Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Norwich – Norwich Cathedral (Dippy Visit)

    Norwich – Norwich Cathedral (Dippy Visit)

    As I’m back in Norwich, I thought I’d take the opportunity to go and see Dippy at Norwich Cathedral before he (or she) departs on the end of its tour of the provinces. The cathedral has clearly put a huge amount of effort into this whole arrangement and there are what seemed like endless amounts of volunteers, who all seemed happy, engaged and content. Rather like Rochester Cathedral and its golf course, I think it’s a clever way of getting families in to see the building as well as Dippy.

    The usual entrance to the cathedral has been closed for the moment, from its rather decadent entry near the front of the building to a slightly hard to find (well, for someone who isn’t local) entrance around the side. There is signage, but I was slightly puzzled why they had moved away from their recently professionally constructed entrance to guide people through the cloisters.

    After navigating around a bit, here we are in the aisle of the cathedral. The whole thing is just a copy of the original which is located at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, which was annoyingly shut when I went to the city. I’ll go back one day as I liked Pittsburgh.

    Underneath…..

    To the side…..

    The number of volunteers on site helped give a friendly atmosphere to the arrangement, there were a number of families with excited children (well, and some less excited, but let’s dwell on the positives) and other interested spectators. I read some reviews and most people are positive, although there are a few sneering about the presence of a dinosaur and its presence in the nave. Personally, I thought some of the complaints were a little ridiculous, it’s not as though the cathedral has got its head sticking out of the roof or something. Engagement with new audiences is perhaps far more important.

    It’s apparent just how big the cathedral nave is here as Dippy looked quite small when standing back a little. I’m impressed at how well the cathedral authorities have handled this, also providing another visitor route for those who really just wanted to see the building and not the dinosaur. Everything co-exists in harmony, which is just what I’m sure the cathedral hoped would happen.

  • London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum (Being Closed by Wetherspoons)

    London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum (Being Closed by Wetherspoons)

    I wrote about this pub last year, it’s been operated by JD Wetherspoon since 1986 and is one of the older pubs in their estate that’s still open.

    Drum Sale Document

    However, as can be seen at the above PDF, the company is getting rid of it and it’s apparently now under offer. It seems a shame to sell the freehold of a pub that they’ve operated for 35 years, but perhaps they’re opening something else nearby or there’s a localised problem that they just can’t fix. In terms of running a pub, I can’t think of a harder challenge of taking on a JD Wetherspoon venue after they’ve sold it, as the customer base is going to be hard to please given what they’ve become used to.

  • Norwich – An Attempt at Playing Squash

    Norwich – An Attempt at Playing Squash

    Some of the ideas that my friend Nathan and I have in the pub transpire to be perhaps a little braver in the cold light of day than we had initially anticipated. The latest visionary idea this week is us playing squash, although he’s quite competent at that, and it’s fair to say that I’m not. The idea was that we would have a little go today, which sounded a marvellous idea at the time.

    On reflection the day after I realised that there was the little problem that I wasn’t really kitted out for all of this. My trainers were rather muddier than I had remembered them being, primarily as I keep walking everywhere traipsing through fields. The upshot of all that is that I required a morning trip to Sports Direct, the only shop that I could find that sold suitable shoes at a bargain price.

    I meandered into Sports Direct and was already slightly pre-annoyed as it’s a controversial company that isn’t perhaps always known for doing the right thing. Anyway, I decided not to get too involved in the politics of commerce and I was moderately annoyed to find that for the first time in years when I needed assistance from the staff that they weren’t very forthcoming. After I had decided this was all too much stress I found a staff member and asked where the squash shoe things were. It transpired that I was standing next to them, which wasn’t ideal as it made me look like an idiot, but I was able to answer the key question asked of me quite decisively. Namely answering the “how much are you looking to spend?” with the answer of “these ones look the cheapest, I’ll have these”. Bargain found in the shoe size that was convenient, I then went to Pret to have a rest. I can see now why people need to go to a cafe after shopping, it’s frankly exhausting.

    I’ve digressed here. I nervously walked to the squash courts to see Nathan looking like Jonah Barrington, which didn’t add to my confidence levels. Fortunately, he proved to be a very tolerant and good teacher (Nathan, not Jonah, although I’m sure that he was too) and he was able to turn the heating off in the courts which was my first concern. Why the hell is there heating in a squash court? I was reassured that there was no-one in the viewing gallery area above, as that would have very definitely annoyed me.

    There seems to be a lot of running about and the ball bounces in a slightly different way to what I had expected, with rather more walls to bounce the ball off than I had anticipated. The serving bit was a bit of a faff for me for a while, but I’m nearly professional quality at that now. I will accept that I’m not of an Olympic standard yet (although having checked, squash isn’t in the Olympics which seems an omission to me) but maybe in a few weeks.

    I read on Wikipedia that there are four main types of player which are power players, shotmakers, retrievers and attritional players. I felt like a retriever for the first part of the session collecting the ball from where I had missed hitting it when it went flying by me, although I suspect in a different meaning of the word. I also looked up what the technical word for the ball was in squash, and I’ve discovered that it’s “ball”. I had expected something a little more decadent.

    All told, I rather enjoyed the whole experience, although writing this a few hours on, my ankles aren’t perhaps as sympathetic to the whole arrangement as I am. They seem to be a bit sore, but I’m not sure I’ve given my ankles such exercise before. I shall be going back next week, partly because I’ve now spent £20 on shoes but also because it was quite an interesting little adventure. It’s exhausting, but it has the advantage over long distance walking that it’s only very tiring for a relatively short period of time….

  • Saltaire – Salts Mill

    Saltaire – Salts Mill

    I had a little visit to Salts Mill in Saltaire a few weeks ago, a building which was originally constructed by Sir Titus Salt in 1853. Salt wanted to create a modern village for his workers and what he built is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    The mill building today is a combination of art gallery, antiques emporium, bookshops and other random stuff. The building remained in use as a mill until 1986, but the sheer amount of floor space and the falling price of imports meant that it became unviable as a business.

    I have to be honest and comment that I thought this was a deathly boring place, but I’m perhaps not the target audience as I wasn’t intending to spend a lot of money on artwork. The building was fascinating and this could make for a museum that was world class, but there’s nearly nothing here about the actual structure itself. Anything of interest in terms of what was once in the mill is down the road in Bradford’s rather excellent Industrial Museum.

    I’m sure that this sort of thing has a big audience, but I found nothing to engage me at all. I accept that’s not the mill’s fault…

    Signage around the mill was poor and confusing, not helped by certain sections being shut such as the 1853 Gallery which was probably potentially the best bit of the building. The cafe arrangement was all over the place with more confused signage and people muttering about being lost or not knowing where to queue. I would go as far, as I’m in a critical mood, to say that the signage was inept, which is evident from the sheer number of reviews where different visitors are finding different things. One person said that there was a marvellous 45 minute video introduction covering the site’s history, and I’d note that would have very much been useful to me and others, as the theme of there being nothing about the building’s heritage is a common one. I have a slight suspicion that there is actually more at this site than a fair few number of visitors, including myself, have managed to locate.

    Another floor, this time selling books.

    It’s fair to say that I didn’t manage to find anything to me of interest at the site (and I’m struggling to recall a time that I’ve thought that about any site such as this), rather disappointing as I was hoping for some interesting art exhibition or information about the building. I think I managed to spend about 15 minutes at the site, and that involved lingering around a bit to try and lengthen the experience. But, it was all free of charge and the reviews of the site suggest that many people do get a lot out of the site. There are a fair few reviews of people who like me didn’t share the love of the place, but I’m glad that the building has survived as it’s an important part of the region’s heritage.

    I’ll leave this in agreeing with a review posted a couple of weeks ago which gave 1/5 and said:

    “Absolutely nothing to give a nod to the sites history and a seriously missed opportunity. Having studied Salt and his impact on society we took a drive to Salts Mill. There was a Hockney exhibition and a glorified Waterstones.”

    And the Hockney exhibition was shut when I was there…..

  • Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    The sun hasn’t helped me here in delivering a quality photo of the frontage, but there’s always Google Street View for anyone who requires better imagery…. Anyway, this is a Good Beer Guide listed micropub which was established in 2014 and I wasn’t going to miss out on visiting this when I was in Saltaire.

    I understand that there’s a beer garden to the back, but otherwise this is a relatively small pub. The main bar area is visible and the welcome from the staff member was immediate and seemed genuine.

    The beer options, inevitably limited given that this is a micropub, but a few cask and keg options, although nothing dark. There were though some bottles and cans which I didn’t investigate at the time (but have now looked on-line and there’s plenty of choice across most beer styles), so there were some additional choices there. They also have their own branded clothing on display, which felt a bit aspirational, but there we go…..

    I went for the Spectrum Eclipse from Vocation Brewery, along with Seabrook crisps which I think I’ve become addicted to. As an aside, I used to wonder why Morrisons stocked so many Seabrook crisps, but I’ve now discovered that both of them are headquartered in Bradford.  Very hoppy and fruity, it was a refreshing beer although the lingering flavours were a bit weak.

    There was a nice and friendly neighbourhood and community vibe to the micropub, deservedly in the Good Beer Guide I thought as the beer offerings were something different from the generic. Apparently (well, I’ve from CAMRA) that there a frequent tap takeovers and there are sometimes folk music performances. For those who don’t sufficient Seabrook crisps enough, the pub also has some street food vendors that attending on a rotating basis, giving a bit of choice to customers. All very lovely…..

  • Huddersfield – The Sportsman

    Huddersfield – The Sportsman

    Going back a few weeks (my backlog shows no signs of going away, but I shall persist….) to when Tony and I had a little expedition around the pubs of Huddersfield. This is the Sportsman, a Good Beer Guide listed pub which is noted for its historic pub interior and its selection of beer.

    There’s one main bar in the pub and there are numerous rooms leading off from it. The beer options are on the chalkboard at the end of the bar, neatly divided between keg and cask. There was also a printed menu of Belgian beers, which isn’t something that I really have much knowledge of, but Tony commented that it was a very decent selection.

    I liked the little touches from the 1950s refurbishment, such as the bell for drinks service. Some pubs put systems like this back in over the last couple of years when table service had to be reintroduced.

    We were seated in one of the side rooms and that’s half a pint of Plum Porter from Nailmaker Brewing Company who are from the rather lovely town of Barnsley. It was a very acceptable pint, one of the better porters that I’ve had.

    Having visited Saltaire, I’m happy to try some of the brewery’s beers and this red ale had some interesting notes of fruit, but was otherwise perhaps a little unexceptional. Well kept and at the appropriate temperature though, so no issues there.

    I don’t normally feel the need to take photos in toilets, but I like their heritage in this pub. In terms of the main part of the building, it would have been easy for a pub company to entirely knock out the internal walls of the pub, but enough has survived here to give it that historic feel, with some old plans of the building on the wall as well.

    Reviews of the pub are nearly all positive, just with the occasional one like:

    “Need to get this OTT OCD covid attitude rectified or it’ll go the way of the Corner. Soulless and sterile as things stand.”

    It’s disappointing that customers don’t perhaps recognise just how difficult it is for pubs to try and please their wider customer base, but I thought they were doing a really good job with a combination of serving at the bar but also with the team member coming over to offer table service for our second drink. The pub responded politely to the review as well, all nicely done.

    Anyway, this was a friendly and welcoming pub, with something of a community feel in all of the positive meanings of the word and I can see why it has won numerous CAMRA awards. Other customers were conversational and welcoming and the staff member was engaging and knowledgeable about the beer options. I liked the choice of beers as well, there was a range of styles on the extensive beer list. I’m glad that it’s in the Good Beer Guide….

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Victoria Railway Station (Unknown Warrior)

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Victoria Railway Station (Unknown Warrior)

    I’ve walked through Victoria railway station in London on probably hundreds of occasions, but until last week, I’d never noticed this plaque at the end of platform 8. It reads:

    “The body of the British unknown warrior arrived at platform 8 at 8.32pm on the 10th November 1920 and lay here overnight before interment at Westminster Abbey on 11th November 1920”.

    © IWM Q 31492 (copyright of the Imperial War Museum)

    I can’t find a photo at the Imperial War Museums collection of the body at the railway station, but this is from the following day at Westminster Abbey. As an aside, it’s an interesting way to store a body….

    Every year on 10 November, there’s a small Remembrance ceremony held by the plaque to note the sacrifice made by so many during the First World War and there’s more about the whole selection and transportation of the body at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Warrior. It was a really beautiful way of giving some comfort to families and friends of those soldiers whose burial place was unknown that their loved one could have been honoured in this way.

  • Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    More working through my little backlog of photos (there are several thousand, so my three readers will be in for a real treat over the next few weeks). This is from my visit to Huddersfield a few weeks ago and this is the pub that I went to after arriving in the town, the JD Wetherspoon operated Cherry Tree. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and is located near to the station, although I managed to get lost and took about ten minutes to make the one minute walk. It allowed me to see Huddersfield at least….

    I’ve never seen a Wetherspoons pub with a screen listing their real ales. My first impressions of the pub weren’t ideal as a very drunk woman was starting a fight outside and smashing up parts of the pub. The staff seemed to know her and went out to get rid of her and to repair their pub. A customer ran to the bar shouting help was needed and panicking about where the staff were, perhaps not realising that they were already at the scene of the incident. She did think about phoning 999, but she decided against it, but she had to order herself a vodka to calm down. Clever strategy that….

    There’s the screen for anyone who is interested in what JD Wetherspoon had available in this pub several weeks ago. I suspect that this is a limited audience.

    I got half a pint of the Wobbly Bob from Phoenix Brewery, which I can’t really remember several weeks on, but I gave it 3.75 on Untappd, so it must have been perfectly acceptable.

    And a chicken jalfrezi whilst I was there, alongside a pint of Brewdog Punk IPA. This is my go to food order for meals at JD Wetherspoons now, since I can’t order the pastrami bagel as it was ditched a few years ago (which still annoys me as is evident that I keep whingeing on about it). I go for the Punk IPA as it’s a bit like the Tesco meal deal, getting the most expensive drink as it comes free with the meal…..

    The pub isn’t brilliantly reviewed on-line, although that just makes for more exciting reading. Someone managed to order to the wrong pub (hopefully Richard won’t read this, as I won’t mention his little debacle in this regard):

    “Very poor, came from the Lord Wilson wetherspoons pub and didn’t realise I was still logged into L W and ordered drink to wrong pub, did not want to know do [so] went back to Lord Wilson, they to [too] didn’t want to know quoted terms and conditions blah blah, won’t go to any wetherspoons again.”

    But it’s important not to exaggerate in reviews:

    “Ruined by not enough staff!! with new table service 10 mins wait time on 2 occasions a man could die of dehydration”

    Ten minute wait, it’s hard to imagine how brave this customer was….

    “Terrible experience, sat down at the front outside, paid for our drinks. Then told that we couldn’t sit anywhere near weatherspoon pub, due us having a dog, due to company policy. Its the only weatherspoons i have been to that have done this to us, and wouldnt even give us some water for the dog. They seriously need to re-think their policy.”

    Wetherspoons have a national policy of no dogs on the premises (other than assistance dogs) and having seen some recent real problems in decent pubs which allow dogs, I suspect it’s by far the safest policy to have, including in gardens.

    This is my favourite review though:

    “Never ever going to Cherry Tree again, we ordered via the app, I had to go fetch our drinks after 20mins of waiting, then I had to fill the coffee machine up for them as the kids running the place were so unorganised, by the time I got back to the table food had arrived, my partner had half eaten his and mine was cold…”

    I’m not sure customers filling the coffee machine is at all ideal, but I was amused by the “my partner had half eaten his”. He sounds awesome  🙂

    Anyway, as a pub, this was all fine despite the drama going on outside, which wasn’t really the ideal introduction to Huddersfield. The staff were engaging, the customers not fighting were friendly and the environment was sort of clean. The range of beers justifies this pub being in the Good Beer Guide and I did pop back later in the week to have a rather delicious Amarillo golden ale from Saltaire Brewery.

  • Huddersfield – Plumbers Arms

    Huddersfield – Plumbers Arms

    Going back a few weeks (the advantage in being back in Norwich is that I can work through my little backlog of photos) to when Tony and I had a little meander around the pubs in Huddersfield. This pub wasn’t in the Good Beer Guide list of locations to visit, but we were walking by and it does have a reputation for having a few real ales available.

    I’m not normally tempted by the artwork on a pump clip, but I liked the brightness of the Comella pale ale decoration from the local brewery Mallinsons, which was a perfectly reasonable beer. Nothing exceptional maybe, but something a little different. The serving arrangement here is a central bar which serves from both sides, although I think that they had different real ales on each side (unless I got muddled up).

    And there it is, perhaps looking like a pint in the photo, but it’s just a half. Responsible drinking and all that…..

    The service in the pub was friendly and it was also quite busy, there was a feeling of the location being a bit like a Wetherspoons. The pricing was reasonable and apparently this venue gets very busy on weekend evenings, with a recent licence extension allowing them to open even later into the night. There’s nothing wrong with the pub, but I didn’t feel that there was anything exceptional of note either. There’s a large beer garden at the front and rear of the pub through, and it’s fairly large inside as well, so there’s no shortage of space.

  • Norwich – Rumsey Wells

    Norwich – Rumsey Wells

    Since I’m back in Norwich for what feels like months (it’ll be nearly two weeks) I thought that I’d pop into a few pubs in the city to see how they’re getting on. This is the Adnams owned Rumsey Wells pub on St. Andrew’s Street in the city that I haven’t been to for a couple of years.

    The beer selection was very orientated towards Adnams and I liked the engagement from the staff member who was pro-actively offering samples. Adnams have clearly decided they can’t be bothered with listing their new beers on Untappd, which to me is usually a sign they’re worried about their poor quality. They might disagree with me on that (or more likely be entirely uninterested in what I think), but it’s a slight red flag to me. I went for the Raspberry Scotch Ale which was mediocre but tolerable, so I can see their point. It was well-kept though and I liked the enthusiasm from the pub.

    I visited on a Tuesday afternoon so it’s not surprising that it was quiet, although there were a few customers dotted about in another part of the pub. The pub is designed, at least in part, to appeal to students and they cater for that market well, although they could perhaps do with a few more on-trend beer options as well and maybe more guest beers as the choice is currently very Adnams dominated.

    There we go, the photo I couldn’t upload to Untappd as the beer wasn’t listed….. It’s the Raspberry Scotch Ale from Adnams, which wasn’t exactly packed with flavour.

    Anyway, as a pub, this is a perfectly clean and comfortable environment. They serve Pieminister pies, which are a handy way for a pub to offer some food without making a major commitment to expensive chefs and kitchens. The reviews for the pub are broadly reasonable positive and I can see why given how friendly the staff are. I’m not sure that I’d recommend that anyone makes a special trip here, but I like the friendliness of the welcome, which to me is an important consideration. Someone on TripAdvisor recently wrote that this was a “solid” pub, and that seems a fair assessment.