Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Norwich Beer Festival (Part 1 – Redwell)

As the Halls are out of action for renovation and repair, Norwich Beer Festival is split into three separate events this year, at Redwell Brewery, the Waterfront and Castle Social. It might not be the same, but it’s great to still do something and there are lots of fringe events also taking place.

There’s Craig at the bar before we opened, he’s in charge of organising everything. He’s good at that and he’s agreeable (unless commenting on pastry sours) so people like helping.

There was ten minutes to opening by this point.

Assistant to the regional manager 🙂

The keg selection.

Soon after opening.

Here’s Ivan (photographed in between his many breaks, but I didn’t comment) adding black pepper and Tabasco to my Bloody Mary beer. Ivan revealed that he turned up at 09:00 to drink the beer, but I didn’t like to say anything. Ivan, who is the resident cellar manager expert, also did a breakfast time interview with BBC Radio Norfolk which I think went well.

Thanks Jen! Chicken bakes are good for the soul. Jen was top notch at providing lifts and snacks, so Roy and I have decided she will be allowed back.

Having a drink to celebrate ITV featuring us live on their news programme.

Ian doing the interview in his role as chair of Norwich CAMRA.

Thanks to CAMRA for supplying us pizza. Well, and beer.

Some Morris dancers performing outside.

Ah, crisps and beer. A healthy and well balanced diet such as this is why I’m able to walk such long distances.

Lucy making Roy appear in one of her training videos. You can see how surprised and delighted he was. Roy is the very competent, and hugely laid back, manager of glasses and tokens. I could genuinely accidentally destroy every glass and he’d calmly find a solution. I hope that I keep up with his beer deliveries during the three days.

Oli dancing to the band on Sunday afternoon. There’s a video of this appearing in the next post.

And my favourite beer of the first part of the festival, the Corporate Conference from Left Handed Giant. A delicious and decadent pastry sour, 6.5% of mango fruitiness, this was thick and tasty. Craig had purchased a lot of beer and he wanted me to taste all of them (twice on some occasions), so I’ll let people look through my Untappd account if they want more details about the beers.

https://flic.kr/p/2rARmAj

And the lovely Oli after her dancing. It was all a bit raucous for me, I had a pizza and beer instead.

Huge thanks to everyone at CAMRA who has organised this, I thought it went really well and every customer I spoke to enjoyed it. There are a lot of planning meetings and huge amounts of work behind the scenes, the organising committee deserves a lot of praise in my humble view. I ignored the comments from Craig and Ian about my beer choices (such as the “Julian seems to like all beers that don’t taste of beer”), I can’t be limited to just twiggy stuff, my life needs pastry sours, rich porters (preferably with fruit) and beers with ginger and cinnamon in. A great success I think and I’m looking forwards to the next part of the festival which is as the Waterfront from Monday 27 October.

And here’s a couple of videos from the event.

October 22, 2025
Ryanair (Bournemouth to Wrocław)

I’ve already written about the excitement of Bournemouth Airport, but it was clean and organised so that was all to the good. It’s rare that I get to fly with Ryanair now given my new loyalty to Wizz Air, but this was a convenient departure location. The boarding process was efficiency, clear and the staff members were friendly.

Boarding on time. The aircraft was SP-RSU, a Boeing 737 which has been in use since 2017. It’s technically operated by Buzz, a fully owned subsidiary of Ryanair.

It’s not a very clear photo, but I liked this boarding arrangement which makes it easier for those with accessibility needs.

This Ryanair flight boarded immediately before our flight and was also off to Poland, to the rather lovely city of Krakow.

I hadn’t paid for seat selection and the seating Gods gave me a middle seat, which didn’t feel entirely optimal. However, fortunately, the person in the aisle seat of what was a fairly full flight, didn’t turn up and so I got the aisle seat.

The flight was uneventful and Ryanair didn’t appear on this occasion to try and annoy passengers as much as they used to by selling them all manner of things. It was a comfortable flight and I was rather impressed.

The only area where Ryanair couldn’t match Wizz Air was the cleanliness of their aircraft. The seat trays on the aircraft were sticky (well, mine wasn’t, but I could see three others were), there was litter on the floor and it was evident the crew just hadn’t had time to do what was needed.

Safely in Wrocław.

They put us in a bus to go all of 100 metres to the airport terminal. They’ve had us walk further distances before at this airport and it probably took longer to get there by the bus.

I have a shiny new passport now and didn’t experience the delays that I’ve had before whilst the border control staff have to sit and count the stamps. The airport hasn’t yet introduced the full new EES system for arriving passengers, but I doubt it’s far away.

I nearly never get taxis as they’re too decadent, but on this occasion I decided to get a cheaper Accor hotel (one of my favourite Ibis Budgets) and rather than take two hours to get there by public transport, I was there within thirty minutes. And, fortunately, taxis in Poland are very cheap, although I don’t really like using them as I like the excitement of public transport.

The flight was £15 and I was surprised and delighted by Ryanair, although they perhaps need to clean their aircraft a little more…

October 20, 2025
Bournemouth – Ibis Styles

This was a cheap hotel to stay at on a Sunday night but was convenient for my planned flight from Bournemouth Airport. I genuinely have no idea why they’re trying to be part of Accor though, they need to leave or they’re perhaps likely to be thrown out soon enough.

There was a lot of noise from neighbouring rooms even at check-in, which reception could hear. I should have really upgraded as Platinum Accor and I say that not out of privilege, but because they didn’t really seem to care about anything. I’m also not sure why they’re trying to be part of Ibis Styles, there’s not really much here that fits into that brand.

There was a welcome drink which they didn’t pro-actively mention but I claimed anyway. There was no welcome gift, but I could be asked about does it matter? Well, it sort of does, because most hotels in the Accor chain are complying with the standards they request and the Polish hotels operated by Orbis are offering ridiculously high standards. They’re upgrading, giving welcome gifts and almost going too far in meeting their obligations. It must be galling to the decent hotels to know that some other locations are not interested in committing in the way that they should.

There was no-one else in the bar area, which is actually reasonably pleasant. They don’t offer food, but the bar is open throughout the evening. This feels sub-optimal really, some considerable money has evidently been spent here in providing a decent and nice environment, although the marketing is all over the place.

I like this, it feels like a better way to contact the hotel.

In what might sound illogical, I’ll rate the breakfast as a disgrace to Accor even though I liked it. There was no hot food other than bacon, sausage and mozzarella rolls. I had the very last sausage roll and it was terrible, just junk food. Other guests didn’t get anything hot.

The reason I mention that I might not be being fair is that I liked the breakfast as I didn’t want any hot options. I had a lot of chorizo, indeed, I had all of it. The muffins were OK, but the fruit was absolutely fine. The yoghurts were adequate and the juices, when they refilled them, were generic but OK.

My complaint is that integrity is important. Don’t advertise a hot breakfast when there isn’t a hot breakfast. The reality that the hotel happened to stray into what I wanted isn’t perhaps the point. The online reviews are also very poor, there are clearly substantial issues here where guests continue to be disappointed.

The breakfast room was large and clean, this is clearly what the hotel used to have as a restaurant area. Again, someone has pumped money in here and so an effort has been made at some staff.

The rooms next to me came back at around 03:00 banging about. I’m oblivious to noise generally, but there should have been someone at reception dealing with this.

If this wasn’t an Accor hotel and I stayed here, I would have been content for the money. But, they’ve signed up to certain standards by being part of Accor and they’re playing fast and loose with it as far as I’m concerned. I think it’s important that managed hotels understand that they represent their brand they’ve signed up to and not just their own venue.

October 19, 2025
Bournemouth Airport

I’ve already complained about how unnecessarily difficult it is to get to Bournemouth Airport unless you’re wealthy or like walking (I went with the latter). The airport is owned by the same people as who operate Norwich Airport, but at least that one is accessible. Although Bournemouth Airport doesn’t charge the ridiculous £10 per passenger surcharge in the way that Norwich Airport does (unless you’re flying Ryanair from Norwich which feels an unfair exemption).

No expense has been spared here with the security area.

There were three flights, mine was the 20:55 one to Wrocław.

Can travel get any more decadent? I didn’t take any photos in the security area as I imagine they wouldn’t like that, but the security area itself was actually inside and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Inside the terminal which had a bar, a coffee shop, a duty free and an expensive WH Smiths. There were plenty of seating, although an absence of power points other than in the bar for their customers.

It was spacious and warm, so I didn’t have any complaints. I was only flying from Bournemouth Airport as I was already in Bournemouth and there was a cheap flight to Poland. It was also all mostly clean and tidy, with all of the gates visible from where I was sitting.

Bournemouth Airport began life in 1941 as RAF Hurn, one of many wartime airfields that sprang up across the country during the Second World War. It was used by both the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces, mainly as a transport and fighter base, and it played its part in operations leading up to D-Day.

As the war started to come to an end, Hurn was quickly repurposed for civil aviation. In 1944 it became the temporary base for British Overseas Airways Corporation, which used it as London’s main airport until Heathrow was ready, which I think is quite a claim to fame. For a brief period between 1945 and 1946, Bournemouth and not London was the country’s principal gateway for transatlantic flights.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the airfield evolved into a proper commercial airport, with charter routes opening to holiday destinations such as Majorca. It changed hands several times, from local authority control under Bournemouth Corporation and Dorset County Council, to National Express in the mid-1990s, and then to Manchester Airports Group in 2001. The 1990s also saw the runway extended to 2,271 metres, capable of taking larger aircraft, and Concorde even made a glamorous visit to mark the occasion. Ryanair arrived shortly afterwards which must have been the icing on the cake for the locals after Concorde.

Ownership passed again in 2017 to the Rigby Group, whose Regional & City Airports division continues to run the site. The new terminal was completed around 15 years ago and if the expansion that is planned takes place then they might well need a terminal extension. However, perhaps their priority really should be actually getting public transport to the airport and sorting out the pedestrian access.

October 17, 2025
Christchurch – Norman House

This is Norman House, a rather nicely located residence situated by the river in Christchurch. It still looks rather decadent even though half of it has fallen down.

Looking from the other side of the building, which is located near Christchurch Castle. The history of the two is interlinked, the castle was defensive and a place of safety, but the property was where the Lord lived when people weren’t attacking him. Built in around 1160, it was a luxurious property for the Lord and it was later used by the Constable of the Castle.

Inside the building which fell into disrepair after the medieval period. I’m surprised that it survived after this, as it would have been easy to cart the stone away to use elsewhere which is what happened to most of the castle.

The sockets where the first floor slotted in are clearly visible around the structure.

And the remains of the steps with a sign warning of deep water, although it didn’t look very deep to me.

The remains of a former fireplace, with the rare Norman chimney, and the whole arrangement is notable as it’s one of the few surviving Norman residential properties in the UK, although there’s one in Norwich hidden under the magistrates’ courts.

English Heritage has this plan of the property and I’m slightly amused by the little bit of modern there and I’ve stared at photos and I have no idea what they’re referring to, unless it’s the closing up of a door. Some sources say that demolition started in the eighteenth century, but the local vicar was able to intervene to stop the total destruction of the property. This would explain why it has sort of survived, it became recognised quite early on as a building that needed to be retained for future generations.

Anyway, the monument is accessible for free at any time for anyone who wants to see the modern section of the building, or indeed, the Norman bit.

October 16, 2025
Christchurch – Priory Fryer

We did think of popping in here, but we were a little bit limited by the fact that it was shut.

It’s this that I liked, the phrasing that they were closed “due to an unexpected incident involving a fire” sounds like something I’d write. I hope everyone is well and if I’m back in Christchurch I’ll pop in here as I like their style.

October 16, 2025
Christchurch Priory – The Miraculous Beam

One of the more curious, and frankly slightly odd, tales connected with Christchurch Priory is that of the so-called miraculous beam. When the Priory was being built in the early twelfth century, the craftsmen encountered a bit of a structural hiccup that was considered to be rather sub-optimal. A large timber beam, essential for the roof not to fall down, turned out to be too short for its intended place. This is a civil engineering blunder and I’m sure my friend Liam would have been appalled at such incompetence.

But then, so the story goes, a mysterious carpenter appeared and he was a man that no-one had seen before, who quietly went about his work without complaint. Overnight, the too-short beam was miraculously found to be the perfect length, fitting flawlessly where before it had failed. The stranger, naturally, had vanished. So the rest of the builders decided that it must have been Jesus himself who fixed the beam. Hence the name Christ’s Church, the Priory’s supposed moment of celestial rebranding. I imagine that this whole thing was the talk of the pubs for that evening and indeed several nights to come.

The beam itself is still there today, high up in the Priory’s roof and my photo isn’t really very clear. It’s a reminder though of the construction process, although I rather suspect that they just did some medieval joining of a beam rather than Jesus himself popping across, but who knows? I mean, it’s good for publicity if nothing else?

October 16, 2025
Christchurch Priory – King James Bible

It’s not a secret that I love old books and this is a King James Bible that dates from around 1633, which the priory has been able to date due to the inclusion of metrical psalms that weren’t in earlier editions. The Bible was important, it was the third translation into English that had been approved by the Church of England, with the first being the Great Bible in 1535 and the second being the Bishops’ Bible in 1568.

Unfortunately, the priory doesn’t know much about the heritage of this Bible, other than knowing it has been rebound. But, it’s likely that the Bible was used extensively in the church and it’s not in bad condition today. As a side issue, I’m not sure why the building is still known as Christchurch Priory (as its days as a priory have long since come to an end), I suspect it’s the reality that Christchurch Church doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue (although its formal name is the Priory Church of the Holy Trinity).

October 16, 2025
Christchurch Priory – Salisbury Chantry

The Salisbury Chantry at Christchurch Priory is grand, decadent and rather ornate. It was founded by Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, a woman whose life seemed quite dramatic. She was the niece of both Edward IV and Richard III, but unfortunately for her, she was a Plantagenet and this didn’t entirely fit with the Tudor way of thinking. So, Henry VIII eventually had her executed on 27 May 1541 (and at 07:00 so she had to get up early) and her chantry at Christchurch has survived, but remains unused. There’s a lot more about Margaret Pole at the Historic Royal Palaces website, she was a powerful figure until she was killed…..

Architecturally, the chantry is beautiful in a rich and late Gothic way with its delicate stone tracery and niches that likely held figures long since lost. There are some traces of medieval paint remaining and I imagine in its day it would have rather more glowed with candles and felt a little warmer.

This is the other side of it, by the altar. The fact it survived the Reformation at all is rather miraculous, since most chantries were dissolved and removed with their endowments seized by the Crown. And this is the sort of thing that actually brought down the Catholic Church, it was ridiculous that this wealth brought such privilege in the priory that someone could be buried in a construction such as this right by the altar.

The corruption, nepotism and greed of the Catholic Church at this point is what ultimately led to the Reformation across Europe. The church willingly took wealth from those who didn’t really have any, so fearful were they that they or their loved ones wouldn’t go to heaven. Any money brought privilege and access, a fast track to heaven.

Margaret Pole is now buried at the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula located in the Tower of London, so that’s not a bad final resting place. It wasn’t the one she wanted and her death meant that she became something of a martyr, which is perhaps why this chantry survived and remains today.

October 16, 2025
Christchurch – Bow House

I like a blue plaque and Christchurch Local History Society has placed a fair number of these around the town. Bow House was built as a brewer’s house in the eighteenth century, it was then occupied by the taxidermist Edward Hart before becoming a building society in the twentieth century and it’s now a dentists.

It’s perhaps the period when it was occupied by Edward Hart (1847-1928) that is the more interesting time as he turned it into a museum of the things that he had stuffed. There’s plenty of information about him on the Hampshire Cultural Trust website and they mention:

“Edward worked at William’s [his father] new premises for several years, learning the art of taxidermy, until he opened his own business at 23 High Street (The Bow House).

As well as preparing animals and birds for local sportsmen, Edward started his own collection. Most of his specimens were taken between 1867 and 1897. In 1866, his collection was large enough to open a museum in ‘The Bow House’, which is now the Portman Building Society.

Hart’s Museum received many visitors, including Sir Robert and Lady Baden-Powell in March 1914. The building was described as ‘warm, well-lit and very clean, the ideal of a private museum, every part of which is crowded with rare and beautiful birds.’

The Public Natural History Museum for Bournemouth attempted to buy the collection to keep it in one piece, but that didn’t work out.

“After the death of John Hall, the collection was passed to Stowe School in Buckinghamshire where they remained until 1983. The collection was, by this time, in a sad state of neglect and staff at Leicester Museum took them on for conservation and safe storage. Unfortunately a number of cases were beyond repair and had to be disposed of. In the early 1980’s, Stowe School offered the collection for sale and they were purchased by the Horniman Museum, Leicester Museum and Hampshire County Council Museums Service (HCCMS). Twenty two cases were purchased by the latter and chosen, not only as fine examples of taxidermy, but also because the backgrounds show Christchurch at the time the birds were shot.”

The building is listed and this states:

“C18. Painted brick facade with dentilled eaves cornice. Tiled roof. 2 storeys and attic with a pedimented dormer. 2 bays each of 3 windows, unbarred sashes. Doorway with pilasters, broken scroll pediment and door of 6 fielded panels, the top 2 panels cut away and glazed.”

The Christchurch Brewery was located behind this house, but that history was all swept away in the 1970s when they wanted to build a lovely new car park. Looking at old maps, it’s not entirely clear that there was a great deal to preserve from this period and I’m not sure that the buildings were very notable.

October 16, 2025