Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Wymondham – Green Dragon

    Wymondham – Green Dragon

    Just a brief post, as I’ve written about the Green Dragon before.

    As an aside, this is Wymondham Abbey which is very near to the pub and we had a very quick walk to.

    And here’s the pub itself, looking quite festive.

    When I last visited it wasn’t possible to sit inside due to national restrictions in force at the time. That meant this time I was able to have a look at the interior and it’s certainly rich with history. It’s worth a visit for anyone interested in pub history and this is a CAMRA recognised pub interior. The room in which we were seated is at the front of the pub and was originally a separate shop area with its own fireplace. There’s a small hatch through to the main bar, which is a compact arrangement despite there being a relatively recent expansion to it.

    The beer tasted well kept, although the choice wasn’t as decadent as I would have ideally liked. However, the Farmers Blonde I had from Bradfield Brewery was acceptable and at the appropriate temperature. The service at the bar was attentive and polite, so the environment felt comfortable and welcoming. It wasn’t that busy in the pub, although they had a couple of larger groups in who were dining at what I assume were some sort of festive gatherings.

    We didn’t order food on this occasion, but I repeatedly hear that it’s of a decent quality and I can imagine that’s the case given the professionalism of the service that we had. It’s a lovely historic environment and definitely worth a visit, all really rather lovely.

  • Wymondham – Shapla

    Wymondham – Shapla

    After some meanderings around some nearby historic churches, in an attempt by Richard and I to complete our project of visiting every one in Norfolk (which I suspect will be never-ending as we have to work out how to get inside some churches as well as walking around them), we thought we’d sample some culinary delights in Wymondham.

    The Shapla seemed to be the best reviewed Indian restaurant in the town, so we opted for that and it has apparently been trading for over thirty years. We were welcomed promptly and although we didn’t have a reservation, we were found a suitable table. The interior decor was modern and appropriate, with the venue being clean and organised. Menus provided and the selection looked comprehensive, with traditional dishes that an Indian might have, as well as some chef specials. They didn’t have any lassi which I had hoped for, so I made do with a Coke to drink.

    The poppadoms were really rather lovely, or at least the assorted dips were. There was mango chutney, onion salad, tamarind sauce, apple pickle and mint sauce, all of which were decent and the apple pickle was a particular favourite as I haven’t had that before.

    The Roshoni Chilli Chicken Tikka which had some real heat to it from the chillies, but it wasn’t overpowering, nicely balanced. The chicken was tender and had a depth of flavour, with the shallots adding texture and the portion size being sufficiently generous. There was no lemon rice, my personal favourite, but the pilau rice I ordered was cooked well.

    Service was attentive throughout and it was a friendly environment, with the restaurant being relatively busy for a Sunday evening. I suspect that reservations are usually required for weekend evenings and there were a steady stream of customers picking up takeaway orders. All really rather lovely and I think that I’d come back here again.

  • Norwich – 2021 Hike Norfolk Christmas Party at St. Andrew’s Brew House

    Norwich – 2021 Hike Norfolk Christmas Party at St. Andrew’s Brew House

    We didn’t get to hold the Hike Norfolk Christmas party last year due to national restrictions, even though of course Downing Street managed to do so. But anyway, we won’t get dragged into politics here. The Hike Norfolk event was being held at St. Andrew’s Brew House in Norwich, formerly Delaney’s and now operated by City Club. I won’t linger on the beer brewed here as it’s some of the more pointless that I’ve tasted in terms of flavour and taste (we’re not talking Goose Island), but it’s well kept to be fair to them.

    There was a mix-up or something with rooms, but Steve was in charge of that and the venue gave us a perfectly good space so all was well. We also had a private bar which was handy, although I ended up drinking water as the service downstairs was all over the place and the beer selection was weak. I won’t linger on the service though, it’s Christmas, there was a home match for Norwich City and there are national staffing shortages, so these are difficult times and it doesn’t feel very festive to be negative. The staff were helpful throughout as well, so the ambience was all comfortable and relaxed.

    Liam looking at the arrangements in the private room before the masses came up. There were crackers and I of course promptly lost the hat as I don’t like frivolities.

    There was an awards ceremony for later on in the evening, which Steve and I had written in the afternoon. It’s an important event in the Hike Norfolk calendar and we couldn’t let it not happen. Here are the eight trophies carefully lined up.

    Richard waiting at the bar in his Christmas jumper.

    The starter of ham terrine was really rather good, I liked this.

    The turkey main course was less exciting and the pub didn’t burden themselves providing the promised stuffing and pigs in blankets. It was adequate though and all hot.

    The Christmas pudding in brandy sauce was also perfectly acceptable. Portion control across meals was a bit all over the place as well, but the service was efficient and seemed well managed.

    And then came the awards ceremony that Steve and I presented and is evident from this photo (look at that trophy!), I’m delighted to have won the most prestigious award which is “Bravest Walker”. That was for my very brave walking the 100 that I’ve hardly mentioned this year…… I’d add that I didn’t write that award, although I too would have selected myself as the winner if I had of done. I was very pleased that Susanna didn’t get annoyed at me for her very special prize, so that was a result. It was good to look back on the year and the camping weekend in the Peak District of course gave us many happy memories.

    After Steve and I had done our amateur bit of presenting the awards and taking quite a while over it, Rachel took over to be rather more professional. Rachel presented the awards for distance walked during the year on Hike Norfolk walks and to be fair, mine was a little limited since I’ve been away so much. Although I was also distracted photographing my trophy which I shall be finding a prime spot for. I think we had 29 people at the event and it all went well, so here’s to a year of walking with more gossip and stories ahead…. And thanks to Steve to organising the event.

  • Norwich – Spice Valley

    Norwich – Spice Valley

    A couple of years ago I was able to get some free food at Spice Valley in Norwich as part of their opening weekend, so I felt it was only fair to come back and try their food. It’s taken me two years to do so, but we meandered along to see how they were getting on. Firstly, it wasn’t particularly busy, they had one large Christmas party, and just Liam and me. The environment is clean, bright and really quite comfortable, they’ve done a decent job there. As I mentioned on my post about the Dog House, I’ve got a little out of touch with the restaurants in Norwich and since Indian cuisine is my favourite, I need to get back up to date.

    The soft drinks are over-priced and nearly the same cost as alcohol. Not ideal and I was disappointed at the lack of lassi and this is the first Indian I can recall in some time that doesn’t have it.

    The poppadoms and dips. These were inadequate and generic, with one of them having so much garlic taste as to be inedible. As Will said in the Inbetweeners, “I’m not expecting sparkling”, but I want something slightly interesting…..

    The lemon rice was excellent, actually one of the best of its kind that I’ve had. I went for the Chicken Dopiaza and the sauce was pretty decent, although a little too oily. The chicken was tender, but tasteless, I’m not convinced by the quality of the meat they’re using here. It was all at the appropriate temperature and was pleasant tasting overall though, so I don’t want it to sound like I didn’t enjoy the food. The service was attentive throughout and always professional, with everything being well managed and we weren’t left waiting at any stage.

    Another annoyance was that the restaurant was listed on Amex’s Shop Small which should have got me £5 off, and despite their card machine branding noting the American Express logo, they said they didn’t accept it. I was also annoyed that I wasn’t allowed to keep the receipt and nor were they able to produce a copy other than just a total of the bill which wasn’t itemised. I had already taken a photo of the bill and it was entirely accurate, but it’s shoddy to refuse a customer a copy of the receipt and actually quite brave in case there’s a query over the total.

    Overall, attentive service and a clean environment, but nothing of real note beyond that. I feel though that I’ve returned the favour of the free food of a couple of years ago now, but the quality they had at opening seems to have dipped. It’s fair to say that I won’t be back though and I will continue my little quest to find my favourite Indian restaurant…..

  • Norwich – Lucy’s Fish and Chips

    Norwich – Lucy’s Fish and Chips

    My friend James and I have been testing chip options in Norwich for over 20 years and we continue on our quest for perfection. The quality of Grosvenor is still high, but their pricing is becoming just a little decadent, especially with the new eat-in surcharge. So, we’ve spent more time on the market in recent months and the standard here is high, meaning we are having to do a lot of testing to pick our favourite. I suspect this testing might last for another three or four years at least. This is Lucy’s fish and chips, a friendly location although they always seem to misunderstand James when he’s making the order. Always a warm welcome though.

    The advantage of Lucy’s is that they have seating and that’s really quite useful in Norwich market as there are few places to sit. There are some exposed areas at the fringes where diners are at risk of the elements and the rather bigger risk of seagulls. So this seating within the market is warm and safe from the elements and seagulls.

    I understand that not everyone has such decadent food orders here, but this is pretty much as good as it gets I think. A main course of chips, battered sausage, curry sauce and scraps, with the sausage being a proper butcher’s sausage. The portion size of chips is generous and they always have scraps available to add texture to the arrangement. And the dessert of battered mince pies in a brandy sauce, this is all clearly Masterchef standard and it’s also evidently very healthy.

    Incidentally, for those who don’t like mince pies, there are also battered Jaffa cakes and battered Cherry Bakewells for a dessert treat. Oh, and mince pies taste much better when they’re battered, a nice extra flavour to them. The cost of this was just over £4 each, a veritable bargain. A traditional Norfolk Christmas meal, how very lovely…..

  • Norwich – FupBurger @ the Dog House

    Norwich – FupBurger @ the Dog House

    Having been away from Norwich for a while, I’ve started to get a little behind with visiting some of the more popular places that have opened up in recent months. This is FupBurger who are located the Dog House pub in Norwich, although they seem to now be so dominant here that they might as well just change the name of the pub. We arrived at 17:30, but the venue was full by 18:00 and they were turning customers, all of whom were looking for food, away.

    The drinks menu where the prices are towards the higher end of the scale. The beer options are credible, but broadly not particularly interesting to me.

    The concept is primarily that of burgers, but there are a range of other options there as well such as nachos and loaded fries. The meat is locally sourced and provided by Clarkes Butchers in Hevingham and is is positive to know the origins of the food. FupBurger also have another set-up similar to this, at the Harbour Inn in Lowestoft.

    The staff in the pub were all friendly, with a welcoming greeting and engaging table service offered. There’s quite a fast turnover of tables here, but we were never rushed during our time here, even when they were turning customers away because they were so busy.

    The Mangolicious from the Laine Brew Co in Brighton, which was a fruity beer which tasted of mango, although it wasn’t particularly rich or decadent.

    And the main event, I ordered the double burger with a side of fries. The fries were heavily salted, even for my quite liberal needs (can salt tastes be liberal?) but tasted fine. The burger was meaty and this was quite decadent, rich and tasting of a good quality. The cheese was ideal for me, just processed slices of American cheese rather than some overpowering cheese sauce which wrecked the whole thing. There was plenty of burger sauce, something I also liked, although their recipe for that is secret but it’s mayonnaise based. The bacon was crispy rather than fatty and the brioche roll was fresh, with the whole arrangement being the sort of burger that I like.

    The pricing isn’t cheap, especially with the 10% service charge automatically added, but the surroundings are clean, the staff are friendly, it’s all on-trend and the food was of a very good quality. The burgers are also very Instagrammable, especially for those who order the Quad burger, and some of the popularity of the restaurant has been driven by their social media engagement. I don’t know if they’ll be able to keep the novelty factor up, but that the quality is high, they’ve got a good chance of remaining relevant and popular. Given all that, I was glad to visit this restaurant and I can see why it has become so busy over recent months.

  • Norwich – White Lion

    Norwich – White Lion

    I used to visit the White Lion on Oak Street in Norwich regularly and indeed had my 40th birthday get together there as well. However, in recent years, the bright lights of the Artichoke, Plasterers, Leopard and King’s Head have shone brighter, and they’re also much nearer to where I live, so I haven’t visited much.

    And here’s one of my favourite photos, Andrew and Susan enjoying themselves, with an eight year old looking Nathan serving behind the bar. Hopefully he won’t read this before we go to the pub tonight…..

    Anyway, I went back at the weekend as it was the Legstretchers Christmas party. This is the very exciting long-distance walking group of Norfolk Ramblers that I brought back to life in 2016, but I retired a couple of months ago and Maria and Stephen have now taken it over. Maria had a marvellous idea to host the Christmas party at the White Lion, so I felt the need to go along.

    The food and drinks menu….

    Back in the day, the White Lion was a cider pub and probably the best in Norwich, an award it frequently won from CAMRA. I had the Black Prince Porter from Bexley Brewery and the Kaiser from Welbeck Abbey Brewery, which were both well-kept, but they weren’t the most exciting and there was a limited depth of flavour from either. The keg selection of beers at the White Lion is quite weak, but at least they’ve got a number of real ales available.

    The burger, which was sufficiently meaty and tasted of a decent quality, with the wedges being cooked perfectly. I didn’t quite work out what the slightly hard lumps on the burger were, but the coleslaw was very moreish. A number of our group was eating and everyone seemed happy with their food, with the portion of nachos looking very generous.

    After we had listened to Richard sneezing, this was my attempt to teach everyone the rules of bar billiards after the meal……

    On the service, well, that was excellent. The member of staff behind the bar was engaging, friendly and personable, so the welcome felt authentic and genuine. Indeed, all of the staff members were warm and hospitable, there’s a really good team working here and they were a great credit to the pub. This feels like a really well-run pub and I suspect that someone new to the area who wanted to meet new friends would have some success here, a key measure of a venue in my eyes.

    If I’m being honest, the beer selection isn’t quite decadent enough to tempt me away from my usual haunts. However, what they had was well-kept and the pub is offering one of the best welcomes that I’ve had this year, so that’s all really positive. I’m sure that I shall visit again, perhaps on a more regular basis to recent months. I’ve never had the Sunday lunch here, either because I’ve been walking or out of the country, but it’s well reviewed and I will get the chance to try it one day…..

  • Heathrow Airport – ExpressTest PCR Testing at T5

    Heathrow Airport – ExpressTest PCR Testing at T5

    I can’t say that I was particularly looking forwards to this, the PCR test that I had pre-booked with ExpressTest to be completed at Heathrow T5 following my arrival back from Poland. There’s been a lot of confusion about Day 2 tests and I note that British Airways have put out advertising today to remind customers that these tests can be taken any time after landing, they don’t need to wait until Day 2. But, I wanted to get this whole thing out of the way as it was already stressing me. The information in the e-mail was clear and I was easily able to find the testing centre which is at the far end of the Heathrow T5 arrivals hall (at the other end to the Underground).

    I had pre-booked a time that allowed for lots of delays with the flight and border control, which didn’t ultimately happen. However, the cheerful staff member at the front of the queue checking documents said that it didn’t matter, it was just to try and manage the number of people and I could just join the queue. That was helpful, as I didn’t fancy sitting near to the testing area worrying and sulking for an hour. I had already annoyed several friends by telling them how brave I was being, even though that’s usually a slight hint that I’m not entirely happy.

    Anyway, after being entertained by a man who said that he had booked a test at Heathrow T4 and the terminal was shut and wanted his test here instead (they obliged, although he was very rude) I was welcomed by a staff member after a few minutes in the queue. I was walked to a little area with a seat and I carefully surveyed the area to see where I might need to faint safely (I didn’t want to hit my head on any metal or sharp corners) if it all became too much. Anyway, the medical professional (I don’t know how trained they are, but I told myself they were a very experienced and senior consultant even though they were clearly aged about 22) was very tolerant of my comments of how frightening this was.

    After I had mentioned my bravery six times, the patient and tolerant lady explained that actually some people did faint and a lot were very scared. That helped no end, so I prepared myself for the surgery (apparently this isn’t actually technically classed as surgery, but I’d prepared for that sort of thing in my mind). I was so brave that the whole thing was over in thirty seconds and I didn’t gag or sneeze, so I was slightly disappointed as I felt that it was now easy for friends to say I had over-worried about the arrangement. The medical professional agreed that I deserved some sweets, which was handy as I had procured some chocolates earlier in the day.

    I thought that the whole process was professionally managed and the staff there were all helpful. I can’t say that I was thrilled to spend £60 on this, as that’s three months of unlimited Pret coffee, but there we are. It’s a little bit cheaper for BA customers who quote the BA code which is on the web-site. Just have to hope the test doesn’t come back positive now.

  • British Airways (Warsaw to London Heathrow T5)

    British Airways (Warsaw to London Heathrow T5)

    After a few weeks in Poland, it was unfortunately time to come back with a feeling of uncertainty of how the PCR test thing was going to work out in Heathrow. I left the Mercure Airport hotel at 08:45 to catch my flight at 12:45, expecting to get to the lounge at 10:00 sort of time (which is for me cutting it very fine). Everything went right with the train to the airport, there was no wait at the security area (indeed, there were no other passengers which felt really odd) and the customs check didn’t take long, so I was at the Bolero Lounge by 09:30. But more about that bit of today in another post.

    There it is, the BA847 service from Warsaw to London Heathrow T5 which was departing a little late due to being held up on the outbound flight to Poland.

    Arriving at the gate shortly before boarding commenting, I heard the gate staff call Groups 1 to 3 and I was the second person to board. Well, I should have been the second to board, but the staff member refused me boarding saying that my mask wasn’t sufficient for British Airways. To cut a long story short, this led to a rush to find a member of the airport staff to help me find a shop selling them, as the member of gate staff was absolutely hopeless in offering assistance.

    What actually happened here, which became apparent after I spoke to a member of LOT Polish airlines at the airport is that the staff member had got the rules wrong, as British Airways and LOT Polish (who have their hub at Warsaw Chopin Airport) have different mask policies. However, if I had gone to discuss that point I was in serious danger of missing the flight and likely being off-loaded for being unhelpful. I have no intention of being uncooperative at an airport, there are too many downsides…. Fortunately, the airport staff member and a member of shop staff managed to sell me the required mask. I was able to board, but only just and it wasn’t an ideal situation.

    After boarding, the crew member confirmed that my mask met the requirements of British Airways, but they handed out masks anyway on boarding to anyone who didn’t have one. I’ve spoken to British Airways  who have apologised for the gate staff. It doesn’t much matter now as these are challenging times for all staff at airports, but I would have been quite annoyed if I had missed the flight. I assume if I had returned to the gate without the mask that some other airlines I wasn’t flying with required then someone might have spoken to the crew to check the situation, but it’s not really worth risking that.

    I shall drink one extra beer in the British Airways lounge next time I’m in it to compensate for the situation as I’m petty like that. But it wasn’t British Airways staff who were unhelpful here, so they’re still my favourite airline. And LOT Polish Airlines, who I suspect the gate staff are usually working for, are part of Star Alliance anyway and I’ve only got eyes for Oneworld airlines.

    This was the British Airways aircraft I was struggling to board and its livery is certainly distinctive. It’s aircraft G-TTNA, A320neo which was delivered to BA in April 2018. It was repainted a couple of months ago as it was used in the COP26 talks in Scotland, showing the contribution of the airline industry to tackle the climate crisis.

    An Airbus spokesperson said at the time:

    “We’re delighted to be partnering with BA on this journey and feel proud BA has chosen one of our A320neos to highlight the importance of sustainability for the future of the industry.

    The aircraft has 20% less fuel burn & CO2 emissions compared to A320ceo and 50% less noise so it’s a great choice and I am looking forward to seeing the new livery in the sky. BA is committed to a sustainable future and contributing positively to climate change mitigation and adaptation. We will achieve the ambition of a net zero carbon emissions industry by 2050 through cooperation and collaboration and this initiative is a clear example of that.”

    It’s a nice concept, although it’s very hard to identify it as a British Airways aircraft at a distance and it puzzled me for a little while (not that that really takes much).

    I deliberately moved out of my exit row seat the day before the flight, as I find it more faff trying to fit my bag into the overhead lockers above those seats. That would have been especially true on this flight due to boardinggate, so I was pleased that I had put myself in an aisle seat near to the rear of the aircraft. I had forgotten how little leg room there is, but it’s fine for a short distance flight and there was no-one in the middle seat. Everything was I expected, other than the USB power at my seat wasn’t working, although I could have used one on a different seat if I had needed to.

    The free snack and water (I took the photo later, I didn’t have a pillow on board) which was offered. The crew were engaging, efficient and pro-active, another near perfect service from British Airways staff. The pilot, a bastion of professionalism (as they nearly always are) made appropriate and useful announcements, including telling us that we were arriving in Heathrow having made up most of the lost time. The aircraft was clean and the crew were handing out disinfectant wipes from a basket on boarding (the same basket that the masks were in).

    Anyway, another excellent flight from British Airways only impacted by the airport’s gate staff, but maybe that’s what Star Alliance customers are used to flying from the airport so that’s fair enough.

    Incidentally, I know some people have experienced long delays at the border at Heathrow T5, but I was through in under one minute, just ready to go and take a PCR test. After I managed to board, the flight and arrivals process was effortless, so all rather lovely.

  • London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – Holiday Inn Express

    London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – Holiday Inn Express

    I’m posting out of order again in case anyone wonders how I’ve gone so quickly from Warsaw to Wandsworth….. This is my stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Wandsworth, London from last week which was handily paid for by rewards points.

    I arrived a little early, at around 14:30, which is well before the 16:00 check-in, but I thought I could always sit and work in the hotel’s bar if the room wasn’t ready. I mentioned to the friendly member of check-in staff that I knew I was quite early and he said that a room probably wasn’t ready, but he’d have a look. I gave him my name and he replied:

    “Mr White, you’re a Platinum member, there’s always a room ready”.

    I don’t think I’d ever dare go into a hotel and say “I’m Platinum, I want a room now” as that might lead to a DYKWIA moment (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2002071-dykwia-2020-21-edition.html) but handy to know. I suspect that I’ve reached Platinum status with one of the lowest spends possible, other than people such as my friend Richard who just bought their status (but he’s very decadent and would very likely go into a hotel and demand a room).

    The room, all to brand standard and spotlessly clean, so all rather lovely.

    The view from my window and that’s the Thames between the buildings. The windows opened so that I could hear the comings and goings of Wandsworth…..

    The beer choice wasn’t entirely ideal and I only realised that they had Goose Island IPA too late, the staff member didn’t list that as an option. This is Peroni, which I personally think is bland and a bit pointless, but that makes me sound like a craft beer snob who sneers at lagers, but there we go…..

    I like these, indications of when breakfast will be the busiest.

    Breakfast was busy, although I was able to take this photo during a lull in proceedings. It did get quite a bit more hectic and I didn’t think that things were entirely logically laid out. By that, I mean I kept getting muddled up, so I blame the hotel rather than myself.

    The standard Holiday Inn Express breakfast options were available, which were the four hot items of baked beans, sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs, alongside pastries, yoghurt, cereals, toast and the like. Breakfast is included in the room rate of Holiday Inn Express outlets and it’s entirely serviceable.

    Given that this stay was free with rewards points, I’m not entirely sure what it usually costs, but I think it’s usually somewhere around the £70 per night mark, which is rather too decadent for me. However, it’s easy to get to by public transport and it took me just over an hour to walk to Victoria Coach Station the next morning. The staff were friendly, the hotel was clean and so all was well.