Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Waterbeach – Waterbeach Railway Station

    Waterbeach railway station was meant to be being moved the last time that I heard, but it now appears to be staying exactly where it is for the moment, just with longer platforms. The local media are saying that the station might now be moved in a few years (perhaps as early as 2021), so the decision to spend £27 million now on Waterbeach and Littleport railway stations to make the platforms longer seems a little wasteful in the grand scheme of things.

    Anyway, who knows, whatever happens the town of Waterbeach is soon going to have more trains arriving at peak time and I assume the cost of the new railway station will be part funded by the property developers who are building a new housing and commercial complex in the town. The plans for the new railway station do look impressive and I understand that the plan is that it will be manned.

    The two platforms, which are located on separate sides of the road, will both be extended to 167 metres in length. Waterbeach did have a decent waiting room, toilets and station buildings, but British Rail decided to demolish them all and put up a shed for passengers to wait in instead.

    All this money for Cambridge railway stations is very lovely, but it’s a shame that some more money isn’t being made available in Norfolk where new railway station plans are being scrapped.

  • West Runton – Hole in One

    The Hole in One bar in West Runton, situated by the Links Country Park Hotel on the North Norfolk coast.

    The bar had one real ale which was Woodforde’s Wherry. It’s all a bit generic and bland for my liking, but it could have been worse I suppose and been a Greene King IPA.

    This is better, the Adnams Blackshore Stout which had some rich flavours, including a caramel taste. The dispense was dreadful though, there’s no need to swirl the glass to get a head on any beer, let alone this stout. The swirling simply sent the beer over the top of the glass and wasted their product.

    The menus need replacing, they’re in poor condition. And the bar has had this marvellous idea to offer a two for one deal on some of their meals, which is ideal if you’ve come to dine alone. The menu is also perhaps too big logistically for the size of the venue, it’s inevitably going to lead to service time issues.

    I noticed that the chefs hadn’t burdened themselves with the presentation of the fish and chips. And it’s evident that the fryers needed cleaning judging by the carbonised particles which came with the fish. However, the fish batter did actually seem fresh and the quality of the cod was also fine, so the core ingredients appeared to be entirely acceptable. The fries were also fine and were served at the appropriate temperature and the peas were acceptable, if rather boring. The tartare sauce may also have been homemade, or at least, it tasted fine.

    Incidentally, I’m not entirely convinced about the bar’s policy on dogs, as they have freedom to roam across the dining area and there were barking dogs during my visit.

    The service was way below standard, with a wait for food of 68 minutes, which in any restaurant should warrant a staff member alerting the customer to the problem at some stage during the proceedings. The menu size clearly caused problems for the kitchen, trying to cook pizzas, fish, ciabattas and grilled items all at the same time in a limited size area isn’t likely to really work.

    For anyone on holiday this isn’t a bad place at all, the slow service isn’t going to make much difference and I’m sure it isn’t usually that long a wait for food anyway. For individuals though there’s limited value given the pricing structure and for groups above four in size I’m not entirely sure that the kitchen could cope with the volume.

  • Birmingham – Purecraft Bar and Kitchen

    Excuse the poor quality photo, it was raining when I left the pub…. One thought about this bar is that I wouldn’t have visited it based on the exterior because the whole set-up gave the impression of a food orientated venue. The only reason that I did go in was because of their entry into the Good Beer Guide and in retrospect I’m pleased that it had that mention.

    This set me thinking as to where I had heard of the name before, and it was on my visit to Nottingham in 2017. And, I didn’t go in the pub then because I thought it was food orientated and not just suitable for a quick drink. Unfortunately, this second location from the company closed down shortly after I hadn’t visited it (I don’t link the two events).

    The industrial looking interior was on-trend and also surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night.

    Bright and cheerful, there was a surprising amount of seating downstairs as well. I didn’t order food as we were already booked in elsewhere, but looking at the menu later on I was quite impressed, there were some intriguing options. I might come again for the food, which is slightly ironic given that I nearly didn’t come in here because I thought it was food orientated.

    But, this is the main event of the pub as far as I’m concerned, the beer selection. I couldn’t read this board when I ordered because the bar was busy, but one of the team members was knowledgeable and gave me three recommendations based on my preference for dark beers. There are some really interesting options on these boards, although the ordering of the beers seemed a little random. Not that that matters…..

    I opted for the oatmeal stout from Fourpure brewery, which is based in Bermondsey in London. I’m not sure that I’d have tasted the strength of the 5.1% ABV that the stout had as it was quite drinkable and smooth, with quite a chocolatey taste to it. All very drinkable and the beer was also well kept, although just a little colder than I’d have ideally liked.

    The sign on the toilets, with the male toilets being on the left and the females on the right. Fortunately for those who don’t want puzzles and games when trying to visit the toilets, there were also more conventional signs on the doors as well.

    All in all, this was a pub almost in the style of Brewdog, although I doubt that they’d like that comparison. But, the customer service was friendly, the surroundings were industrial, the beer choice was interesting and everything felt informal and comfortable.

  • Birmingham – Wellington Pub

    Before walking the Birmingham Canal Canter, it was necessary to visit a few pubs mentioned in the Good Beer Guide. This was one of the pubs en route, the Wellington, which is seemingly well known locally for its range of beers, ciders and whiskies.

    Above is the ‘beer board’ which changes regularly depending on which beers are available, with this list also being available on-line. This is perfect and if I ever become King (I admit that this isn’t likely), every pub should have to install something like this. The beer name is clear, the type of beer is clear and the pricing is clear. Marvellous.

    I didn’t order the Piffle Snonker from the local Froth Blowers brewery, but I very much liked the beer name.

    I went for the Créme Bearlee from Beartown Brewery who are based in Congleton. This sweet and milky stout did have the taste of the dessert it was named after, with flavours of coffee and caramel, but it was also smooth and very drinkable. The taste wasn’t too harsh and was more of an afternote, I thought that this was a really decent beer.

    The interior wasn’t exactly modern, but there was a contemporary feel to the running of the establishment. There was another bar upstairs which was card only, with an external seating area which offers some views over the local, well, street. Unfortunately it started to pour with rain when we were there, but the surroundings were clean and comfortable with a laid-back and informal atmosphere.

    One negative. The web-site says that they sell snuff and Bev marched straight to the bar to acquire some. Unfortunately (or fortunately for everyone else) they don’t sell snuff any more. However, it’s clear why this is one of the best rated pubs in Birmingham, it’s excellent.

  • Norwich – Benoli

    Benoli is an Italian restaurant which opened a few weeks ago in Orford Street, conveniently (well for me anyway) opposite the entrance to the Bell Hotel. It’s run by Oli Boon, who was a finalist in Masterchef the Professionals and who was also previously Head Chef at Roux at the Landau, a role he held in his mid-twenties.

    Anyway, although Norwich isn’t necessarily short of fine dining options, I’m not sure that I can think of another chef in the city with such a glittering CV. I’m sure that Greggs will soon be listed in the Michelin Guide and Norwich will then have several top-rated restaurants, but until then, Benoli is a marvellous addition to Norwich’s dining scene.

    The starter, or to be more accurate, the snack before the starter. I was at the restaurant with eight other people in the private dining room, but I won’t bore everyone with the gossip from the other members of Hike Norfolk, some of which would be unwritable (untypeable) anyway.

    The pre-starter was Pagnotta bread, which has evolved from being a rustic loaf cooked by working classes in Italy. The exterior is dark and firm, whilst the interior is soft and just a little fluffy. Served with oils, I could have perhaps just have had three courses of this. Rather lovely.

    I had to ask the waiter, who incidentally was engaging and competent, what the ‘baccala mantecato’ was. It’s apparently a Venetian dish of salt cod which is mashed and served with the consistency of a pate. At Benoli, this is then served with grilled onions on a sourdough bread.

    I can’t say that I’ve ever eaten anything similar to this and I’m not sure that I would have guessed what the dish was if it just presented to me. However, the mashed cod was light in texture but had a rich and pleasant flavour. The onions added texture and the sourdough bread was softened slightly by the cod, but it remained crisp. Again, quite marvellous.

    For main, I went for the bucatini pasta served with octopus and flavoured with lemon and oregano. Again, I didn’t know what bucatini was, but the waiter patiently explained that it was spaghetti with a hole inside it. That hole running through the centre means that the pasta picks up more of the sauce and it also makes for a softer taste.

    The octopus, and indeed the pasta, almost melted in the mouth and the pangrattato (or bread crumbs) added texture to the dish. The flavours were strong, but the dish was simple in its make-up and tasted freshly made. Perhaps there could have been just a little more octopus to balance the pasta, but I certainly have no complaints.

    On which point, the prices. This pasta dish came in at £12, which seems to me, when taking into account the experience of the chef and the quality of the dining environment, perfectly good value for money. Other mains were a little more expensive, with starters around the £8 to £9 mark and desserts were mostly £8.

    And, finally, the dessert which was morello cherry sorbet served with an amaretti biscuit and garnished with fresh almond. The flavour of the sorbet was intense and the cherry was very much in evidence, with the texture being soft and not grainy. The biscuit is one of the largest of its type I’ve seen served with a dessert and it had a subtle flavour of almond and a suitably crispy texture.

    Partly, writing this post is a bit pointless insomuch as the chef is clearly an expert in his craft and I had to have a waiter explain some of the dishes to me. However, since my only perspective is whether it tastes good, I can confirm that it does. And it was all well presented and at the appropriate temperature.

    The service was attentive and professional throughout, with the dining environment being clean and comfortable. In terms of negatives, I’m hard pushed to find any. Perhaps some of the seating in the restaurant is a little exposed and there’s a traffic of customers going by, but there’s still an authentic feel to the whole arrangement. I also like the bar section at the front of the restaurant, so those just wanting a quick snack can easily pop in.

    There has unfortunately been a lot of rubbish served up as Italian food in restaurants in Norwich and across the country over the last few years. Mid-market restaurants have opened up, and in some circumstances served some really low quality fare and then tried to get customers in by cheap and even slightly squalid Groupon offers. Fortunately, Benoli appears to be authentic, genuine and informal, based on quality and not generic mass produced pasta dishes. So, how lovely.

  • Thetford – Spring Walk

    Just a short walk from Thetford town centre is this interesting and peaceful riverside path, known as Spring Walk. It takes this name from when the walk was laid out as part of a project to make Thetford a spring, or spa, town. This effort wasn’t really successful, lasting for under twenty years, but this path is one legacy of the project.

    One of the interesting heritage walk boards which have been placed around the town, giving more information about the history of the spa town project.

    There is some sad history to this location though, as in September 1911 a 13-year old boy, Arthur Robert Tuck, fell into river at this point. Arthur died from drowning, but the inquest noted with “astonishment at the action of three unknown men who were told of a lad falling into the water just after the accident, but they walked away”. The boy lived on Old Market Street and sadly drowned in just five feet of water.

    The local newspaper, the Bury Free Press, reported that:

    “The funeral of the deceased took part with five of his companions acting as bearers”.

    I’m not sure we’ll ever know who those five were, but I do wonder if any of those fought and died in World War One.

    Above is the census record which was taken just a few months before the boy died, with Arthur Robert Tuck having exactly the same name as his father. His mother was Bessie Tuck and he had two sisters, Gertrude Tuck and Mabel Gladys Tuck, as well as a brother, Charles Bertram Tuck.

  • Thetford – Tank Track Marks on Bridge

    I would have never noticed this, but there’s a wonderful Heritage Trail board nearby which explained what these marks are. They’re from a tank which drove down here, which is Nuns’ Bridges Road, during the Second World War. I can imagine the concern of the tank driver when he realised that his vehicle had damaged the bridge and perhaps threatened to knock the entire wall down into the stream below.

  • Thetford – Thetford Priory (Gatehouse)

    I’ve never visited this gatehouse before, which is accessed from the main priory site by using a path across a private garden. I was having a little rummage about the area ready for my heritage walk this weekend and was surprised at just how impressive this gatehouse is. The above photo is taken from the priory side of the gatehouse, so it was the other side which would be visible to the townspeople.

    The gatehouse is the best preserved of any of the priory buildings and was first constructed in the late fourteenth century. It is well built and that is at least evident by the fact that it hasn’t fallen down over the centuries. Any travellers visiting the priory, or indeed anyone wanting food, would have knocked on the door of this gatehouse to ask for assistance.

  • Birmingham Canal Canter Challenge Walk 2019 – Heart of England LDWA

    After a weekend in Birmingham, it was time for three of us (glamorous Susanna, Bev and myself) to take part in the Birmingham Canal Canter 26-mile walk operated by the Heart of England LDWA.

    We had a short twenty minute drive from the upmarket delights of the Ibis Budget in Birmingham city centre, and we were ready to roll (not literally). I won’t dwell on food so early on in this post, but I did make time for a very large breakfast at the Ibis Budget in the morning, making a substantial dent in their cheese stocks…..

    The signing-in process was efficient and well managed and the tally card was all ready for me, with a number that I couldn’t quite read. I was full of confidence at this stage, planning how I could take part in next year’s 100. Fortunately, reality always soon bites on these walks.

    We’re off!

    This isn’t a great photo as it doesn’t really show much, other than the first checkpoint had toast, jams, marmite and porridge available. I didn’t bother with all that rubbish and had half a pack of biscuits instead, which were far more nutritious. It’s a very generous spread for a first checkpoint though, so my first impressions of the food were positive.

    Another entrant at the event told us that we’d be likely to see numerous herons along the route, and this transpired to be the case. We were also fortunate to see a heron flying above the river and Bev told us that this was a sign. She didn’t know a sign of what, so I wasn’t sure that this was the sensationally exciting omen that we might have wanted.

    Bob Holness and Blockbusters…..

    Checkpoint two was under Spaghetti Junction, but the barren surroundings added somewhat to the whole atmosphere. There was fruit here such as nectarines, pineapples and bananas, although I tried not to fill up on these as there were also jelly babies. And in addition, there were also bottles of Lucozade available. I know that these aren’t quite the glucose treat that walkers need since the sugar tax has made them take out the good tasting bit, but I found them useful and I think it’s a marvellous idea from the Heart of England group.

    I took a lot of photos during the day, more I think than on any other challenge walk that I’ve taken part in. I’ve only uploaded a fraction of them here, but the very nature of the walk means that there were a lot of canal photos. I never really got bored of walking along the canal as the scenery changed so much, it proved to be an interesting day.

    There were a lot of runners taking part in the event and they always made their presence known, because otherwise we’d have been in danger of stepping sideways and knocking them into the canal by mistake. When Bev got a bit emotional she also discovered that running along shouting “runner, make way, runner, move along” was effective at getting people out of the way. Until she remembered she can’t run.

    This was though my favourite canal scene of the day, nicely atmospheric.

    One of the highlights of the day for me (other than the food) was the section when we walked through Birmingham city centre, which was primarily between checkpoints three and four, although there had been a little between checkpoints two and three.

     

    A train crossing a bridge just before checkpoint three. We found the stretch between checkpoints two and three to be interesting terrain, but the time seemed to drag just a little. Perhaps it was slight tiredness, but also perhaps it was the excitement of arriving at the next checkpoint for lunch.

    Checkpoint three and this is the lunch stop, which had a BBQ. This is no insignificant turn of events, this is inspired thinking from the Heart of England LDWA, and it certainly set me thinking of what little BBQ arrangement Norfolk & Suffolk group could come up with…… By “set me thinking”, I really mean browsing hundreds of on-line shops looking at BBQs.

    I must admit that I feared that the quality of the sausages and burgers might be a little on the low side, because this was not an expensive event to enter. Fortunately, I shouldn’t have had any concerns, the professional of the Heart of England showed through and the quality was just fine.

    It was at this point that we then retraced our route for around 1.5 miles, which was a deliberate part of the route and wasn’t any bad planning on our behalf. But this meant we were able to see how many people were behind us on the course. We soon discovered that there were nearly no people behind us….. But, such is life.

    This is checkpoint four and the cake competition, with the carrot cake being my favourite. I liked the jelly babies as well, but they unfortunately weren’t included in the voting for the cake competition.

    I had a niggling issue with the heel of my foot which was slowly developing a blister, something which I rarely get now. In a bid to head that off I put a blister plaster on, although unfortunately I didn’t do a great job as it fell off thirty minutes later. This required an ad hoc stop by the canal to bandage around my entire foot. I was very brave and frankly it’s clear that I’m a loss to medical science given just how professional my bandaging was.

    I wondered why I kept thinking about chocolate….

    Checkpoint five was the final stopping point on the walk and was a collection of tables located by the canal, meaning we didn’t have to go off route. There were jelly babies, crisps, peanuts and all manner of other healthy products available here, as well as Lucozade. I was also very impressed at the marshal’s taste in food and drink, since there was a Greggs cup on the table….

    A final stretch of woodland before the end. As usual, by this stage of the walk I’m just glad to get back as 26 miles of walking felt sufficient for the day. The weather during the day was pretty good and wasn’t too hot, although it did rain for short periods. Overall, I was entirely happy with the temperature though, especially as there was often a breeze by the canal.

    At this stage I started to speed up a little bit, managing to overtake a few other walkers. My intention wasn’t to deliberately overtake walkers, but just to get back to the hall so that I could start on my final meal. By final meal, I mean of the event, not ever, as my foot wasn’t that bad.

    And the end of the walk…… This the hall and most of the other entrants had finished and gone home by the time that we got there. However, it’s not about the time taken, it’s about the journey and the experience. Although perhaps one day it’d be nice to have a faster journey and experience, but for the moment, just finishing is good enough.

    The finish food, which was a healthy bowl of jelly babies, a chocolate dessert, a bowl of chorizo & bean stew and some tiger bread. And half a banana, although I was full and decided to put that back. There were also jacket potatoes and other toppings, but I was more than content with the stew and this was of an excellent quality.

    And, evidence that I finished…. The J White seemed a little unusual, but perhaps they got bored of writing first names on the certificates. Personally I’m fortunate that Norfolk & Suffolk type them, it means less writing for me…. Anyway, Susanna and Bev also finished and were equally, well, worn out.

    Leaving the rugby club the weather took a turn for the worse and I felt sorry for the walkers still on the course. Although I then remembered that there weren’t any left out there, so I felt less concerned for them….

    This event cost me £10 to enter, and that proved to be something of a bargain and a reminder (not that I need one) of what good value the LDWA is. Given all of the food and drink provided, I more than felt that I get my £10 worth of value from the event. All of the marshals along the route were well humoured and friendly, so I’d like to think that everyone enjoyed themselves on the event.

    All told, this was a really professionally run challenge event and everything seemed to go to plan. Or at least, if it didn’t go to plan then I didn’t notice anything. The feedback for the event from others that I’ve seen also seems to have been really positive, so perhaps I’ll be back another year to walk the route again….

  • Birmingham – Rudy’s

    I hadn’t heard of this small chain of pizza restaurants before and we found it by chance on a Saturday night in Birmingham as other restaurants we tried were full. It has only recently opened but it seemed a popular location given by how busy it was.

    Rudy’s don’t take advance bookings of any kind, which means they’re prepared and experienced in how to deal with waiting diners. We gave a phone number and a text was sent around ten minutes before our table was free. This gave us time to pop to another Good Beer Guide pub, so win-win.

    I think that this pizza looks reasonably good, but it tasted even better. A soft crust, but sufficiently crispy base, gave contrasting textures. The sausage was spicy and full of flavour, the tomato base was sweet and the cheese wasn’t too strong. All rather lovely.

    The tiramisu, which was well presented and light in texture with a suitably rich taste of coffee.

    The pricing here is off the scale, but in a good way. Pizzas were reasonably priced at under £10 each, side salads were £2 and desserts under £5. The quality was far better than the prices might have otherwise suggested.

    The service was excellent as it was efficient, engaging and knowledgeable. We were never left waiting for service at any time, with the pizzas being brought over promptly. There were also some pizza and dessert specials to add to the fixed menu, with plenty of interesting choices. There is also an open kitchen, so you can watch the pizza being prepared. Well, you could if you didn’t have your back to the kitchen, but it’s a good concept.

    The storage set up reminded a little of Five Guys and how they stack their potatoes up in the restaurant. And everything about this restaurant felt on-trend and fun, without being too artisan or overdone. The pricing makes this particularly good value and I’d certainly return here again, and also to other outlets in the chain. How lovely.