Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Cromer – Hotel de Paris (Two Julians)

On our study tours, we initially base our list of visits on CAMRA’s Whatpub and then add anywhere else that we think might be of interest. I was sceptical of this hotel as its web-site was lacking in information and it’s clear they’re not particularly aiming at non residents so it didn’t seem entirely worthy of a listing when so many other hotels with bars aren’t on there.

We visited the hotel first at lunchtime to find that the bar was closed with no signage, but we thought that we’d return later on in the day. We arrived just before 17:00 and were told that they weren’t ready for opening yet. It was evident that there are no real ales or craft beer and a generally highly limited drinks range. I’m sure that the bar is sufficient for their residents and anyone dropping in for convenience, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else as there are much better options in the nearby pubs.

I’m a little surprised that they don’t do a little more with their bar area, which has some of the best sea views on the North Norfolk coast. There’s pretty much a licence to print money with a bar arrangement there, imagine the decadent craft beer micropub type set-up that they could install to surprise and delight tourists. For anyone who does go in, there’s a history of the pub on the wall (turn left when going into the building). I will say that they have very clean toilets though, so that was a win.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Gangway (Two Julians)

Next pub on the day’s adventure was the Gangway, a cafe bar type set-up which also has a sister outlet in Sheringham. It’s divided into two, by necessity of the building shape, with shared access at the rear, all a little unusual but it adds to the character. Not knowing this in advance, I went in the first door that I saw and I think that we were in the smaller section of the building.

There was a friendly welcome, one of the best of the day, with the team members seeming enthused and keen to help. It was table service only which I wasn’t initially convinced about as it created a separation with the drinks visible at the bar and the printed menu, which didn’t have the complete list on. However, I have to add that they have listed their beer selection on Untappd which removes that issue for me so I have no complaint. There’s a strong selection of craft beers in can and bottle, nothing quite as decadent on the tap, but still some interesting options including several from Ampersand. It’s the best craft selection that we saw in Cromer, so full credit for that.

The bar is attractive and neatly laid out.

The cocktails menu.

Appropriate glassware for my half and I went for a new beer to me, the Lemon Puff from Ampersand in conjunction with Abbeydale, two very competent breweries. A perfectly decent beer which was citrusy, but I had hoped for more lemon punchiness to the whole arrangement, but enjoyable nonetheless. It wasn’t unreasonably priced and they also had a place to charge my phone which proved to be handy.

The surrounding were comfortable and cosy, there’s a lot to be said for this soft of cafe bar approach and it’s one that Titanic is pushing with its Bod concept. This is all very much to the credit of the town, although Gangway don’t serve food other than for a fine looking selection of cakes.

Some more internal decor. All told, this was one of my favourite venues of the day. It was the only one that had listed their beers on Untappd, it had perhaps the best welcome and it was spotlessly clean. Innovative, interesting and on-trend, I hope that they do really well. And I think Julian is definitely getting a taste for all this beer modernity.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Albion (Two Julians)

The next location on our Cromer adventure was the Albion which has been a hospitality venue since the 1830s and is now an Admiral Taverns pub.

There were three real ales to choose from which were Legacy from Lacons, Directors from Courage and London Pride from Fullers.

I went for the Directors from Courage and it’s fair to say that I was surprised and delighted by this, a beer that I haven’t had before. I enjoyed the lingering flavours of this, something like a Werther’s Original (I doubt anyone else has thought that). Nicely kept and something different to try. Interestingly, Lacons are very much in evidence in Cromer, their sales rep must have been busy in the area.

Bar runners with a welcome from Steve, Zena and the team. The service was attentive, polite and personable, so it seemed to be a genuinely welcoming environment.

Best pub in Cromer apparently according to the flag. There was a lively atmosphere to the whole arrangement, to the point that it was a little difficult to hear, but variety is the spice of life and there were quieter alternatives in the town for those who wanted that. The pub doesn’t seem to serve food any more or offer accommodation (the venue was for a long time the Albion Hotel), but they’re one of the only venues in town without a web-site so it’s hard to be precise about the offering. Possibly the most vibrant pub in the town, which for those who like karaoke is a positive draw, but it’s probably not somewhere to go for a quiet drink to read a book. Nonetheless, it was welcoming, clean and organised, so all rather lovely.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Red Lion (Two Julians)

After enjoying a beer on the pier, we hiked up the hill to reach the Good Beer Guide listed Red Lion. This has been trading as a hospitality venue since the 1760s and Norfolk Pubs has this interesting story from the pub’s past:

“Mr. Reilly Mead was summoned on 5th January 1914 of having an unjust glass in his possession and having the same unstamped. On that day Inspector Robinson had sent his assistant, John Youngs, to purchase a pint of beer. It was served in an unjust and unstamped measure. On saying that he (Inspector Robinson) should seize the glass, Mr. Meade sent for the police and said that he would not allow Robinson to thieve the glass. Upon the police advising that the Inspector had authority to act, Mr. Meade said that they had never sold pints OR half pints since he had been at the place. Miss Gow, the barmaid confirmed that she had refused to sell a pint to Youngs and said that he could have `a large glass’. When tested the glass was found to be deficient from a pint by 5 per cent. The Bench convicted and imposed a fine and costs totalling £3/0/6d.”

There’s always one pub wanting to do its own thing 🙂

I liked the effort that they’ve made with their external A-Board.

On first impressions, it looked a little decadent for us on the inside, but it transpired that this was just the restaurant area and there was a separate and more informal bar area. The distinction between the two areas was clear and the menu looked tempting, albeit a bit expensive for our purposes. These study tours we undertake for the community don’t come cheap…..

One side of the bar area.

And the frontage of the main bar area. Above the bar is the acronym WYBMADIITY? which I had to look up and means “will you buy me a drink if I tell you?” which is a clever little ruse for the barman or an enterprising customer to get a free drink 🙂

The Red Lion had eight different real ales available, as well as some ciders, which was the widest selection we encountered during the day. They were all local beers, from brewers including Woodfordes, Green Jack, Lacons, Mr Winters, Grain and Moon Gazer. This is a marvellous selection for any visitor to the area who wants to try beers from a number of local breweries.

This is the latest Norfolk Nips magazine that was distributed at the weekend and it contains an abbreviated write-up of our trip to Wymondham a few weeks ago. How lovely to be in print and Lucy did a marvellous job with it. As for the beer, I went for the Trawlerboys from Green Jack Brewing of Lowestoft and it was of its usual reliable quality.

And another page from the article 🙂

The draught menu.

The bar snacks and doggie menu, the latter of which is certainly intriguing in terms of its concept….

Not an unpleasant view from the window.

The bar when it became a little quieter, but this was a busy venue for the entire time that we were here and many customers were clearly locals.

You can buy your own pub merchandise if you so wish.

And some fun facts.

The Red Lion, which is also a hotel, is very well reviewed on-line and this felt like a really well run venue. There was an extensive range of real ales and other drinks, the service was immediate, there was a timely welcome and the atmosphere was inviting. It has some marvellous views of the sea, it’s got an informal and relaxed feel and their entry into the Good Beer Guide definitely seems a good shout from our experience.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Pavilion Bar on Cromer Pier (Two Julians)

The next venue on our day out in Cromer is visible at the rear of the photo, it’s the Pavilion Theatre Bar located on Cromer Pier. It wasn’t a sunny day, but the temperature was also moderate and so it wasn’t overly chilly to perambulate down the pier. The pier opened in 1907 and it has been operated by North Norfolk District Council since 1974, being a popular destination for tourists to the region.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, although I didn’t have high hopes as I expected something expensive and limited in choice. But, the purposes of these study tours is to ensure that we give everywhere a proper chance and not go judging a pub by its cover (or whatever the appropriate phrase would be).

My initial lack of enthusiasm was misplaced as they had two Lacons beers to choose from, with one currently not available, but that’s not a bad shout as it’s a local beer and something that visitors to the area might want to try. I went for the Encore and it was well-kept, with Julian’s Legacy also passing muster. I can imagine it’s something of a challenge to serve customers quickly before a show, always the challenge for any theatre bar though.

And some mainstream craft beers, but still offering a very reasonable choice given it’s a relatively small bar. The service was efficient and polite, with everything feeling reasonably clean and ordered. The pricing was also moderate with the modern and inviting atmosphere being a pleasant surprise. There were also some food counters for those who wanted doughnuts, ice cream, waffles and that sort of sugary treat.

There weren’t many tables inside and they were all occupied, but that meant I could take this photo. There’s always something nice about beers on any trip out, but I think that train beers and pier beers might just be my favourite. Julian was busy trying to work out an issue with his iPhone which was not surprising and delighting him, but we enjoyed the environment and there are glass barriers to stop the wind impacting too much on the hardy drinkers.

And our view back along the pier, with Julian being ever so excited that the next pub was at the top of the cliff. All told, this is a very acceptable drinking venue and offered some pleasant views along the beautiful North Norfolk coast.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Kings Head (Two Julians)

The second pub of the day was the Kings Head in Cromer, but unfortunately it was closed. It seems that they having some work being done so I’m sure they didn’t want to be shutting their doors on a day when the town was packed with tourists, all something of a shame for them.

The Kings Head has been a pub since the 1780s, making it one of the oldest in Cromer. They were unfortunate enough to go through the cycle of Brent Walker, Pubmaster and then Punch Taverns who are still the owners, so all credit to the pub for carrying on. There is food served at lunchtimes and in the evenings with CAMRA noting that there are usually four real ales available.

Hopefully we’ll return in the future as it seemed a decent pub.

August 2, 2023
Cromer – Wellington Pub (Two Julians)

The first pub of the day was the Wellington on Garden Street which has been operated by the same family for thirty years. It’s been a pub since the beginning of the nineteenth century when it was converted from fishermen’s cottages, but it was rebuilt in the 1890s after a fire. After a period as an S&P pub it became part of the Watney Mann estate, but they sold it in 1970 and it has remained free trade since.

There was perhaps an absence of welcome if I’m being honest, but the service was efficient and the pub was busy with the staff concentrating on a few larger orders when we arrived. There were no tables free when we arrived, so we sat at the bar and everything was clean and tidy. There was certainly quite a variety of customers in the pub, including families, solo drinks, different ages and it gave it a community feel to it which I rather liked.

There were three beers available, Ghost Ship from Adnams, Wherry from Woodfordes and Golden Jackal from Wolf. I went for the Golden Jackal and that was well-kept and tasted of a good quality, with Julian’s Ghost Ship also being agreeable.

I’ve been out of the trade for so long that I’m no longer aware of new drinks, but I hadn’t heard of the Disaronno Velvet before. Sounds suitably decadent though.

The entrance to the sizeable courtyard. The pub usually serves food but for whatever reason it wasn’t when we visited. A customer came and politely asked if they could eat their chips in the courtyard given that there was no food available, but the staff member said they couldn’t. I can imagine the pub has difficulties with people doing that without asking, so I can see why they wouldn’t want to.

It’s a decent courtyard space and gives more seating options given that it was full inside.

The reviews are a bit mixed, but I can imagine it’s challenging running a venue which is popular with tourists as that creates all sorts of staffing complexities. I had a look at the reviews though as I like to read about a bit of drama.

“My husband and I visited this pub today on a lovely day we had a glass of Aspall cider each and I realised my glass had a big crack so I went to the bar and asked if I could have a clean glass but you will never guess what the barmaid did??!! Well this barmaid poured the cider I had in the cracked glass into the clean one!! 😳, I just couldn’t believe it, what if there are splinters of glass in it!!!”

A customer not happy with food service times:

“Amazing food in the Smokehouse but….. Closes at 4pm (yes 4pm ffs!) during the week. I know it’s Cromer but that’s a ridiculously early closing time. Really wanted to eat here again but somewhere else that’s open until a grown up time got my money….”

But I liked the venue’s response:

“Hope you enjoyed your grown up meal!”

Sub-optimal….. Anyway, I digress. The Wellington have four rooms for those who want to stay the night and their food offering is the Smoke Kitchen where the meals sound delicious although there’s no pricing on the web-site. Anyway, we enjoyed this pub, it had something of an atmosphere to it, everything was clean and it seemed to be welcoming to all. A very solid start to our day.

August 2, 2023
Gretna – Rail Disaster and History Walk

Our walk started at the Famous Blacksmith Shop in Gretna Green, where marriages used to take place because of legislation which meant that English couples aged under 21 needed their parents’ consent to wed. So, where that permission wasn’t given, the young love turned up at the border of Scotland, handily Gretna Green, and got married here. The blacksmith was able to legally perform the marriage and so everyone, assuming other than the parents of the couple, were happy with the arrangement.

I was excited to discover that raspberries were growing wild, I’m more used to just seeing blackberries in hedgerows. The walk was a total of 8 miles in length and is in a figure of eight centred around Gretna Green, so it’s possible to just do half of the walk.

A memorial to the Quintinshill rail disaster which killed over 200 people, the worst ever to occur in the UK.

A little further along the walk there’s an information panel about the railway disaster as this point, with the rail line at the rear being where the accident took place. More on this in a separate post as it’s something I hadn’t really been aware of before.

The railway line plays an important part during the first section of the walk with numerous crossings under the track. What I think is an Avanti West Coast mainline train went over at a convenient time for this photo. It wasn’t overgrown at all and was quite a simple walk in technical terms.

Unfortunately, the main pub in the town didn’t open until the evening and it doesn’t serve food at any time. The Queen’s Head has been trading since 1760 and is relatively unchanged, with this being one of the pubs operated by the state between the First World War and 1971.

There’s the motorway in the background which added some brief noise to proceedings.

The motorway road sign welcoming people to Scotland.

The Old Toll Bar Cafe, noting that 10,000 marriages have been performed here since the building was opened in 1830. Originally a toll house for the new bridge, it meant that it was the first house that was reached in Scotland and was even nearer to the border than Gretna Green. In 2014, it was turned into a cafe and the historic marriage room is open to the public.

And the old road bridge which was constructed in 1830 that led to the building of the toll house.

There was a short piece of river walking which was pleasant, but notable was that this is the River Sark which is the border between England and Scotland.

After a quick lunch at the Spar, where I gorged on half price strawberries and a full price Feast ice cream, we proceeded on with the rest of the walk. There’s an information board near to this sculpture which explains that it is known as the ‘Gretna Girl’ memorial in honour of the local women who worked in the HM Factory Gretna. At its peak, there were 30,000 workers employed at the works and it was producing 1,100 tons of cordite per week, a dangerous and powerful explosive.

I felt the need to climb the steps to have a look at Gretna railway station.

Gretna’s old parish church, which was unfortunately closed so we couldn’t look in the interior. It did though have a beautiful and sizeable graveyard, more on which in a later post. The current church dates from the early nineteenth century, but was constructed on the site of an older building and the listed building record shows that there was likely a Saxon church here.

The town’s war memorial.

We were fortunate that the rain at the start of the walk died away relatively quickly, so we were faced with near perfect weather for the bulk of the expedition. It’s not a long walk, but it covers a variety of terrain and I hadn’t realised before about the scale of the rail crash that took place at Gretna Green. I was also surprised just how many people were at the Gretna Green visitor attraction, but how few left the confines of that site to visit Gretna itself. And there were no pubs open either, something which felt entirely sub-optimal to me.

July 29, 2023
Ipswich – Christchurch Mansion

Christchurch Mansion is one of the cultural highlights of Ipswich, a free to enter museum in a grand central former residence. The story of the site begins in the twelfth century when Holy Trinity Priory was built here, but King Henry VIII had some thoughts about that and it closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. A London merchant named Paul Withypoll purchased the site and his son started work on building a residential property to be proud of in 1547.

In 1735, the house was purchased by Claude Fonnereau, a London merchant of some considerable means, opening up the gardens to the general public in an early display of upper class kindness. His descendants sold the property to a syndicate of buyers, including Felix Cobbold, who promptly gifted the house to the people of Ipswich. The Ipswich Corporation then purchased the surrounding parkland and it has been used as a museum since 1885.

The frontage of the house and there was a friendly staff member standing inside welcoming visitors to the property.

Many of the rooms have been designed to recreate periods from the past, with this being the Green Room which was intended to provide a semi-public reception area where guests were entertained. It’s from the mid eighteenth century and shows what the room might have looked like in its French style.

The Fonnereau dining room, also laid out in the mid eighteenth century style.

Elements of the old fireplace have been exposed for the delight of modern visitors.

This room was intended to be used as a breakfast room, but they’ve decorated it from around 1700 as if it were the intimate room of a lady or gentleman.

My favourite room which is the library, although there aren’t many books on display at the moment. There was once a billiards table in the room as well, but they designed a billiards room of its own downstairs. Having watched some bar billiards games, I can imagine why they wouldn’t want that noise and excitement in a quiet library area.

The Rococo drawing room which is as it might have looked during the mid eighteenth century.

The state bedroom, which was added to the property by Thomas Fonnereau and he installed some decadent wallpaper. This is as it might have looked at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The Upper Chamber, which is a 1920s add-on to the building which is used to display items of furniture and architectural features from merchant houses in Ipswich which were being demolished at the time.

Looking down into the grand hall, which is where visitors enter.

Tucked away on the ground floor is the servants’ hall which dates to something around the early nineteenth century.

And finally the kitchen, which was at the heart of the mansion and quite rightly so. In 1896, the Victorian cast iron range was removed to reveal the old Tudor fireplace. Some of the stone on the floor was pinched from Holy Trinity Priory which had been knocked down to build the original house.

This is a fine museum and it’s always positive when they’re able to allow free admission to everyone. It’s well reviewed, although there is a single and quite stupid 1 star review which simply says “not as good as Norwich”. At least Ipswich don’t charge for admissions, unlike the quite expensive Norwich museums, but I won’t dwell on any rivalry between the two county towns.

The staff were friendly and warm, there was enough to see for an hour long visit with plenty of information available within each room. There’s also a gallery of paintings, including some by Gainsborough and Constable, to add to the whole arrangement. All really rather lovely, I enjoyed my meander around the building.

July 27, 2023
Norwich – Edith Cavell Pub

The Edith Cavell is back open again, so Julian and I thought that it would be only polite to go and have a little visit. In normal Two Julians style, this post will also be appearing at our web-site at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/. It’s a Victorian corner pub which was known as the Army & Navy Stores until 1981 when it changed to its current name. There have been a few periods when it has been called other things, including rather oddly Coles, with some slight variations to the name along with some troubled times for some operators of this venue.

Edith Cavell is something of a local hero, she was a nurse from Norfolk who was working in Brussels at the outbreak of the First World War. When the Germans took over the city of Brussels, Cavell started to assist British and French soldiers there to leave the occupied territories so that they could fight against the Germans. So, the Germans shot her in October 1915 with the defence that:

“It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it was necessary. She was judged justly … It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed; but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because they were committed by women.”

Cavell was buried at Norwich Cathedral and there’s a memorial to her located opposite to the Edith Cavell pub.

Back to the pub, the interior of the venue has been redecorated and it has a cosy and warm feel to it. I’m not sure how functional some of the seating is as I prefer tables, but it’s all inoffensive. It was also clean and warm, with the reduced lighting adding somewhat to the atmosphere. It seemed inviting and it’s in a beautiful location in Tombland and overlooked by Norwich Cathedral.

Apologies that the lighting made it difficult to take a clean photo, but there’s Camden Pale, Camden Hells, Lagunitas IPA, Brixton Pale Ale and Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’.

And apologies again for the photo, but Birra Morretti, Amstel, Beavertown Neck Oil, Guinness and Cruzcampo flavoured water. My first impressions were that I found the set-up a little depressing as it’s nearly identical to some of the Ibis hotels that I’ve stayed at recently, but no point being too judgemental too early.

Julian had arrived before me and asked about their range of real ale, but they don’t sell that. It transpired, as we have similarly highly developed ordering strategies, that Julian and I both tried to order the Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’, but they had run out of that. The service was polite though and it’s cashless, something which I have a lot of sympathy for, but it’s going to be a challenge for them in terms of reviews as there are some militant cash is king customers around who will make their views known when they realise.

I went for the Cruzcampo flavoured water, which Heineken are throwing huge marketing spend at in a bid to position it as a reasonably priced premium beer. It’s not a great surprise to see it so badly reviewed on Untappd, it tasted bland, generic and pointless to me, it perhaps needs to be served in a hot environment so it’s a refreshing option at least.

The pub is owned by Stonegate, who had to force their way in earlier in the year to “make it safe”, so it’s had some very recent challenges. This presents some problems for the new tenants as they’ve now I assume hit the Stonegate tie, which is forcing them to go for some rather generic keg options. Julian is a real ale man, whereas I’m more excited by decadent keg options such as offered by the Artichoke, Leopard, Plasterers and Malt & Mardle, all a relatively short walk away. There are no beers here which surprised and delighted me, with the problem that some of these drinks such as Beavertown are a chunk over £6 a pint, which is a brave position to be in given the current economic climate.

The venue is planning to open a separate gin bar on the first floor in a few weeks, in the space that was formerly used by Prime to serve their steaks. They’ll be able to get some decent mark ups on that sort of drink and I can imagine it’ll be popular on Friday and Saturday evenings, although there’s the limitation that the venue is relatively small. I imagine there will be a rush to sell cocktails as well, another gross profit winner. I’m sure that they’ll make a decent job of the interior of the first floor to ensure that it remains comfortable.

For me, this isn’t a venue that I’d return to on a regular basis, although I can understand the attraction and don’t want to be negative. Writing just for me, I don’t mind whether a pub does real ale well or craft beer well, there are some smaller breweries offering both types of beer which continue to surprise and delight me. But, just as I don’t run to the bar with excitement when seeing Greene King IPA, I’m not going to rush for premium priced keg beers that I can get in any number of other places.

But, positivity is the key, the owners are trying something new, they’ve ensured that the pub is open for the local community and I’m sure it’ll be the offering that many customers want. And variety is the spice of life, it would be a nightmare if every pub was the same with the same choices at the bar. The pub was clean, the staff were friendly, the atmosphere was inviting, it felt safe and so that’s all to the good.

PS, apologies again for the poor quality photos!

July 27, 2023