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Category: UK

  • Peterborough – Peterborough Cathedral (Civil War Damage)

    Peterborough Cathedral was badly damaged by marauding Civil War Parliamentary troops in 1643. They wanted to remove all traces of the catholic faith and they destroyed much of what they could get their hands on, including the library, vestments and the cathedral’s records. They also destroyed tablets and memorials, with this being one of the memorials which was attacked.

    I’m slightly surprised that this memorial was never removed after it was so badly damaged, but it’s a real piece of history to see what’s left still in place. The memorial belonged to the wealthy Orme family, who had been given land in the city by King Henry VIII in the early sixteenth century. The family decided not to restore the memorial when the Monarchy was restored, although there is a drawing in existence of what the memorial used to look like.

  • Peterborough – Turtle Bay

    I had a heap of Turtles, which is the loyalty scheme of the Caribbean restaurant Turtle Bay, so I thought that I’d visit their Peterborough outlet for the first time. It’s one of my favourite chains as I like the food and service and it’s centrally located in the city.

    A nice bright interior, although it was quieter at lunch-time that I had expected. I had rather thought they might have some Christmas lunch parties going on, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The service was though friendly and prompt, and the team member did make an effort to make conversation.

    This is the mango, lemon juice and grapefruit crush, which had the irritating attribute of a straw which didn’t reach to the bottom of the drink. The drink was quite refreshing, but it lacked any depth of flavour until I got to the bottom and I hit an almost syrup of mango. Now that did taste good, but it was quite hard to extract it with the straw not being long enough and with the risk of all the ice falling out if I tipped the bottle back too far. The choice of drinking vessel really is stupid in that regard, a glass would have made this much better.

    The Trini curry chicken at the front is part of the chain’s one pot options. The chicken looked excellent in terms of the presentation, but the meat was entirely tasteless and seemed to have been cooked from frozen as it was too watery. The chicken hadn’t taken in any of the sauce and so it appeared to have just been dumped in rather than having been allowed to at least have some pretence of a marinade. The dish was lacking in any spice, which was an attribute that was listed on the menu, although the rice had a pleasant flavour. There wasn’t enough sauce and what there was simply didn’t have any depth of taste. The roti bread served with it was adequate, but nothing beyond that.

    At the back of the above photo are the dirty curry fries, with this dish also being adequate at best. The chips were limp, there wasn’t much curry sauce on top of them, the chips at the base were mushy and it lacked flavour or texture.

    Service in the restaurant was though efficient and polite, and technically it was perfect in terms of the check back, prompt delivery and engagement. Although the meal being served after just a few minutes of ordering had worried me, I’m not sure that Turtle Bay need to try and replicate JD Wetherspoon in that regard.

    Overall, this was a pretty unimpressive meal and I do wonder whether chains can risk this sort of blandness given how competitive the market is. On the bright side, this was effectively an entirely free meal so I didn’t lose out, but it doesn’t encourage me to return.

  • Peterborough – Bumble Inn

    This pub reminds me of the Drayman’s Son in Ely as both are micro-pubs which have opened in former shops over the last couple of years. It’s easy to miss and I only went to find it because it is listed in the Good Beer Guide.

    And here’s evidence of their entry in the Good Beer Guide 2019.

    I opted for a seat near to the window watching the people of Peterborough meandering by, and I noticed three separate people thinking it was fine to throw rubbish on the floor. I also opted for this seat as it was near to a plug socket and my phone needed a little boost. Like me really with the beer.

    The pub is only small and so it was inevitable that the list of beers is also small, but there’s a decent variety. I opted for half a pint of the Saltaire New Ground, costing £1.95, which was well kept and at the appropriate temperature. I’m not sure that I’ve had many beers with a stronger flavour of coffee, but I very much liked the taste. Although I’d order it again, I probably wouldn’t opt for a pint as it is just a bit too strong, but the flavour is still sufficiently rounded.

    I didn’t get any photos of the pub interior as it isn’t that large and I’d have looked a bit obvious given that every table was full. However, there are around six tables in the pub, plus some seats at the window, and the welcome was immediate and warm. The customers mostly seemed to be locals and there was a friendly feel to the pub so that I didn’t feel like some dubious intruder into the pub’s proceedings. Or at least, no more than usual.

  • Peterborough – Former Carnegie Library

    I very much like Carnegie libraries and I’ve visited many across the UK and the United States. The state of this one is quite sad, with the recent tenants Bo Shoh having recently left the building. The last tenants operated the building as an all-you-can-eat restaurant, although it had been used as some form of nightclub before that.

    The plaque above is the only real reminder on the building as to its former use. To be fair the new library is over the road so there isn’t a loss to the city in library provision, but nonetheless, I hope that the building can come back into use. The library originally opened in 1906 and was funded by the wealthy businessman Andrew Carnegie who donated £6,000 to the project.

    Carnegie came to the city on 29 May 1906 to formally open the library which he paid for, and he was rewarded for his generosity by being awarded the Freedom of the City of Peterborough. We could do with another wave of generosity today to improve the provision of public libraries….

  • Peterborough – College Arms

    One of the city’s two JD Wetherspoon pubs, this is the one which isn’t in the Good Beer Guide and so I just popped in for a coffee. Well, I say a coffee, but I had four to get my money’s worth.

    Service was friendly, the pub is clean and the environment is comfortable. There seemed to be quite a few regulars that the staff knew, with everything being organised and well managed.

    I’m in my periodic mood about JD Wetherspoon’s obsessing over Brexit, so I decided not to eat at the pub, limiting myself instead to just the unlimited hot drinks which cost just £1.10. As it was before 9am I didn’t pay much attention to the real ale selection, but they usually have around five or six to choose from.

  • Peterborough – Sir Henry Royce

    The pub’s grand name and the modern frontage, if you ignore the smashed glass on the internal door, give a positive first impression. It’s actually though a Stonegate pub and it looks to be in competition with the Wetherspoons which is located over the road.

    The beer selection is a bit lacking in excitement for me, with the only vaguely dark option being the Abbot Ale. One thing that it’s hard to complain about is the price, with half a pint costing just £1.25.

    It’s a large and comfortable pub which was surprisingly busy, so they’re clearly doing something right. The food options are pretty similar to Wetherspoons and I noticed that they were serving a decent amount of food, so again, something is being done right.

    An interesting table number, painted on to a 2 pence coin.

    My half pint of Abbot and it tasted fine, well-kept and at the appropriate temperature. The service in the pub was friendly and engaging, with the staff looking like they actually cared for the customer experience. This seems to be standard for Stonegate, they do employ some good people. There are a lot of television screens around the pub, so for those people who like to watch sports, they’re certainly well catered for.

    Overall, it’s not going to win the CAMRA branch pub of the year, but it’s affordable, sufficiently clean and the service was friendly. But some more interesting real ales would perhaps be to their benefit…..

  • Heathrow – Ibis Heathrow

    Since I have a flight from Heathrow which leaves relatively early in the day (well, afternoon, but I need to sit in the lounge for six hours) I thought I’d get a nearby hotel for the night before. It transpired that the rail fares were expensive to do that, and Accor had a “buy two nights get one free” offer, so I went for three nights at this Ibis Hotel on the Bath Road which also worked with my £10 rail fare.

    One thing I hadn’t realised until reading the reviews of this hotel is that Heathrow Airport offer a free bus service to the hotels on Bath Road. It was introduced to limit traffic between the airport and the limited surrounding area, but that meant I could get to the Ibis for free. Very handy, as I really don’t like the National Express Hoppa bus, it’s unnecessarily expensive and price gouges, a dreadful image for the company in my view.

    There’s a large dining area, all was clean and organised.

    One of the more generous vouchers that I’ve seen, and actually one of the clearest in what customers could order.

    I went for a free pint of London Pride, very lovely.

    And there is the London Pride. I very much liked the big chairs, gave a feeling of privacy for those customers wanting a private chat. I was on my own though, so didn’t need the privacy, but I liked the chairs anyway as they looked exciting. I don’t get out much…..

    The room was clean and had everything that I realistically needed for the stay. Well, other than a Greggs chicken bake, that would have been nice.

    The plug for the kettle was about two inches long as it had been cut back. However, there was no nearby socket to plug it into, so the set-up wasn’t entirely practical.

    I’ve heard about this, but never seen it. The hotel will probably claim it’s to do with tracking their towels during the cleaning process, but realistically, it’s to stop customers pinching them. I’ve never stolen a towel from a hotel (bar once at a hostel in the US where I left with it by mistake), namely because it’s theft, but I approve of efforts to stop people doing it.

    Anyway, the stay was all fine, no noise problems either internally or externally and the staff were all friendly. The member of staff at the bar was particularly engaging, and for an airport hotel it met all my expectations.

  • Hounslow – Moon Under the Water

    Another day, another pub from the Good Beer Guide and today I visited the urban delight that is Hounslow. The only entry that I could find in the guide was for the Moon under Water, another Wetherspoons outlet. However, if it’s good enough for the Good Beer Guide, it’s good enough for me to try.

    Clean, well maintained and there was a reasonable choice of real ales, although I didn’t notice anything on the darker end of the scale which looked particularly exciting. However, it was still an acceptable range given the size of the pub, which was relatively small for Wetherspoons.

    Pleasant little area towards the back of the pub, it felt more like a country pub.

    For someone who doesn’t eat full English breakfasts very often, I do appear to be doing quite well this week with them. This traditional breakfast and unlimited coffee came to around £4.50, decent value anywhere and especially so for London.

    And onto the service offered in this pub. It was excellent and much better than that at the Botwell Inn yesterday. There was a friendly welcome when I arrived, when I approached the bar and when I ordered. The team member was friendly, they engaged and they checked if I had everything I needed when they brought the food. There was a timely check back and I was asked if I had enjoyed the meal when the plate was collected. Staff were being pro-active in serving customers who were struggling slightly to get around and the pub had a real community feel to it. For a Wetherspoons it was exceptional, and even on the higher expectations of the Good Beer Guide it was an excellent effort.

    Given the low prices being charged, this was a really pleasant experience, and it was a spotlessly clean environment despite being busy. All very lovely.

  • Harlington – White Hart

    After the disappointing service at the nearby Botwell Inn, this was the other option in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a large venue which is over 200 years old (although no doubt much expanded over that time), retaining an almost country pub feel to it, despite its now urban surroundings.

    The pub sign at the restaurant end of the building, although I hadn’t initially distinguished that there were two entrances. The whole set-up is actually marginally confusing, as despite the large size there weren’t very many tables for drinkers, being a bit dominated by tables for diners. I assume that when it’s quiet the pub doesn’t mind drinkers using their restaurant tables, but I didn’t find it immediately obvious.

    The beer selection wasn’t particularly exciting, but the staff member was talking about the options that were going on later that day. The options that he spoke of sounded excellent and included a porter. However, given what was present at the time of my visit, I settled for half a pint of London Pride.

    The London Pride was well presented in a branded Fuller’s glass and it tasted well-kept and was at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature. It cost £2.10 which seemed a reasonable price given that the pub is nearby to Heathrow Airport.

    The customer service in this pub was excellent, perhaps the local Wetherspoons could try and pinch some of the White Hart’s staff. There was a warm welcome when I entered the pub, immediate acknowledgement at the bar, prompt service, engaging service and a feel of professionalism.

    I was tempted by the food menu, but decided to refrain on this occasion, but the reviews of the pub’s food are routinely positive. Specifically I decided to refrain as my phone battery was low and the pub has installed power points which can’t be used by the public. It’s their choice, but they’re probably pushing against the tide if they wish to continue that policy.

    The pub was clean and organised throughout, so it felt a comfortable environment. The strongest element here was though the customer service, it was friendly, personable and immediate, so I’d return here again.

  • Hayes – Botwell Inn

    There are two pubs in the Good Beer Guide in the area, so I decided to visit both today. This pub, the Botwell Inn, has been in the guide for the last ten years and is operated by JD Wetherspoon, so it certainly seems like a credit to them. The pub is large and was converted into one of the chain’s pubs in 2000 from its previous use as a furnishing store. The pub takes its name from the old village of Botwell which has now been rather subsumed by Hayes.

    An interesting little selection of real ales including the Chris Moose ale from Butcombe Beer, a brewery in Bristol who own a few pubs I’ve visited. There was also the standard JD Wetherspoon selection of Ruddles, Doom Bar and so on, with the prices being almost ridiculously cheap. I went for the Titanic Plum Porter using one of my CAMRA 50p vouchers, making it an almost unbeatable £1.65.

    One thing that initially bemused me was just how quiet the pub was, although I discovered a potential reason later on. The pub was though clean, organised and well presented throughout, it was one of the cleanest Wetherspoon outlets that I’ve visited (and since that’s nearly 400, that’s not a bad achievement).

    I ordered the traditional breakfast, just because I felt hungry and as usual it was reasonably priced. It was served promptly, was well presented and tasted of a good quality. Taking the price into account it was very acceptable.

    The service from what I suspect was the pub manager, or at least the team leader if he wasn’t, was excellent. He acknowledged waiting customers, made conversation and did make an effort to engage. The rest of the service was though all over the place and verged on rudeness, let alone basic customer service.

    The lack of check back wasn’t ideal, but isn’t particularly unusual, but the staff member who just ignored me when I thanked her for collecting the plate was unnecessarily rude. She did the same to other tables and I noticed customers didn’t react well to her. Customers were being served out of turn at the bar when I watched, but I’m not sure that the manager noticed this and it was clearly grating on some customers. Given that there were often more staff serving than customers, it did seem avoidable. And when I patiently waited for service and a staff member ignored me and walked by me to another customer she knew to serve them out of turn, I just gave up.

    Judging the visit in Wetherspoon terms, it’s just another chain pub and my custom isn’t particularly important to them. As a pub in the Good Beer Guide though, the service was rather disappointing given the range of beers and the competitive prices. The value offered by the pub was though excellent and it’s worth a visit to see just what real ales they have, as they change regularly.