Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • London – Camden – British Museum (Re-opened)

    London – Camden – British Museum (Re-opened)

    The British Museum has taken a little longer to open that some other historic attractions in London, but I was able to pre-book a ticket to visit today. The facade of the building is under repair and is expected to open next year, the first restoration of this since it was damaged during the Second World War.

    There’s some muddled logic about the entire opening and I’m surprised that the British Museum were struggling with this, although perhaps the professionalism of some other museums has made it look too easy in what are different circumstances. The British Museum limit entrance to the complex ten minutes before the time on the ticket, which isn’t clearly signed anywhere. It’s not illogical, it just means that people then hang around outside the entrance to the museum in a beautiful small crowd. Which isn’t ideal.

    As for bags, they’re letting in some enormous backpacks, something which I was slightly surprised about. I suspect they’d be better limiting this to some degree, although the security process was quick to go through.

    The inside of the British Museum’s Great Court, where there was plenty of space for visitors to walk around. The cafes and shops are also open, although the seating capacity of the former is quite limited.

    And the beautiful old reading room, now unused for its original purpose as the British Library has its own premises at St. Pancras.

    As for the interior, the museum had made what I considered to be a bizarre decision to funnel everyone together when they entered. So, they ended up with relatively crowded areas, which isn’t really an ideal situation given what is going on at the moment. I suspect that the staff are meant to restrict entrance, but there’s a limited amount they can do. The photo above isn’t of the busiest areas, but I didn’t entirely like their one-way system. None of the other museums I’ve visited over the last few weeks has tried to operate with a one-way system, sometimes it’s best to get people away from each other. If visitors see a nice quiet area, then they can go and visit that, rather than have to stand around together in an area where they might not feel entirely safe.

    These photos were taken in order and what ended up happening was that there was a clump of people at the start of the one-way process and then nearly no-one hanging around as they reached the end to their visit and perhaps rushed through. The one-way system is in places difficult to follow, a chunk of people walk against it and that’s not through any fault of theirs, as in some places I found it illogical.

    Anyway, it was nice to see the British Museum open again, I usually visit every few months and look around a certain section each time. There’s lots closed off at the moment, but there’s still a reasonable amount to see. Definitely some thought needs to be put into the flow of visitors though and letting them self-regulate to a degree so they can feel safer and less crowded.

  • Swadlincote – Sir Nigel Gresley

    Swadlincote – Sir Nigel Gresley

    To provide a little context, we visited this pub in Swadlincote whilst on our sixth LDWA 100 training walk.

    This was the final pub of the day, the JD Wetherspoon operated outlet in Swadlincote, named after the famous railway engineer who lived nearby in Netherseal. It was a pub, albeit a bit run-down, before JD Wetherspoon took it over in 2001, previously known as the Granville Arms.

    I took this photo with the hope of identifying the real ale that I ordered, but I didn’t take it clearly enough and I’ve since forgotten. Anyway, I know that it tasted fine and seemed well-kept. Not that this information is of use to anyone, but it’s the best I’ve got here….

    The interior of the pub, quieter on a Saturday night that I had anticipated.

    The chicken vindaloo curry, which they clearly hadn’t sold out of on Thursday’s Curry Club, but it was £3.99 and tasted fine. It was probably just a bit too spicy a thing to order on a Saturday night, but it was hot and everything was cooked appropriately.

    And, I had a little at the pub reviews, which aren’t generally the best in the chain shall we say.

    “I have used the disabled toilet in the pub as I have a radar key. I find really helpful as you have room to move around and it’s private, or at least I thought it was. Someone tried to come in while I was inside and I carried on, but to my amazement and shock they managed to get in with their key.”

    I’m surprised that this doesn’t happen more often, but I’ve seen this a few times in different Wetherspoons. The staff often knock on the door, wait about two seconds and then open the door. It’s admittedly exciting drama, but not for the person inside the toilet….

    That’s about as notable as the reviews get, although more seem to complain about other customers than the actual pub itself. Anyway, this was a perfectly comfortable and welcoming pub, with it being rather handy that they were still serving food so late. And, other than the few miles walk back to the accommodation, it marked the end of what had been a long and exciting (well, what I call exciting) day….

  • Kettering – Marketplace Timeline

    Kettering – Marketplace Timeline

    I like this idea of having a timeline made out of stones in the market place of Kettering, encouraging people to be reminded about the town’s history. This stone, where the wording was apparently a little botched by the local council, told the interesting story of Geoff Perry and Derek Slater with their remarkable efforts at Kettering Grammar School to launch a successful Satellite Tracking Group.

    The borough council has decided that nothing sufficiently exciting happened between 1966 and the space exploration story until 1991, when the A14 opened. I’m sure this was important in improving transport in the area, and reducing congestion in the town centre, but perhaps more other stories could have been found.

    The most recent addition by the council is from 2014, marking when the Anglian Regiment was presented with the Freedom of the Borough of Kettering, which is a rather nice gesture. Quite why nothing has been added in honour to James Acaster is a different matter, but hopefully the council will reflect on this in years to come.

  • London – Rush Hour at Canary Wharf

    London – Rush Hour at Canary Wharf

    There was a grand plan to get office workers back into London today, with the Evening Standard having a full-page editorial saying that some sort of normality is now required.

    This was the 17:00 underground service from Canary Wharf…..

  • Aylsham – Gate of India

    Aylsham – Gate of India

    I’ve certainly had my fair share of discounts from the Government’s ‘eat out to help out’ and this was the last meal of the month, on Monday 31 August 2020. Richard and I had been meandering around some churches in North Norfolk and this was one of the few food options available to us, since we hadn’t bothered to book anything (or more precisely, most places we wanted to book at the last minute were full).

    The menu at the Gate of India in Aylsham.

    I have to temper my expectations here a little, I wasn’t back in India (which I miss very much) and I wasn’t at the on-trend Indian restaurants in London that I’ve been fortunate enough to try recently. As poppadoms and chutneys go, these were OK but weren’t particularly inventive or exciting. The drinks were also expensive, a pint of Coke was £3.75 and I’m not exactly sure what brand they were using.

    The Peshwari naan bread was again OK, but lacking in any depth of flavour and they were reliant on some sort of paste that didn’t have any texture. That’s the chicken biryani, again lacking any particular depth of flavour, although the chicken was well cooked and tender. There was some texture to the rice, with everything properly cooked and at the appropriate temperature, but it needed something more exotic in terms of the taste.

    This came with the biryani, again lacking any depth of flavour, which is not entirely usual for an Indian restaurant or any variation thereof.

    Service was efficient if not engaging, but it was timely and we were never left waiting. I was, shall we say, surprised that the restaurant forgot to apply the ‘eat out to help out’ 50% discount. The bill was though immediately corrected and I can’t much complain here because mine came to £10 after the discount was applied and I paid using Amex and shop small kicked in, meaning that I paid £5 for the entire evening’s food and drink. For that price, I was entirely happy, so this proved to be a marvellous choice for Richard and me.

    I’m not sure that there was anything exceptional enough for me to want to return though. The restaurant is reasonably well-reviewed (although not quite as good on TripAdvisor), somewhere in the middle of restaurants in the area, and so I don’t think there’s anything particularly bad, but perhaps standards in Indian cuisine have just moved so much in the last couple of years that there are better options out there.

  • Ashby-de-la-Zouch – The Shoulder of Mutton

    Ashby-de-la-Zouch – The Shoulder of Mutton

    This JD Wetherspoon outlet in Ashby-de-Zouch has been a pub since at least the early eighteenth century and it takes its name from when an early landlord was also a butcher.

    There are many complaints that could be levelled about JD Wetherspoon, but there are many positives, such as their sensitive restoration of older buildings.

    There’s more of a cafe bar feel to the main serving area of the pub.

    The traditional breakfast, which pleased me by having a runny egg and is a cheap and cheerful option. The coffee was their usual unlimited hot drinks option, although they only had one machine and this was an older-style one. The wait for coffee was a little bit excessive, they probably do need to get another machine in operation to speed this up a little.

    Reviews for the pub are a bit mixed, mainly complaining about it being unclean, although that wasn’t a problem when I visited. A customer did complain on-line about the pub serving off-beer, which is interesting as JD Wetherspoon are usually on top of this. I assumed the customer was referring to real ale, but then I saw he was commenting on Stella.

    This incident sounds exciting though….

    “In regard to bar staff being told a tree in a planter had fallen over and hit a customer, my partner had to remind the staff on 2 further occasions that this had happened for a staff member to make an effort and ask me if I was ok and offer a drink as way of an apology. My partner had to move the tree himself to prevent this happening to any other customers, with staff members making no attempt to secure the tree. Unfortunately the tree blew over again and hit another customer before we left.”

    And not long before that this happened:

    “The seating is in a poor condition. A lot of the single stools are splintered. I had the misfortune of learning about this too late and suffered a leg full of splinters which were so deep and numerous they had to be removed by the NHS. Despite raising this with management the next day as the bar was 3 deep on the night, the approach seems to be one of denying responsibility rather than sorting out the problem as the poor condition chairs remain in place.”

    And, not long before that they had this excitement:

    “Popped in for a bit of food with my husband and daughter half way through my loaded chips i found a metal nut!! Told the waitress who was shocked like us and she went straight away to fetch the manager.”

    Anyway, we didn’t experience any of this drama. As JD Wetherspoon outlets go, this was perfectly acceptable and was clean, organised and the member of bar staff was particularly friendly and engaging. All very lovely.

  • Burton upon Trent – Last Heretic

    Burton upon Trent – Last Heretic

    To provide a little context, we visited this pub in Burton whilst on our sixth LDWA 100 training walk.

    This was our first Good Beer Guide pub of the day and, to be honest, the Last Heretic was a joy to behold. It’s a micro-pub that was formerly a commercial shop and it opened here in May 2016. Whatpub gives the explanation of the pub’s name, which is:

    “The pub is named after Edward Wightman, a resident of Burton but born in Burbage (near Hinckley, Leicestershire), who was the last person to be executed for heresy in England. He was burnt at the stake in Lichfield in 1612, where a plaque commemorates the event.”

    This is the sort of well-balanced beer selection that I like, with two dark beers available, the Antracite from 3 P’s brewery in Woodville and the Plum Porter from Titanic. Titanic are one of my favourite breweries and it’s always a delight to see their products available.

    But, the chocolate mint chip flavoured Antracite was the intriguing one here. The situation was a little confusing as the beer didn’t appear on Untappd, but some Googling suggests that this is a new local brewery and there’s an air of mystery about it. It’s clear though that it’s producing some rather excellent beers. The beer had a beautiful flavour of the promised chocolate and mint, although it perhaps could have been just that bit richer with a fuller aftertaste. Anyway, that sounds critical and it isn’t, as this beer was way towards the higher end of the scale. And, I would have given it that if I could find it on Untappd, as well as certainly ordering it again if I see it.

    The service was friendly and the surroundings were clean, well maintained and organised. There were numerous ciders to choose from and some well thought out craft beer options in cans. The pub is offering a takeaway service, and indeed even some delivery services, a proper contribution to the local community. I only noticed after leaving, when looking at a photo of their blackboard, that they sell locally produced pork pies as well.

    The pub’s entry into the Good Beer Guide is absolutely and entirely justified, this is a beautiful piece of micro-pubbing and I very much liked their efforts to source locally where they could. It was tempting to stay for longer, but we had limited time and numerous other pubs to investigate. But, it’s a pub to return to.

  • Branston – Blacksmiths Arms

    Branston – Blacksmiths Arms

    To provide a little context, we visited this pub in Branston whilst on our sixth LDWA 100 training walk.

    It’s a fairly large pub, built in the 1940s and now part of the Star pub estate.

    There was a choice between Robinson’s Dizzy Blonde, or what would have been our third pint of Marston’s Pedigree. For variety, we went for the former, which is a slightly controversial beer given its previous branding and it has certainly caused Robinson’s some issues over recent years.

    The beer was appalling as it was some way past its best. These things shouldn’t really happen in an ideal world, but the staff member was prompt at resolving the problem. Well, he resolved the problem by replacing the pints, but he said he didn’t drink ale and so wouldn’t know what had gone wrong. So, that’s all well and good, although it meant that we ended up with Marston’s Pedigree, again. Although, to be fair again, this was well-kept and tasted as it should.

    As an aside, I do hate returning beer as it’s always inevitably awkward. Although, as a positive, it’s becoming really rare that I need to do this and it’s the first time this year. And, I do hope that customers do return beer, as otherwise a pub will keep serving something from the barrel which isn’t of a particularly great quality and that doesn’t help anyone….

    The pub was a community type affair that seemed to be trying to appeal to as much of the local community as it could. It was showing football on its screens and it appeared to be pretty much a lager-based pub, but it did have a sufficiently friendly and comfortable feel to it. Perhaps it was all a bit generic for my liking, but since the staff were warm and engaging, it was a perfectly sufficient place to shelter from the rain.

  • Walton – Bailey Bridge

    Walton – Bailey Bridge

    To provide a little context, we walked over this bridge in Walton whilst on our sixth LDWA 100 training walk. It seemed a strange bridge to me, clearly something else had once been here and the current situation looked just a little temporary. The map above, which is from around 1900, shows where the bridge was and nothing much has changed with regards to its route.

    This is the bridge from the Staffordshire end, looking into Derbyshire and the village of Walton.

    And, this is from the Derbyshire end, looking into Staffordshire. The first bridge here wasn’t constructed until 1834, when it was a toll arrangement with a separate toll house, something which put paid to the ferry service which had operated from near here. This bridge served the needs of the locals sufficiently well, especially as it became free and the toll house was demolished in the early part of the twentieth century.

    The whole arrangement worked well until the floods of 1947, when the bridge was badly damaged and became unusable. The military came along to build a temporary bridge over the top, which in turn was replaced with another temporary bridge in 1974. To cut a long story short, that bridge is still there today despite many plans to replace it.

    It appears that there are a lot of breaches of the rules on weight restrictions (which is just three tonnes at any one time), which doesn’t bode well for the bridge, although it has remained standing for a long time so perhaps there’s no need for any immediate concern.

    There’s a pedestrian bridge alongside the main part of the structure. The plan is that if more housing is going to be built, then this bridge will need replacing in the near future, although whether or not the council ever gets round to that is another matter…..

  • Walton – Swan at Walton (White Swan)

    Walton – Swan at Walton (White Swan)

    To provide a little context, we visited this pub in Walton whilst on our sixth LDWA 100 training walk.

    The pub is operated as part of the small Chilled Pub Company estate, which seems to focus on providing a strong food offering. The pub has traditionally been known as the White Swan, but has recently been rebranded as the Swan at Walton. It first opened in the 1820s and it feels like the sort of pub which was targetted at the agricultural labourers of the period.

    We didn’t get to see much of the inside as we remained outside in the rear beer garden, which was our plan initially given the slightly muddy fields we had just traipsed across. Not that we would have had much choice, the pub was clearly popular and they were fully booked for the next 90 minutes inside, as we discovered when some other customers tried to get in.

    The staff here were welcoming and friendly, offering a prompt greeting at the door and explaining that there was table service. The beer selection was a little limited, so there was a choice of Fuller’s London Pride or Marston’s Pedigree. Despite the impressions above, we opted for the latter and it was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature and all that.

    Actually, on the beer selection, looking back on Untappd it’s clear that the pub can come up with some decent craft beers. Although on our visit, the only dark beer listed on their extensive on-line database was Guinness, which was disappointing given some of their marketing. But, perhaps things will improve when some form of normality returns.

    We did consider for a while waiting well over an hour as the food coming out, such as the pizzas, did look rather lovely. However, we were meant to be walking over 20 miles (which we did) and would have struggled to justify waiting around for that long. But, the food did look good and the reviews are positive. Well, mostly positive, but I quite liked this one:

    “They have a loyalty app where you can collect points. I sent a simple email to the pub asking how I transfer the sale from this night on to the points. 4 days later I get a reply from the manager giving great instructions but also telling me I have lots the points because they need to be actioned within 48hrs. So my response was I have lost them due to the delay in reply from the email. I then get an email from the owner Loren actually telling me she doesn’t pay her manager to sit answering emails. So you could imagine my reply why have an email system if no-one replies and why have a point system which has a time period of 48hrs. Loren then sent me an email that wasn’t meant for me but was about me basically this was to her manager ditching me..this was so unprofessional of an owner of at least 3 establishments in the area none of which I will ever attend again.”

    This does have a ring of truth about it, it’s a shame that the pub doesn’t reply to reviews as I would have quite liked the answer as to what happened here…. Anyway, I digress.

    The pub felt well-run and organised, customers seemed quite content and the beer was reasonably priced. One group of customers took a table outside (took as in sat down, they didn’t pinch it) which didn’t have a parasol arrangement, with the staff commenting they weren’t coming inside if it rained. The staff were being helpful, but I was amused by the image of this group just having to sit there in the rain.