.

Back at the Heathrow Ibis hotel which I’ve stayed at numerous times before. The reason I stayed here is that with the Accor offer it came to £13 for the night, which I thought was reasonable.

I also get my free welcome drink and here are some of the options.

Not Magners, but the Eazy from Camden Town Brewery which is growing on me, it’s got flavours of orange, it’s hazy and it’s quite intriguing. That is a pint glass, it’s just that the chair the other side of the table is unusually large.

A room. This blog really doesn’t fail to delight with riveting content…. But, I arrived here with a plan for the week and that felt like an achievement in itself.

June 8, 2026
Norwich Bar Billiards Doubles Tournament August 2026

This is another one of my good ideas. Well, hopefully….. 12 teams and an exciting event on 22 August 2026 at the Artichoke.

It’ll raise money for charity and there will be some extra excitement during the day as if all these bar billiards games aren’t enough! Every entrant will get two games and if they’re really good, they’ll get more 🙂

12 TEAMS

Julian & Luke

Vaughan & PJ

Terri and Kirsty

John Ames & Jack Ames

Pete Brown & Someone

Dave Brewer & Someone

Gordon Carey-Yard & Someone

…….

Please email jw@julianwhite.uk to reserve a space and payment will be needed by 15 July 2026.

June 8, 2026
200 Years Ago in Norwich : William Paston Sneaks Rum into Prison

This was in the Norwich Mercury in June 1826 and that £10 is quite a fine, that’s something like £700 in today’s money and it appears that he didn’t pay it. The prison at that point was the House of Correction which closed in 1837 and is now the site of the Norwich Catholic Cathedral. The House of Correction was at the same site as the City Gaol but it was a different institution, albeit run by similar management and these were originally intended for the punishment and reform of people convicted of lesser offences such as vagrancy, disorder, petty theft, drunkenness, breach of local regulations and similar misdemeanours.

There were too many William Pastons in Norwich at this time to be able to find out more about him, but I’m guessing that he took rum in for a friend or family members. And the result of that little arrangement was that he ended up imprisoned with them.

June 4, 2026
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Jonathan Peel Makes a Bid to Become MP

This is Jonathan Peel and 200 years ago this week he wrote to the Norwich Mercury to inform them that he intended to stand for Parliament in the constituency of Norwich.

“TO THE GENTLEMEN, CLERGY, FREEMEN, & FREEHOLDERS OF THE City and County of Norwich.

GENTLEMEN,

A most flattering and unexpected honour has been this day conferred upon me. I have received a requisition, to which names of the first respectability are attached, calling upon me to present myself at the approaching General Election as a Candidate for the high honour of representing the City of Norwich.

In the absence of all local connection, I certainly should not have presumed, without such a requisition, to aspire to that distinction; but understanding that one of your present Members has publicly notified his intention to retire from Parliament, and being assured that the public principles which I avow are in unison with those maintained by a very large portion of the body which I have now the honour to address, I will not hesitate in gratifying to my feelings, and made to me in a manner which acquits me, I trust, of the charge of presumptously offering myself to your notice.

As I shall solicit your suffrages on the ground of public principles alone, you will justly expect from me an explicit declaration of those principles.

I know not, Gentlemen, in what terms I can better describe my general opinions upon political subjects than by the simple assurance, that I am a true friend to the Constitution in Church and State.

I was taught, from my earliest infancy, to venerate those ancient institutions which constitute the Government of the Country in which we live—I was educated in those sentiments, and experience and reflection have only served to confirm the impressions which were first received from example and authority.
My voice shall be given, if I shall ever have a right to raise that voice in Parliament, for the maintenance in matters of Government, of that order of things which I find established.

I am opposed to Reform in Parliament. And in what is usually called Catholic Emancipation I feel it my duty to offer a firm and decided opposition, unmingled however with any feeling of rancour or hostility towards those of our fellow subjects more immediately interested in that question.

I have probably said enough to explain to you the general tenor of my political principles. If you should think me worthy of the distinction which I seek, I promise an unwavering attention to every thing connected with the local and peculiar concerns of the City of Norwich, with the promotion of its Manufacturing Interests, and the advancement of its general welfare.

I have the honour to be,

Gentlemen,

Your obedient humble Servant,
JONATHAN PEEL.
Marble Hill, Twickenham,
4th May, 1826.”

Jonathan was the younger brother of the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, which probably helped matters somewhat in terms of being found a constituency in which to stand. He had no links to Norwich though and he was against reform and Catholic emancipation so he was hardly the most radical of candidates. This didn’t stop the electors of Norwich voting him in, although the constituency had two MPs at the time and the other elected was William Smith who was a Radical and who wanted abolition and Parliamentary reform. I note his polite words, and still today it is more dignified to say “I have been asked to serve” than “I rather fancy becoming an MP”.

Jonathan, if I might call him that, lost the Norwich constituency in 1830, although he then moved to be the MP for Huntingdon between 1831 and 1868, later serving as the Secretary of State for War on two occasions. It all goes to show that actually being local was less important to electors back before the Great Reform Act, although it’s fair to say that there was a lot more corruption and backhanders going on back then compared to today (well, in theory anyway).

June 4, 2026
The Last Trip – It’s All Over (the bag, not me)

This is it, my bag’s final journey as the last remaining working zip is now non-operational after years of loyal service.

It’s been to 44 countries, 34 US states, every EU country, on 25 LDWA challenge walks and about 500 hotels. It’s being retired as there’s more glue than bag and it’s been the bravest backpack that I know. It will now retire in Norwich….

I haven’t started the process of a new bag acquisition yet as it’s still too emotional. It’s coming with me for a two night trip away and is held together with hope and superglue that it’ll even make it that far. Many thanks to everyone on Facebook for their kind words of support at this very difficult time.

Here’s a post I made about the bag in 2022 before I set off on a trip to the US. Happy times and I wish the bag the happiest of retirements.

May 31, 2026
Norwich CAMRA Evening Coach Trip – May 2026

This is my little summary page from the CAMRA coach trip to which Ivan kindly invited me last Friday. I’ve written up the evening across several blog posts to avoid my wittering on in what seems like an endless post. However, for anyone who wants to meander through those riveting (well, something like that) posts they’re at:

Pre-Party at the Bell, Norwich

White Horse, Upton

Lion, Thurne

Cock, Cantley

Gordon, Thorpe

I’m something of an advocate for CAMRA, as I think the organisation does a huge amount for the pub trade. There are, of course, disagreements at national level from time to time, because this is Britain and it is illegal to have a membership organisation without at least some procedural tension. But locally, CAMRA does a great deal to support pubs, promote real ale and bring together people who care about beer, pubs and the rather important matter of keeping both of them alive.

Membership is a little over £30 a year but there are numerous benefits to that including free entry into beer festivals, vouchers to use at pubs (and I do indeed use them at JD Wetherspoon however unpopular that might be in refined circles) alongside a free magazine as well. There are also discounts on coach trips, which is a very practical benefit for anyone who likes visiting pubs that are awkward to reach without either a driver, a bus timetable from 1978 or a worrying level of rural determination. As a non-driver, I often entirely neglect these country pubs unless I’ve found a willing driver to take me (thanks Jen!).

For anyone interested in joining CAMRA, I’d recommend it as there is also national and local campaigning which supports the hospitality trade in general. And there’s also Norwich CAMRA beer festival in the last week of October which is an annual treat for me. Roy and I will be ready to surprise and delight visitors this year with our efficiency at selling glasses and tokens, but we don’t want to linger on our effectiveness as I don’t think beer festival organiser Craig can take much more of that level of operational excessive.

Ivan organises a lot of these coach trips and he evidently puts lots of thought into them so deserves plenty of credit. Not too much though as he’ll get big headed and that would be sub-optimal for everyone. For anyone who wants to become more involved with the social side of CAMRA they’re a great thing to go along to, a coach trip for members costs around £12 each. There are lunchtime ones which go to five pubs and the evening ones go to four pubs, so it’s a way of exploring some new venues and a handy opportunity to revisit some old favourites.

There’s more about Norwich CAMRA at https://norwich.camra.org.uk/ and they welcome new volunteers to help them. I’d add that for anyone who might be lonely or in need of new friends, these regular coach trips are a really positive way of finding other people interested in drinking beer. And, as a free service, Ivan gives his top tips on running pub cellars so what more could anyone want?

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 4/4 (The Gordon at Thorpe, Norwich)

Ivan is a man of mystery, intrigue and chaos, but he managed to hide his final choice of pub very well as I didn’t hear anyone guess correctly. There were a few quite determined guesses and several people thought that we were heading for the Rushcutters, but the final pub of choice was the Gordon. This is exactly the sort of moment that makes Ivan’s coach trips work so well as everyone thinks they have cracked the system, only to discover that the system is Ivan and he is not available for public scrutiny.

This doesn’t look entirely dissimilar from another Gordon that I know. The pub opened in 1934 and there’s something of a link back to Upton, where we had our first pub visit of the evening at the White Horse, as the then owners Bullards gave up the licence of the Prince of Wales in Upton to open this pub. The pub was operated by Bullards until 1967, then it went from Watney Mann to Brent Walker before falling into the perhaps more sub-optimal Pubmaster and then Punch Taverns ownership.

There was a friendly welcome from the team members and there was a choice of two ales, London Pride and Wainwright’s Gold, although there was also Ghost Ship in bottles.

The real ale options weren’t to my own personal taste, so I got a Caffrey’s instead. The Maltesers were just what I needed though, I was pleased to see those. I know it’s a CAMRA coach trip and this isn’t a real ale, but I am a complex man with many contradictions, most of them involving beer and snack choices.

Indeed, this is a very agreeable snack selection and I was suitably surprised and delighted.

It’s a really quite decent community pub this and they had a range of different events advertised and it was all clean and tidy. They’re not really trying to reinvent the the wheel here, it’s not a free trade pub to my knowledge and so there are limitations which the team members just have to work around.

The back bar arrangement.

And that was the end of our pub visits, the coach then dropped people back off in Norwich, with Ivan and I getting off at the Puppet Theatre for the after-party at the Artichoke. It was all a lovely evening, but more on the whole arrangement in the next post.

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 3/4 (The Cock at Cantley)

The third in our CAMRA coach tour was to Cantley Cock, which is a pub that I’ve visited a few times before and not least to have the all you can eat ribs and chicken wings. This became a licensed premises in the late eighteenth century and then became part of the Steward & Patteson estate. For a few years it became a Watney Mann pub, but they closed it in 1975, before it reopened as a free house in the following year. It’s done really well to stay open, there’s not a huge amount of housing nearby and they’ve been creative with their food offering to entice customers from further afield.

The group heading into the pub to surprise the staff just at the end of food service. There is a particular energy to twenty or so beer enthusiasts entering a pub at once as it’s part a coach party wanting an evening out, part of an informal inspection team and part a wandering support group for people who have strong views about cellar management.

As I mentioned before, these coach trips are unannounced to the pubs and there’s a solid reason for that. Firstly, things change and so it wouldn’t be fair for a pub to make extra special efforts and something doesn’t happen. And, also, we don’t really want them to make extra special efforts as the point is to see what’s available on a normal evening. There’s also the danger that a pub might think more real ale will be sold than actually might be, so hence the element of surprise. I mention that as one of the team members mentioned that there were some really nice real ales in the cellar, but I think that having four is entirely reasonable for a country pub.

I went for the Falcon Ale from Lacon’s Brewery and it was well-kept, malty and fruity. I don’t usually have nuts in a pub but I was looking for either chocolate or decadent crisps which they didn’t have, but I was content with the dry roasted nuts. The service was friendly and it was all a welcoming environment, with Ivan here evidently enjoying himself. This is always reassuring, as Ivan enjoying himself generally suggests that the itinerary is going to plan and nobody has yet challenged the authority of the coach schedule.

The bar after the CAMRA rush had subsided. A couple of customers discovered that there was another pub on our itinerary and everyone’s suggestions were completely wrong, Ivan isn’t predictable like that. Ivan was busy at this stage anyway arguing with a customer who thought we should have given advance notice before turning up, so that livened matters up. It is always useful on a pub trip to have a philosophical debate about the ethics of unannounced beer drinking.

After a very worthwhile coach stop, it was time to depart whilst looking at the Norfolk big skies….. I should add that the Cantley Cock is listed in the Good Beer Guide, quite rightly so in my humble opinion.

Then back onto the coach for the next mystery pub. What could possibly go wrong?

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 2/4 (The Lion at Thurne)

Next on the CAMRA coach trip was the Lion at Thurne, another marvellous choice by Ivan as it’s a Good Beer Guide pub that I haven’t been to before. Although there has been a licensed premises called the Lion in Thurne since the 1830s (although until the earlier twentieth century it was known as the Red Lion), this site was built in the 1930s by Lacons and their name is still above the door, although it is now a free trade pub.

Here’s the newspaper advert noting the sale of the former Lion Inn as it was known, with the new Lion Hotel now ready. From this, it’s clear that accommodation was available in both the old and new buildings, although accommodation is no longer offered.

The keg arrangement on the back bar, all looking shiny and interesting.

The real ale selection and I have to note the professionalism of the team member who was behind the bar. She appeared to realise that she had twenty customers suddenly standing at the bar, but this presented no problem for her as she rattled through the service whilst remaining professional, friendly and efficient. Some people might panic under pressure, others simply become calmly excellent while a small army of CAMRA members tries to make decisions about beer.

I did struggle to see what the beer options were initially, but then I realised that I had managed to miss the below.

I did struggle to see what the beer options were initially, but then I realised that I had somehow managed to miss the main board. I am not entirely sure how I missed it, as it was hardly subtle, but this does rather suggest that my observational skills are at their sharpest only when there is a plate of chips nearby. In any case, it was a decent selection of keg and cask options across a range of styles.

I opted for the Royal Pillow Fight, brewed for the venue by the Mr Winters brewery. It’s a light and slightly fruity beer which goes well with salty crisps.

Given the keg options were also intriguing, I had the Pixel beer from Only With Love, a small brewery in West Sussex, which was juicy, fruity and refreshing.

The food menu, not that there was time for us to order anything and I was content with my packet of crisps. There’s a separate dining room area in the pub which looked busy.

The pub has so many CAMRA awards that they have enough to put some of them casually on the windowsill, which is quite the flex really. Some pubs display awards very carefully in decadent frames, whereas the Lion appears to have reached the point where they can scatter them about like loose change. It is a strong look.

One handy source of extra trade for the pub is from the nearby staithe which is a popular little mooring arrangement for boats on the Norfolk Broads.

Michael and I went for a quick walk to get some photos of the sunset. Ivan wasn’t entirely surprised and delighted by our photography skills and reminded us that we were one minute late getting back. He’s a man of precision is Ivan. Some people organise coach trips, but Ivan appears to run them with the quiet authority of a railway timetable, albeit one that has developed opinions.

Anyway, this is very much what these coach trips are designed for, allowing an exploration of county pubs that would otherwise be hard to get to but which offer something interesting and different. It certainly seemed to me to be a deserving entrant into the Good Beer Guide, and another reminder that Norfolk remains full of excellent pubs tucked away in places that are awkward enough to make a coach trip feel not just useful, but frankly necessary.

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 1/4 (White Horse at Upton)

The pre-party completed (I might have made that sound more exotic than it was), it was time to board the coach to be transported to our first mystery pub location.

Safely boarded and ready to go. I had discovered that the first stop wasn’t the Ber Strete Gates and it would be about 25 minutes on the coach, that was the limit of my knowledge of where we were going.

And we arrived at our first stop and I was pleased with this one as it’s been around a decade since I’ve been here. This has been a community run pub since 2012 and although they’ve had some minor financial issues in recent years, they’ve bounced back and all that. There are frequent events held here, beer festivals, musical performances, morris dancers and the like, along with food being served throughout the week.

The venue has been a licensed premises since the late eighteenth century and it was owned by the Coltishall Brewery in the early nineteenth century before they sold it in 1841 and later on it was taken over by Bullards. It then passed into the hands of Watney Mann and then Brent Walker before the community took it on.

A coach load of customers did surprise the venue, but the team members were all friendly and welcoming. I had deliberately taken cash in case that was preferred in these rural areas, but everyone seemed to be paying by card.

The choice of real ales and I liked this selection, a range of beer styles and there are some options there that I haven’t had before.

Some of the events.

We went to sit in the rather nice beer garden and as there were children on the bouncy castle, we thought we’d better not try it out. It was moderately busy in the beer garden and busier inside mostly with diners, but the atmosphere all felt informal and well managed.

I went for the Yellow Tail from Wantsum Brewery from Kent alongside some Mini Cheddars. The beer was clean, hoppy and well-kept, a decent light start to the evening.

This was going around the table and I thought that it was a strange thing to do at CAMRA events but assumed that it was some kind of ritual that they do.

It kept Ivan amused though who was very good indeed at colouring in and it transpired that this isn’t a standard CAMRA activity, it was a one-off.

One of the advantages of visiting here is that that’s another ticked off in my vague attempt to visit every Good Beer Guide pub in the country. A very good first selection by Ivan and after thirty minutes here, we boarded the coach to discover where he was taking us next.

May 30, 2026