Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Greater Anglia : London Liverpool Street to Norwich

    Greater Anglia : London Liverpool Street to Norwich

    This was the end of my little trek around the country that has taken place over recent weeks, the Greater Anglia operated train from London Liverpool Street to Norwich. As can be seen with the poor quality of the photos that I took last Friday, I think I had rather given up with trying to document anything more than the basics here. I was surprised to get a cheap fare for this journey, as it was a commuter service, but that at least avoided me needing to wait for the 21:30 evening service which I often get, as time can really drag waiting for that when wanting to get home.

    I got myself a table seat and everything worked as expected, such as the train itself and the power points, which were the only two things that I really needed to work. The train was at seating capacity and there were some customers who were sitting on the floor near to the doors, so it’s unclear why the rail company was issuing cheap fares for this service. I am pleased that they were, but I suspect they’ll be removing that option soon enough now they can see how popular the rail service is at this time. The whole health thing over the last eighteen months has perhaps put commuters off coming into London, but that seems to be coming to an end now.

    There was not much of interest during the journey for me to comment on, everything ran to schedule and the train seemed clean and organised. I didn’t see a guard during the journey, but there are ticket barriers at every stop along the route, so in theory it would be hard to fare evade. For the price of £12.50, I thought that this was a perfectly comfortable service and that meant I arrived in Norwich at a reasonable time ready for what I consider to be an extended stay in the city over the next couple of weeks.

  • Hull – Campanile Hull

    Hull – Campanile Hull

    Back to last week, I had a one night stay at this Campanile hotel located near to the city centre in Hull. It’s part of an international chain that I think has seen better days in the UK, but they still have several locations open throughout the country.

    The hotel warned me in advance that they needed photo ID from every guest, which suggests serious issues with the guests that they’ve been getting. Although this is potentially something of an inconvenience to me, I still had my passport with me to resolve that issue without problems. The staff at the hotel were friendly and apparently are a new team, so are keen to do their best. I suspect that they’ll struggle given what they have to work with though.

    This type of keycard was introduced in the 1980s and they were apparently reasonably common at this time, usually produced by VingCard. That they survive is quite amazing and an early indication that this hotel is in need of a modernisation.

    The room was clean and well presented, although very dated with the heater and hair dryer being broken. There was just one power point and it was literally that, it required the TV to be unplugged to use it. This is far from ideal and the hotel will at some point have to entirely renovate these rooms to bring them up to some sort of modern standard. They also need to replace the external signage as some letters have fallen off, which is not the first impression that guests are going to be surprised and delighted at. Well, maybe surprised actually. It might be the case that it’s easier to demolish the entire hotel and rebuild it, as the structure doesn’t exactly look that expensively built in the first place.

    I quite liked this hotel and I didn’t have any noise issues either internally or externally. That might have been partly good luck though, as the motel type arrangement means that any late night noise would reverberate around the rooms, something which is evident from the series of negative reviews that the hotel had received about this. And onto the matter of reviews, this hotel is clearly struggling and it one of the worst rated in the city. I’m not sure that I would stay here again as I think the potential downside of noise issues is too high, but if they renovated the rooms and made the whole location a little nicer, then it might be considerably better. But, whether by chance or not, I had no issues and felt that the hotel was certainly something slightly different.

  • London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Holiday Inn Express Hammersmith

    London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Holiday Inn Express Hammersmith

    This is my second visit to this hotel (it seems I couldn’t be bothered to write up the first visit) although it’s the first now that lockdown has come to some sort of end. Located next to the Plough & Harrow pub which is operated by JD Wetherspoon, it’s about a six minute walk or so to either Hammersmith station or to Ravenscourt Park station. I got this night courtesy of IHG’s reward scheme, which has been rather generous this year.

    The room, all brand standard, clean and tidy. I’m not entirely convinced that desks that size are entirely ideal, but it suffices and there are plenty of power points around the room.

    The view from my window, a bit of a construction site, but there was no noise from it. There were more internal noise problems of doors slamming, something which wasn’t entirely ideal.

    Well, it has been known…..

    The welcome drink and the choice of beers was adequate, but I’m content with this Goose Island option. I’m not sure for what reason this drink seems to now be so commonplace in IHG and Accor hotels, but I’m not disappointed that it is.

    Some of the breakfast selection, all of which is included in the room rate.

    And the rest of it. All back to self-service, as last time I visited there were just bacon and sausage rolls which had to be taken back to the room.

    The breakfast area is large, clean and modern, being use as a bar and restaurant in the evening. Plenty of power points dotted around here as well. I was perfectly content with the bacon, which was crispy and slightly burnt (which is how I think it should always be served) and the other breakfast ingredients. They’re not hugely decadent, but it’s a free breakfast offering and there’s a limit to what’s viable here. I went down at around 07:00 and it wasn’t busy, with the signs around the hotel saying that breakfast only really gets busy after 09:00.

    I had a look at the reviews of the hotel, and they’re adequate, nothing overly positive, but nothing particularly concerning either although they’re oddly much more complimentary on TripAdvisor. It seems that they had a debacle last month, judging by a heap of negativity, with a fire alarm being set off overnight by a drunk guest. The negativity seems to relate to that the staff didn’t know what to do, which really is not an ideal situation and that would have annoyed me too. Otherwise though, I didn’t find any reviews that amused me, which was a little disappointing.

    The staff at the hotel were professional, friendly and helpful, so there was nothing wrong with the welcome. The hotel is quite reasonably priced for reward nights, so I’ll likely return here again, as well as being relatively close to central London and also not inconvenient for Heathrow as it’s near to the Piccadilly line.

  • Hull – Taphouse Brewpub

    Hull – Taphouse Brewpub

    This is the final Good Beer Guide listed pub in Hull that I hadn’t visited before, located in the rather on-trend Fruit Market area of the city. It’s a combination of a brewery which is jointly used by Bone Machine and the Yorkshire Brewing Company, as well as a bar area.

    The beer options on the board, a mixture of keg, cask and at the time of my visit, a German beer festival as well for Oktoberfest. I thought that the beer pricing was reasonable and I ordered at the bar, although I think it was meant to be table service. Either way, the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was laid-back and inviting.

    The food menu, where the prices were a bit more punchy. I had already eaten, but the food options looked good.

    I went for a couple of half pints, the Erdinger Dunkel (above) and the Men Beyond the Glass from Bone Machine. Both were very drinkable and at the appropriate temperature and all that. The interior of the bar is all modern and I liked the seating around the table, although it took me some manoeuvring to get in. There are plenty of power points dotted around the bar, which is perhaps something of a sign about how modern an interior is.

    It’s an interesting bar and I liked it, although I can imagine that it gets busy on weekends (and indeed, we couldn’t get in one evening last year as it was full). It’s well reviewed, although there is a 1-star review because the venue used disposable cutlery last year to make it easier to maintain Covid compliance, despite it being a “really nice place. Atmosphere, food and service were great”, which must be disheartening. But there’s always someone wanting to do a place down over Covid, although hopefully that is something which is behind us. The beer range wasn’t the most decadent that I’ve seen, but there were a range of different styles and there was plenty of choice. So that’s another bar that I’m pleased is listed in the Good Beer Guide and I think that I made the right decision to go and visit to complete my collection of Hull pubs that are listed in it. Although the new book is out in a few weeks, so if there’s somewhere new that’s another place I’d have to traipse to….

  • National Express : Hull to London Victoria Coach Station

    National Express : Hull to London Victoria Coach Station

    I left the hotel before 07:00 to get back to London which wasn’t ideal, but a nice sunrise.

    The beginning of the near six hour coach journey, the moderately beautiful Hull Interchange bus and railway station.

    The signage in the bus station was bloody dreadful and it was no surprise there were passengers seeking help from others. It seems to me completely idiotic for this to be the only sign for National Express, which doesn’t even have the correct bus number for the journey I was taking anyway. The overheard screens were displaying incorrect information, just to add to the confusion. If anyone misses the coach, they’d be within their rights to complain to National Express for this in my (rather random) view….

    Having had years of practice at finding the right place to wait for coaches/trains/buses/ferries/planes/etc, I was sitting in the right place for the coach.

    I was able to get my favourite emergency exit row seat. I accept it’s not as exciting as getting the exit row on an aircraft, but it still offers more leg room so I was happy. I was slightly humoured at the elderly couple who were determined to get on first and were edging their luggage closer to the door in the coach station. They then realised that their luggage was setting off the automatic doors so they were getting cold, with the husband then moving it all about again, but carefully blocking anyone else for daring to get in front of them. I’m unsure why they did that, since they sat in a random place midway down the coach, but whatever makes them happy.

    The USB charger on my side didn’t work, but fortunately the coach was never that busy and so there was no-one next to me. The bus stopped at Lincoln and Nottingham and I had expected it to get busy at the latter stop, but the coach wasn’t ever more than half-full.

    I tried to take a photo going over the Humber Bridge, but I don’t think I’ll be entering it into any artistic or photographic competitions.

    And there’s the coach having arrived into London Victoria coach station, around ten minutes ahead of schedule. This was another efficient service and a bargain at £7.60 compared to how much a rail journey would have been. There were no issues en route, other than for what appeared to be a drugged up passenger shouting and swearing down the phone to someone, but all that adds to the excitement for me, so that was handy.

    Anyway, other than for the usual poor signage from National Express, all very efficient and the drivers were polite and helpful.

  • Bradford – Bradford Cathedral (Children of Samuel Hailstone)

    Bradford – Bradford Cathedral (Children of Samuel Hailstone)

    The vault in Bradford Cathedral which contains the remains of the three children of Samuel Hailstone (1768-1851) and his wife Ann Hailstone. The slightly unusual surname is likely to derive from someone in the family having once lived at a location called Hailstone, such as Hailstone Hill in Wiltshire or Hailstone Farm in Gloucestershire. It’s quite eye-catching due to how the cathedral has placed the little choir children.

    The children are:

    (i) Thomas Hailstone, born 1 March 1814, died 9 April 1816

    (ii) William Hailstone, born 23rd September 1815, died 4 April 1816

    (iii) Frances Hailstone, born 7 February 1820, died 16 February 1824.

    Samuel and Ann also had four children who survived to an older age (or at least into adulthood):

    (i) John Hailstone (1810-1871)

    (ii) Edward Ripley Hailstone (1818-1890)

    (iii) Anne Hailstone (1811-1834)

    (iv) Elisabeth (1809-1832)

    Which means that of Samuel’s seven children, he outlived five of them. The death of Thomas and William in the same week was noted in the local newspaper, which mentioned that the family lived at Croft House, but I can save time by linking to more information about this at https://bradfordlocalstudies.com/2016/08/30/map-of-the-week-a-century-of-bradford-hailstones/.

  • Bradford – Bradford Cathedral

    Bradford – Bradford Cathedral

    This is from my visit to Bradford Cathedral a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to take around 80 photos, which is rather more than I had anticipated. This means that I now feel the need to post some individual posts featuring some of the photos to justify my efforts in taking them. It is though a beautiful building, mixing heritage and a modern feel.

    This was St. Peter’s Church until it was elevated to cathedral status in 1919, with a religious building on this site since the Anglo-Saxon period although it was likely derelict at the time of the Norman occupation. The current building is at its heart from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with some modern bits added on. It has had to cater for a growing population, but it wasn’t knocked about too much by the Victorians, although was extended in the 1950s following the designs of the architect Edward Maufe. The changes in population in this area are evident as this building was once in the Diocese of York, then the Diocese of Ripon before becoming its own diocese when it became a cathedral.

    The cathedral’s exterior, with many locals enjoying the sunny weather and sitting in the churchyard (I didn’t include them in the photo).

    I’ll have to write separate posts about some of the elements that interested me at the cathedral, but this is the interior which was peaceful and quiet. The cathedral had the foresight to create a museum of religion here at the turn of the century, but unfortunately it wasn’t a financial success, perhaps just too niche. Anyway, the environment in the building felt welcoming and one of the staff made brief conversation as they walked by, and I think that engagement is really useful as someone might have gone in needing assistance.

  • Leicester – Travelodge Leicester City Centre

    Leicester – Travelodge Leicester City Centre

    This is from my stay in early September 2021, the nearly new Leicester City Centre Travelodge. I’ve been deeply impressed this year by much of what Travelodge are doing, but as far as I could see this hotel was ineptly managed. Firstly, it took me the best part of half an hour to get in, as there is no working intercom at the front door. The shopping centre entrance was closed when I visited, so the only way in was via the car park entrance. That required me to press the buzzer to the car park, which is privately operated, who let me in so that I could walk around to the hotel.

    I got to reception and there were no staff, just a queue of other annoyed guests. The staff member seemed perplexed that the buzzer wasn’t working, although it transpired it had been broken for some days, it hadn’t occurred to them to put a sign up. The staff member mentioned I could have phoned the local number on the sign at reception, but I wasn’t entirely sure how she thought I was going to have seen that, and the phone number in the booking was a premium rate one. The reason I must admit to being annoyed at the management is that guests the next day still couldn’t get in, so I wasn’t convinced they were in the slightest bit interested.

    The hotel was clean and organised, although I was already pre-annoyed at the whole set-up by this point.

    This whole set-up is odd, the exit is on the ground floor, but can only be accessed via the first floor. Anyone with disabilities needs to use stair lifts to get from the entrance to the first floor lift, or use the shopping centre when it’s open. This isn’t Travelodge being awkward, it’s a former office block being converted into hotel use, but it means a clunky set-up to get in. It all felt slightly too unsafe for my liking, especially given the indifference of the management here.

    The conversion from an office block has meant that the rooms are larger than usual size and they look really quite barren. I don’t use the television in hotel rooms, but it looked a little ridiculous that tiny thing on the wall. The windows are sealed and the air quality in the room is poor, with loud and clunky air conditioning. The whole arrangement was way too sterile for me, although the hotel room was very clean, perhaps inevitable given how new everything was.

    I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again, partly because I wouldn’t be comfortable that I could actually get in, but also because of the sterile rooms and the poor air quality. There is another Travelodge in the centre of Leicester, more on which shortly, which was older but which I much preferred. This hotel was very reasonably priced, but perhaps this whole set-up would have been better turned into residential accommodation.

  • Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    This is my third visit to the Accor operated Ibis in Hull, centrally located and reasonably priced.

    I was able to have a little meander around the reception area when checking in at around 22:30 as the staff were all elsewhere for several minutes.

    The room, which is brand standard and what I expected, although missing a hairdryer but I can cope without that. The set-up is becoming ever more rickety, they’re going to have to refurbish this hotel soon as the rooms are becoming slowly but steadily more damaged and the carpets more stained. Cleanliness was adequate, nothing more, with this being another Accor hotel which isn’t cleaning the room during guest stays. They also hadn’t filled two of the three shower gels in the room, which was hardly a problem, but wasn’t perhaps ideal.

    I slightly suspect a dispense problem here, as the already very average Boddington’s was devoid of any taste at all, almost a junk product. This Accor doesn’t have a very good selection of beers, it’s one of the weakest selections I’ve seen in an Ibis hotel and they should perhaps make more effort here. I can’t overly complain as it was a free welcome drink, but it’s all a bit lacklustre. Also, the chocolate bar they used to give as a welcome gift has gone, perhaps not their wisest move as it’s just a cheap gesture that likely created at least a bit of goodwill (it did with me anyway).

    However, there were no noise disturbances either internally or externally, so I had no issues during my stay. When I asked for more coffee I was given a huge heap of them, so no complaints there either. I didn’t want breakfast here, but I note their old previous offer price has gone, and it’s back to £8.50. I didn’t see anyone having breakfast when I walked by on three mornings, I suspect that the Wetherspoons over the road has stolen nearly all of that trade from them. I shall likely stay here again, but I hope they start a refurbishment programme soon. Oh, and dump their generic beer options, or at least get something marginally more decadent.

  • Hull – Whalebone

    Hull – Whalebone

    I’ve visited nearly all of the Good Beer Guide pubs in Hull in the past, with just two remaining in Hull. One was the Taphouse, which I tried before one evening last year but it was full, and I thought I’d visit this week, but this time the bar was shut with a sign saying “closed today for maintenance”. It’s not an ideal situation, as I had checked their Facebook page in advance and they could have perhaps mentioned that. Anyway, I’ll try them again another day, but that gave me the chance to go straight to the Whalebone. This is an unusual pub in an industrial part of Hull and is in a building that I would have almost certainly have overlooked if it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide (and also to be fair separately recommended to me).

    My first impressions were hugely positive, this was a mix of a traditional pub with the modern delights of Untappd screens. The atmosphere was friendly, the member of bar staff was personable and engaging, with the entire set-up being my sort of place.

    This has been a licensed premises since 1791, with CAMRA noting that the current building dates to 1791. A pub company would never have sustained this pub, it requires something exceptional given its location, so it’s no huge surprise that it’s been free trade since 2002. It’d be impossible to create this sort of atmosphere either, the heritage is evident with the old photos and dated design (but I’d add that it’s spotlessly clean), but it’s also rare to see such a well presented bar full of tempting options (and I mainly mean beers, but I was pleased to see three different types of Peperami….)

    The range of beers was exceptional, with a wide selection of styles and some interesting keg and cask options. The list at Untappd was also up-to-date, making it much easier to see what was available, although the traditional blackboards were still there as well. I started with the Kaya from Brew York and this was a delight, with the crisps complementing it beautifully.

    But, let me just focus on the Cherry Tonkoko from Brew York, a beautiful beer that was 9.5% ABV, but it was smooth, rich and had a decadent aftertaste. That this was available at a back street pub in Hull is an indication to me of just how well run the pub was.

    This pub obviously deserves to be in the Good Beer Guide and it’s one of the most authentic places that I’ve been to this year. It is slightly awkward for me to have my Pub of the Year just down the road from the Hop and Vine (what I consider to be one of the best pubs in the country) but that is looking like a distinct possibility here for 2021…. I have to say that this was really all quite lovely.