Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – By The Horns Brewery Tap

    London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – By The Horns Brewery Tap

    I’m slowly, but very surely, working my way around London’s breweries and this one in between Tooting and Wimbledon is also listed in the Good Beer Guide (which I’m also working my way around). So, yesterday I made a booking on-line for today, and then was on course to arrive half an hour early so went to sit in a nearby graveyard to wait. Incidentally, I liked that it let me make a booking for one person, I inwardly tut when I see somewhere only allows bookings for two or more people.

    There was a friendly welcome from the staff member, who explained the ordering process which was done on-line using a QR code. It clearly wasn’t entirely packed with customers as the staff member knew my name when I said I had a reservation, but I’m always happy that I’m in the right place. The ordering system was all efficient and easy to use, and the environment was comfortable. It’s not the largest indoors space, but there are several tables and the outdoor area gives them more flexibility on numbers.

    I was given the chance to move my reservation outside into the hot external seating area, like everyone else seemed to be doing during my visit, but I was quite content inside in the cold. I’ve had enough of London’s heatwave…. I’d actually had enough of the heatwave yesterday about ten minutes after it started, but I digress…. The cricket was also showing on the television and the staff member mentioned I could turn the volume up if I wanted. I didn’t, but I liked the engagement and I also liked the ready supply of power points dotted around.

    There’s an in-house pizza oven and the taproom surroundings are industrial and what I consider to be on-trend and exciting.

    The reasonably priced pizza menu is visible in the above photo (click the image to enlarge it).

    The brewery’s web-site seemed to focus on IPAs, but I noticed they had two darker options available and so I went for half a pint of each. The Lambeth Walk is a porter made by the brewery and it had a pleasant taste with an aftertaste of chocolate and coffee, although it wasn’t quite as rich a flavour as I had expected. A nice beer though and it tasted well-kept (it should since they made it here so it’s hardly gone far) and was at the appropriate temperature. I don’t like porters that are served at some point near freezing, although I might have forgiven that today given the heat. Anyway, it was all perfectly served.

    I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Deep Funk which is also made here, it’s what they call a farmhouse stout (is that a thing?) and it’s a rye kettle soured stout mixed with a graf, which is effectively a beer cider (I had to Google that). I wasn’t sure whether I was ordering an artisan craft product or an expensive snakebite, but either way, I liked it. A complex taste, or as much as beer and cider mixed together can be, and there were some interesting flavours going on. The mixture of sourness and sharpness worked for me, although I’m struggling to put that effectively into words. It’s not hugely well rated in reviews, but it’s something different and I like trying new concepts.

    Anyway, I liked this brewery and the taproom set-up, it was a relaxed environment and the staff were friendly and everything was organised. There’s usually a wider beer range I understand, but I was entirely satisfied with what they had. I’ve mentioned already that the whole look is quite on-trend, but I don’t think they’ve tried to create that deliberately, it’s just a by-product of friends interested in making craft beer. All really rather lovely.

  • Southrepps – St. James’s Church

    Southrepps – St. James’s Church

    Southrepps is a small village in the north of Norfolk, which we visited when marshalling the LDWA 100 and we’ve also used it as a checkpoint during events. However, although the church remains today a large structure, it was once a much more substantial building with side aisles and there was clearly some wealth here in the past.

    The Grade I listed church dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, although it was constructed on the same site as an earlier building. The four-stage tower, which is grand and rather beautiful, dates from the middle of the fifteenth century. There are scallop shells in the stone, as the church is dedicated to St. James of Compostella.

    The font, which is from the fourteenth century (and has recently been restored), and the base of the tower. There are six bells in the tower, with one dating to fifteenth century, four of them dating to 1641 and the other one is more recent, from 1988.

    The side aisles were removed in 1791 although the arcading is still visible on the side of the nave. I assume that the structural situation and lack of finances at the time meant that the removal of the aisles was inevitable, but I wonder if the congregation of the time were somewhat saddened at the situation. There wouldn’t have been much of a congregation by the end of the eighteenth century and funding a church of that size would have been of some considerable burden to the locals. The impressive roof is a more recent addition, having been reconstructed at the beginning of the twentieth century.

    The medieval screen with its oak panels, which I assume were painted over following the Reformation as there isn’t much imagery remaining.

    The church’s grand chancel, much restored in the nineteenth century.

    It’s fair to say that the window arrangement in the chancel allows a considerable amount of light into the church.

    What I assume is a piscina in the wall of the chancel, perhaps original to here or perhaps from the end of one of the removed aisles.

    There isn’t much left from the medieval chancel, as nineteenth century modernisations swept most of that away, but these sections remain.

    Unfortunately, it seems that the stone here is still crumbling (but on the bright side, the church was granted some restoration funds a few weeks ago), but I like the touches of medieval history that remain here.

    This is a rather beautiful church and an effort is made to keep it open which is really lovely. The tall tower, one of the highest in the county, is a reminder of the wealth which once existed in Southrepps, despite the impact that the Black Death had in the area.

  • Accor Hotel at Heathrow – A Bit Shut

    Accor Hotel at Heathrow – A Bit Shut

    I arrived with great excitement to my Accor hotel near Heathrow (I’m not going anywhere from the airport, it was just where I was staying) and had the slightly annoying situation that it was shut. I said to myself that this definitely wasn’t ideal. A staff member on site helpfully told me that I’d come to the right hotel, but that it had been shut for five months. They added that this was the problem with booking with third party sites, and I’d need to contact them to deal with the issue.

    Unfortunately, I hadn’t used a third party site, I’d booked directly with Accor. So I phoned them and was delighted when a real life person answered the Platinum/Diamond support line (I was pleased my call got routed there, it made me feel important….). They were really quite friendly and they apologised several times, realising that the booking was valid for a shut hotel (if there’s such a thing as a valid booking for a shut hotel). The first stage of their resolution was to set up a complaint which they immediately upgraded to Stage 2. I don’t know what that means, but it sounded exciting. The second stage of their resolution was to rebook me in a nearby Novotel hotel as I didn’t fancy sleeping at the airport (I didn’t intend to recreate the film Terminal) and Heathrow never liked that at the best of times, so I imagine it’s impossible now. That worked out (the rebooking, not the sleeping at Heathrow), although they couldn’t get through to the hotel to guarantee the booking, but they booked it internally anyway.

    The resolution team is meant to be getting in touch with me over the next couple of days, although I like the hotel that I’ve been moved to. They did tell me to keep my receipts and get a taxi there, but I couldn’t be going through all that stress so I just walked the thirty minutes to the new hotel. It was a lovely walk near the Bath Road with the sun setting. Not the three night stay that I had expected, but I won’t complain at three nights at the Novotel.

    I would be annoyed, but I like Accor and to be honest, I quite like the drama and excitement….. The two staff members on the phone actually sounded interested in helping, so that was all positive. Although I’ve now got to work out where to get the 222 bus to get to the Piccadilly line….. I could get the Hotel Hoppa bus and charge Accor, but I hate that service and I don’t fancy faffing about sending receipts. Anyway, that’s another adventure I’ve gotten myself into.

  • Colchester – The Magnet Micropub (Interview)

    Colchester – The Magnet Micropub (Interview)

    I’ve worked my way around many pubs in Colchester, but I was delighted to hear (on an LDWA walk where one of the walkers is friends with the owners….) that there’s a new one opening and especially so as it’s a micropub. I drone on about those a lot and I suspect many more will open in the years to come, which is something rather positive for the hospitality industry.

    Anyway, although I haven’t had chance to visit yet, the owners kindly agreed to do a little interview. This also means that I am now planning a little road trip with friends to visit Colchester pubs again (any excuse I admit….), including the Magnet.

    The pub opened in late May 2021, so this is all new and exciting. I like the “an idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub”, as I’ve had great (or what I considered to be great) ideas with friends in similar circumstances. I also think that this idea must have been formed in the very lovely Hop Beer Shop, which I visited last year.

    The micropub is located in part of the former Norfolk pub on North Station Road, a short walk from Colchester railway station. Which makes it an ideal location to pop to before getting a train (or having just got off one for that matter). The pub takes its name from William Gilbert, a local scientist who did work on magnetism, so relevance to local heritage which I rather like.

    The owners are Robert and Ian, who have been spending the last few months getting everything ready for their new venture.

    What made you open a micropub and who is involved in the project?

    An idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub in Chelmsford at the tail end of 2019 which was then amazingly followed through. The micropub is co-owned by Rob and I. Prior to this we had both worked in finance.

    Have there been any obstacles in your opening, other than the huge challenge of Covid-19?

    The biggest challenge has been finding suitable properties and then educating landlords / freeholders etc., on the benefits of a micropub, particularly when changes to planning permission were required. As regards The Magnet itself (aside from Covid-19 related restrictions) the biggest obstacle was getting the utilities isolated and connected.

    Projects like this sound fun, has that been how it has worked out so far?

    We have been very lucky with the trades persons and suppliers that we partnered up with. Their level of expertise and enthusiasm has been unbelievable. Also the friends and family members who have lent their time and skills to the project,

    Your pub has been formed from part of the former Norfolk pub, how many people will it seat?

    It will seat approximately 50, including the courtyard area.

    What sort of atmosphere are you hoping to achieve?

    Relaxed but convivial, with conversation promoted.

    Do you have a favourite other micropub in East Anglia? Have they inspired you with this project?

    Following on from the last question, Farmers Yard in Maldon, and Mawson’s in Southend, in terms of atmosphere.

    Will there be decadent bar snacks available? I have a passion for locally sourced Scotch Eggs! Although I’m also content with scampi fries…..

    At the moment we have locally produced crisps and cakes, but are thinking of expanding our savoury bar snack offerings. So if you have any suppliers that you recommend, we would be grateful to hear them.

    Will the vibe be more craft beer or real ale? Or a crossover between the two?

    We built a small dedicated cold room and are able to serve both cask and keg at a perfect temperature. We have three handles for cask, and five keg lines which currently host two IPAs, a pilsner, a fruity wheat beer and a cider. We also offer cider from the box, locally distilled spirits and a range of bottled drinks

    Which breweries are you looking to source from?

    As both Rob and I are new to this game we are currently only sourcing from local breweries (predominantly Colchester Brewery) but as we get more experienced we may start to expand the net wider.

    Do you have any longer-term plans for the micropub with regards to things that you want to achieve in the future?

    It’s still very early days for The Magnet (we only opened on May 21st). So making it a success is priority number one.

    The pub has a website at https://www.themagnetpub.co.uk/.

  • Barham – Sorrel Horse Inn

    Barham – Sorrel Horse Inn

    We popped into the Sorrel Horse (a pub name that I’ve never heard of, but there’s another similarly named location near Woodbridge which apparently has a bar billiards table) whilst marshalling the LDWA 100 near to Ipswich. I had a vision of some sort of gastropub so I was already slightly pre-annoyed as it sounded decadent, but it soon became apparent this is a properly welcoming and accessible pub.

    The pub history seems a little complex, but CAMRA suggest that this building dates from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, located on the old Norwich road. There has also been a Sorrel Horse Inn for at least a few centuries, but it only moved into this building in the early nineteenth century. That’s not entirely rare as pub licences and names often moved about a bit, but either way, there’s a long heritage here. There’s also still accommodation offered at the Sorrel Horse, which is fairly near to Ipswich, but still in a countryside location not far from the River Gipping.

    We sat outside as it was warm and there were no wasps visible, and there’s plenty of space. They probably needed to clear the tables away a bit faster, but it was one of those environments that was welcoming and comfortable. There was a kids play area at the pub, but that was kept separate and there are numerous other outdoors areas located away from it for those who don’t want to sit next to screaming and over-excited children. But it’s a useful facility for parents who want to try and visit the pub and have children in tow.

    The food menu and I was tempted by a few options, but I couldn’t order any given that we only had about 30 minutes before we needed to go and marshal nearby. The pub uses The Round app which worked well and it was easy to order, with the staff members being visible and personable. Judging from photos on reviews, the food appears to be home-made and perhaps a little rustic in its appearance, but the prices are reasonable.

    There were three real ales available, all of which were perhaps a little routine and not overly exciting to me, but I went for the Young’s London Original and it tasted fine, was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature. Prices were moderate and the crisps were suitably delicious.

    I popped inside the pub to use the toilet and it had a relaxed and traditional feel to it (the pub, not the male toilets), and somewhere that I’d rather fancy coming back to (again, I mean the pub, not specifically the male toilets). I like under-stated and comfortable pubs and I can cope with having Young’s London Original…… Nice.

  • Norwich – The Leopard

    Norwich – The Leopard

    I’m not sure how I haven’t written about the Leopard before, so it’s time to resolve that omission now as this is in the Good Beer Guide. Although I wasn’t intending to write about the pub when I was there (as I thought I had), so excuse the limited amount of photos.

    The Leopard was a pub which was a little, well, unexciting several years ago and because of that it was one that I rarely visited. It found itself new landlords six or so years ago, although they’ve now moved on, but not before leaving a modernised and vibrant pub behind them. The Leopard also won the CAMRA branch pub of the year in 2019, a considerable achievement given the competition. The new landlords are welcoming and personable, so I’m sure that the pub will continue going from strength to strength.

    This is informative and useful, there’s an ales/keg beer list, alongside the bottles and cans list. Nicely done, I like it. There isn’t the depth of choice that is offered at the nearby Artichoke, but there’s still plenty available and it’s far beyond what most pubs offer. The staff admitted themselves there was a slight lack of dark beers on the ales list at the moment, although this seems to be an availability issue. I’m sure they’ll be back later on in the year, but there was still a dark option to choose from, the Ampersand Forenoon (although I thought that had a thin mouthfeel, but the taste was pleasant). Having so many bottles and cans adds some variety and depth though, so it caters for pretty much any taste.

    The staff members were knowledgeable as well, I like the welcome offered here and the service is attentive and warm. This is also one of my preferred pubs for working in during the day, I came here with my laptop several times last year and it’s a peaceful and calm environment with a sizeable beer garden. Not that I sit in the beer garden much, I think wasps are naturally attracted to me and that annoys me. The pub itself was clean and I liked that they’ve made it easy to understand the Covid-19 arrangements, with clear signage throughout.

    I managed to try several drinks during the evening, although for anyone interested they can be seen at https://untappd.com/user/julwhite. I’m not sure there was anything I noted as exceptional, but I did enjoy the Peach Melba Sour from Pilot. I’m getting into sours now, although I still think that they’re something of an acquired taste for many drinkers (myself included in the past).

    This is a photo from last year when Bev was trying to talk to the pub’s dog as if she was Doctor Dolittle. This is appropriate as she was here on this visit as well, we had arrived at the Leopard earlier on to have a long gossip about Gordon (it’s OK, he won’t read this) and the camping weekend of last week, before Steve and Rob came to join us later on. It was useful to hear Rob’s perspectives on future 100s, he’s another of those LDWA walkers that I think will just take part every year. I’m not sure that I entirely understand it, but I’m very impressed by it. I’m not entirely sure that Steve and Bev are that tempted into walking 100 miles, but they’re certainly becoming better at these longer distances   🙂

    Anyway, I’ve started writing about the 100 again, which wasn’t my intention here. The Leopard is a decent pub which is one of my favourites in Norwich and I’d say that the service from the staff is perhaps one of the best of any pub in the city. So, all really rather lovely and I look forwards to many more visits (and its closeness to the Artichoke makes it easy to pop to both).

  • LDWA 100 – Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA

    LDWA 100 – Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA

    As I’ve mentioned on at least 72 occasions on this blog, I completed the LDWA 100 a few weeks ago. Which it has been widely and universally acknowledged was very brave. And it has also become apparent that nearly no-one actually thought I’d finish, and it seems a few bets were lost. I like being understated and unpredictable though   🙂

    But, enough about me. There were two walks that I was visiting this weekend, the one along Peddars Way and the North Norfolk Coast path which was being walked by Jayne and Malcolm. There was another in Suffolk being walked by Jane, Simon H, Simon C, Paul, Michael, Hilary, Roger and Yvonne. The first of those two walks I was visiting on both days, the second of the two walks I was visiting on the Sunday.

    Susanna kindly escorted me along to see Jayne and Malcolm, and by chance it was agreed that it best to meet them near to the McDonald’s at Swaffham, which is next to the Peddars Way. Dave Morgan mutters and moans about Peddars Way as a trail, but I ignore that, as if he hasn’t got some mountain to climb he gets temperamental and doesn’t appreciate the beauty of flat fields. Us hardened walkers don’t need mountains, we level-headed Norfolk folks just require one level. Although actually, Liam and I cycled all 49 miles of Peddars Way in one day once, and I complained for most of it, although that’s primarily because 49 miles is a very long way to cycle.

    The end of that bike ride in 2009…..

    Anyway, I digress.

    Susanna and I found a spot to wait along one of the lovelier parts of the Peddars Way, which is namely a section that wasn’t in the bright sun. And Malcolm and Jayne swept by, in far too healthy a state for my liking given they’d already walked nearly 30 miles.

    This is a little further along the Peddars Way, just before Castle Acre. I remember this as Liam likes cycling through this…..

    And there we are, from 11 years ago…… A little trip down memory lane there. I’ve digressed again.

    The route that Jayne and Malcolm took wasn’t entirely dissimilar to this, starting from Peddars Way near Thetford, then going north, popping into Hunstanton to add distance, before walking back along the coast path.

    It was a very hot day, which I think I mentioned on a few occasions….. Malcolm seemed to like the blazing heat, but I think it might have exhausted some walkers as it can sap energy if it’s too hot.

    Here they are walking into one of the little checkpoints organised by the quite incredible Dawn, who was running their support team. This was me done for day one, with thanks to Heather for getting Susanna and myself back to the car, all much appreciated. Although our attempt to find the shoe that had gone flying off Heather’s bag at some point was unsuccessful.

    Here we are in North Norfolk on Sunday morning, with many thanks to Richard for taking me. In the background, looming high about the landscape, is the mountain of Beeston Bump. This mountain strikes fear into the heart of Norfolk walkers, towering above the footpath. And, Jayne and Malcolm decided that they’d summit this. Tough people…..

    I was busy taking photos of the beach and sea, promptly nearly missing Jayne and Malcolm walk by. It’s that kind of care and attention that I can offer to events…..

    The salubrious surroundings of the West Runton car park, listening to the car park attendant shouting at visitors. He scared me and I don’t even have a car…. There’s nothing like the welcome to the North Norfolk coast of an official shouting and gesticulating at a visitor “come back here, don’t you dare park there, come back” because a poor driver had got confused as to the admittedly confusing arrangements there were in place. Anyway, that has little to do with this post.

    Jayne had a deserved little sit down, whilst worrying if I had eaten enough. I’m not sure that’s quite how the marshalling support system works, but I had a lovely custard tart, sixteen cheese straws and eight date balls. Jayne took a croissant to eat at an unstated future point of the walk.

    Whilst moving to the next checkpoint set-up, Richard and I popped to McDonald’s in Cromer en route, which is one that I’ve never visited before. They’ve got one of the worst Covid-19 handling arrangements I’ve seen, involving more touchpoints and corralling customers towards each other than they had before the outbreak. Very bizarre set-up. Anyway, it’s a relatively new McDonald’s and I rarely go to them in the UK (other than twice this weekend), as pubs are usually too tempting. Staff were friendly though and the food was brought out promptly, which was useful as the confusing ordering set-up had put us in danger of missing Jayne and Malcolm in Overstrand.

    More of the coastline, it was a beautiful route which they were walking.

    I think this is Overstrand, and it’s somewhere around the 95 mile mark for our brave entrants. Brian and Kathleen had joined the walk to help, and they’d been assisting overnight, and it was a delight to see them given they’d helped me just a few weeks before. The LDWA has some really lovely people in it.

    And there they are in Southrepps, going past the church which is often used as a checkpoint in the Winter Poppyline challenge event that the Norfolk & Suffolk group hold. That was the end of Jayne and Malcolm’s walk, 100 miles successfully completed in a very good time that I think was just over 32 hours. That is an excellent pace, showing what sort of times are achievement when entrants walk on the flat, something for us to consider when Norfolk & Suffolk group hold the event in 2025 at the AYCE 100.

    The timing of this walk ending was very convenient, as it meant we could then go and see the group that was still walking near Ipswich. Thanks to Richard for his assistance in getting there, his support was much appreciated by the LDWA, and myself.

    This is Sproughton church which is near to Ipswich, a countryside setting which is surprisingly near to a built-up urban area. On this walk, Hayley and Yvonne had dropped out before we could get there, but not before posting some huge distances themselves. Still going were Jane, Roger, Simon, Michael, Hilary and Paul, with Simon C having walked a shorter distance. I had thought that Hayley and Jane were only ever walking 60 miles or so, which is a massive walk in itself. However, Jane was still going. I was impressed.

    It would be impossible not to single out Jane for one of the bravest walks that I’ve seen. Despite being in pain at 90 miles (and indeed before, but that’s when I saw her) she still persisted with the walk. I couldn’t have done that, huge credit to her for achieving that. And of course, the others were doing marvellously as well, with Simon struggling slightly, but that wasn’t a surprise as he had clearly pushed himself to match my time of a few weeks ago.

    I’ve never walked along this stretch of the River Gipping, but it’s quite beautiful and we saw very few other people. It was lovely also to see Chelle and Fred for the last few miles, as unfortunately Chelle’s foot didn’t allow her to take part in the event this year. I heard a rumour that instead she’s walking the 100 twice next year.

    Simon had a wait and a think by the river. He’d sort of agreed to take Jane on nine holidays if she could walk the last nine miles in, so he had a lot to think about, especially if they were camping holidays.

    Richard and I had time to pop into the Sorrel Horse Inn, which was rather pleasant, but I’ll write about that separately as to not to distract myself writing about the appropriate temperature of beer in the middle of a walking post. It was a refreshing stop, as all this walking had worn me out. It was also another opportunity to try and update LDWA social media about the event, something I had been trying to do all weekend. It was a challenge, given just how many walks were taking place and seeing just how many photos were coming in. Thanks to Michael and Dave for their support with this, much appreciated.

    And look at the bravery as Jane battles on. She was at around the 95 mile mark at this point. She’s going to have to win some sort of award.

    The sun was slowly starting to set, it really was a beautiful evening. It was sunny throughout much of the country during the weekend, even in South Wales, where I was told it always rains. And, at that point, I’d like to thank South Wales for their quite wonderful organising of this event. The national pandemic meant they didn’t get to hold the event in 2020 or 2021, a real blow given their years of planning to host the national LDWA 100. Their volunteers have been so warm and helpful, I do hope there’s another event held there in the future. Also, Jeremy and Chris from Norfolk & Suffolk group were walking the planned route in Wales as their LDWA 100 effort, and they got over 60 miles in, another marvellous achievement.

    Something like 96 miles done now and although Jane was struggling, the pace remained steady.

    Jane was surprised and delighted to see a hill, but there were steps up it.

    This isn’t exactly a photo that will win a prize to go on the LDWA membership card next year, but here are Jane and Simon walking in for the final stretch. At this point, I’d say that Jane was looking quite energetic and ready to go. Unfortunately, she still had to walk another 0.5 miles around the garden when we got to the finish point, just to tick the distance off as being over 100 miles. It seems ridiculous to see people walking around a garden, but it’d be soul destroying to walk the event and then find you’d actually only gone 99.8 miles. To the outside world, it’d make little difference perhaps as it’s still such an amazing distance, but to a walker, it really isn’t ideal.

    And in! Roger, Simon, Jane, Hilary, Paul and Michael all completed the walk, so it was a delight for me to see them all come in having finished the LDWA 100. It was nice to see Yvonne as well who was fortunately still in good shape, although I’m not sure yet on her thoughts about walking the event in future. Maybe best to ask in a few weeks.

    And then they were all safely home. I’m not sure that I was much use in the whole arrangement, but I wanted to be present given the help that others had given to me on my 100 walk a few weeks ago. I think it’s also becoming apparent which of us are retiring from walking 100 events and which of us are just going to keep taking part every year.

    As the outgoing chair of Norfolk & Suffolk group (what a marvellous two years it has been for everyone!) I’m incredibly proud of everyone who took part in our area. To Hayley and Yvonne on their 60 mile achievements (or around that, sorry if it was longer!) and to Jayne, Malcolm, Jane, Simon, Roger, Paul, Michael and Hilary for their 100 mile achievements. And, not to forget my 100 achievement of course, as I haven’t mentioned that for a few paragraphs. It was quite emotional to see so many completions locally, and also to hear of how entrants had been getting on around the country. The LDWA community came together, whether it was walking or supporting the walkers. How very lovely.

  • Norwich – The End of Debenhams

    Norwich – The End of Debenhams

    That’s the end of Debenhams in Norwich, they’ve been boarding up (or metalling up, whatever the phrase is) the entrances of this large building all week. It’s not somewhere that I’ve been for years, it has felt old fashioned and under-resourced for a long time.

    This boarding up has meant that the recessed areas where the homeless have been sleeping have been made inaccessible, with the tents just moved to the outside now. I’m not sure that this is entirely ideal.

    It’s a far cry from 1955 when this building was being built, then known as Curls (or Curl Brothers) and replacing a war damaged building. There’s a photo on Photo Norfolk of what the site looked like following the end of the Second World War, with Debenhams now being located where that pool of water is.

    Debenhams purchased Curls in the 1960s, but it continued to trade under its old name until the 1970s. What will happen to the building is anyone’s guess, but I suspect part will be turned into residential flats and there will likely be some coffee shop or the like added to it. The future for large department stores doesn’t look entirely bright, although I suppose this will be useful for nearby Jarrolds who might benefit from the trade.

  • Hike Norfolk Camping Trip 2021 – Day 4

    Hike Norfolk Camping Trip 2021 – Day 4

    This is the little story of the Hike Norfolk camping trip, but since it’s a private trip and I’ll get into trouble if I try to give all of the behind the scenes gossip away, I’ll only give a taster of the event. Thirteen of us went on the trip and it was a three night stay in Edale which is in the Peak District in Derbyshire and where I started a walk from last year. Here’s day one, here’s day two and here’s day three...

    Just as we were about the leave the campsite the weather decided that it would present itself with beautiful sun. Although it didn’t much matter, as it poured with rain later that day anyway. The group were all leaving the campsite, with some staying on in different locations and others going back home. For me, it was going back home.

    That meant it was now time to take down the tents. Richard is in the background started to take down his palace, whilst my little tent didn’t take much disassembling. It fell down a little too easily, but since there were only two poles and two bits of material, I wasn’t overly-challenged with its deconstruction. I shoved it in its bag and job done.

    Richard had a rather larger challenge on his hands. His tent was also rather moist, which required him to have to repitch it at home in the evening.

    And then there was no trace of where I stayed for three days…..

    So, perhaps it’s now time to write about camping. I have to say that I’m definitely a hotel person, there’s something really rather lovely about a bed, a door and an en suite bathroom. I don’t even crave decadent treats in a hotel room (well, I do, but there’s a limit to what Ibis can offer), just the knowledge that the ceiling won’t fall down.

    But, there were twelve of us camping and it’s all about the group spirit. I was rather more tired in the evenings than anticipated, not least because I should have taken a better sleeping bag, but I’ll fix that problem next time (and I hadn’t expected it to rain nearly every night). It was though an adventure and I like taking part in adventures of any description, even if I mutter about them….. I’ve also got a couple of camping trips booked on my own for later this year (and more with others) so I’d better grow to like the arrangement, although I think I’ll ensure that there is a lovely hotel before and after the camping, as a little reward. Also, full credit to Liam for helping me get a tent that was very suitable for my needs and which didn’t leak.

    We headed back towards Norfolk, with a plan to stop at Ripley in Derbyshire en route. Whilst on the way, we stopped for a while to look at the scenery and to wait for Richard to catch up, but we then realised he’d stormed off in another direction.

     

    Ripley has the most ridiculous number of pubs, I can’t recall a town with so many. There were also a Craft Union pub, a JD Wetherspoon pub and more independents, but I liked that there were two micropubs. I shall be back to Ripley, most definitely, it felt like a really intriguing place.

    That signage at Greggs isn’t ideal…..

    We stopped for lunch at a little cafe, Cafe Rossa, which was rather lovely. I’ll write about that separately, as I don’t want my ‘important’ food reviews muddled up with camping discussion.

    The church in Ripley, which slightly disappointed me as I was hoping to see a medieval church and this was clearly nineteenth century. The gravestones had also been uprooted and shoved around the outside of the churchyard, which made me tut inwardly. And outwardly actually. But, the history here is intriguing, as the church was built as part of the legacy of the armed uprising in 1817 that was the Pentrich Revolution. This is a complex piece of history that I hadn’t heard about until seeing an information board, but it’s made me want to return to the town to find out more. Although unfortunately, despite Ripley having a railway heritage, it doesn’t actually have a railway…..

    And so, that is the end of that little adventure. Not very gossipy I’m afraid, as I think some of the participants might not have been best pleased with me if I had gone into to much detail. But there are several trips coming up where I’m allowed to be gossipy, so that will mean a different style of blog for those adventures. It was an exciting trip that was organised by Steve, which I think everyone enjoyed and I know he’s planning future trips, so that’s all rather lovely.

  • Hike Norfolk Camping Trip 2021 – Day 3

    Hike Norfolk Camping Trip 2021 – Day 3

    This is the little story of the Hike Norfolk camping trip, but since it’s a private trip and I’ll get into trouble if I try to give all of the behind the scenes gossip away, I’ll only give a taster of the event. Thirteen of us went on the trip and it was a three night stay in Edale which is in the Peak District in Derbyshire and where I started a walk from last year. Here’s day one and here’s day two.

    There was no Richard on the walk (he had gone shopping) so 12 of us took on the walk which went from Edale following a path by the side of the graveyard of Edale church.

    The footpath sign taking us towards the direction of Castleton.

    I think this is the same stream that runs at the base of the campsite that we’re staying at.

    The weather was moderate as we started off, but dark clouds were often on the horizon. I never read the weather forecast as it annoys me, but there was apparently (as others in the group are more assiduous than I am in their following climate issues) very conflicting information from the weather forecasters with some sources predicting rain and some predicting, well, no rain. It transpired there was quite a lot of rain later on in the day.

    This landscape might look beautiful, but look closely and there’s an enormous bull in the middle of the field.

    At this point I removed myself from being at the front of the group to being right in the middle of it. The bull made lots of noise and started to walk quickly towards the group. Ian, who is ridiculously brave (and frankly perhaps too brave), walked towards it and the bull then rushed off. That’s the sort of person that you need in an emergency…..

    We reached the summit of the mountain (technically a hill) that we were climbing and I was delighted to see that they’d paved the section to Mam Tor. I approved of this. The rain picked up quite heavily at this point, a situation that wasn’t entirely ideal.

    And the top of Mam Tor, which Wikipedia tells me means “mother hill”. It also tells me that the Mam Tor is alternatively known as Shivering Mountain, which I prefer since it has the word mountain in it and so makes the walk sound more difficult. Incidentally, I’ve only just discovered there’s an abandoned road (the A625) here which dates from the 1800s and was repaired until 1979 when a replacement was built. I want to see this next time I’m visiting the area…..

    Not a shop in sight…. BTW, good news about Richard’s shopping, he acquired an expensive bed for his giant tent.

    These flagstones fascinated me and I know that means that I really should get out more. But they are reused from cotton mills and many of them have holes in them from where things were attached to them. It really does feel like walking on history and the current property owners are pleased that they’re being reused, as previously they were a nightmare to get rid of. Apparently the stones are placed with care by hand, although goodness knows those big heavy lumps are moved into position. They have also been surfaced to avoid being slippery and I can confirm that I didn’t slip or slide once during the day.

    Some more landscape photos from the walk. We descended back down into Edale via a slightly different route to Jacob’s Ladder. We also saw a very brave cyclist pedalling his bike up the hill on a stony and rocky surface. I admired his fortitude.

    As we made good time a number of us decided to visit the Swiss Tap in Castleton. I went there last year and I’ll write about it separately again. I think we slightly annoyed the staff member by paying separately, but one person in the group kept ordering the most decadent gin he could afford and we couldn’t incorporate that into rounds.

    We then decided to go over the road to the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn. Since I’ve already written about that, I won’t add much more, but I will note that I was able to charge my phone up in both pubs. Having power in my devices is essential to me, and this gave me confidence that I had enough to get me through the entire camping trip, which was a burden lifted from my mind.

    Then it was back into Edale to enjoy another pub, which was the Nag’s Head, and I’ll again write that up separately. The beer was though acceptable, and indeed better than I had expected, and so all was well with the world. I have to confess to being quite tired by this stage of the day. Two nights of broken sleep whilst camping and lots of hill walking had rather taken it out of me. I then remembered that I’m not as young as I once was, although I’m still unsure that I always act my age. But there we go, maybe one day.

    It was then back to the campsite and it decided at that point to pour down with rain. Fortunately, we had nearly finished the five minute walk to the campsite before it really started to rain hard, so I was firmly ensconced in my tent by the time of the almost Biblical deluge. There’s something rather pleasant and primeval being inside a warm tent (well, a sort of warm tent) though whilst the rain hits the side. I’m also pleased to report that the tent remained intact and undamaged, although another member of our group did spring a leak overnight…..