Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Norwich City of Ale – 2023 and the Moon Gazer Beer Prize

This Norwich City of Ale is getting even better after I managed to win one of the four weekly prizes that was available by filling in a competition entry on the event’s web-site. Very many thanks to Moon Gazer for the beers, which will be much appreciated, they all arrived with me safely at the end of last week.

I’ve now completed three of the trails in their entirety, and I’ll finish off another two over the next few days. Not sure I’ll manage to complete every trail as I initially hoped, but I won’t rule anything out just yet as the festival doesn’t finish until 25 June.

They’ll appear at https://untappd.com/user/julwhite in due course when I’ve worked my way through them 🙂

June 14, 2023
Stoke-on-Trent – Waterworld

Our weekend expedition to Stoke-on-Trent began on Friday with a stop-off of three hours at Waterworld, or at least it did for Liam and me, as Ross walked to the hotel as he couldn’t cope with too much excitement. There aren’t many photos as for obvious reasons, the venue doesn’t want them being taken, although judging from reviews a few people have decided that they would take them anyway.

It’s quite an impressive setup from the outside, but all of this element is a relatively new add-on from a few years ago. There are something like ten water slides in the whole arrangement and we had carefully ensured that we were going off-peak when kids were at school.

Visitors get very different experiences depending on when they go, as it seems to be operating at near capacity during most school holidays and nearly empty during school terms. We didn’t have to wait for any slide at any time, but reviews suggest that there are long queues for every ride during school holidays. There’s also apparently a lack of space in the pools generally, it must all be far more stressful during these busy periods.

We had booked reduced priced tickets in advance, but there’s an extra charge for car parking and also to use a locker. All included, it came to £20 each for us and we were able to spend over three hours in the pool. Again, during busier periods, they do ask people to leave after being there for a certain amount of time.

Liam and I have different styles to things such as this. He likes thrill seeking and throwing himself down slides at the fastest possible speed, whereas I prefer a more leisurely and calm approach to matters. I’ve also somehow forgotten how to swim over the years, which has meant that one slide was off limits to me, although I can’t say that I was that concerned about that. Another slide was off limit to me as it looked far too frightening and that’s the Thunderbolt, which the owners themselves say is an “adrenaline experience”. To Liam, that sounded exciting, whereas to me it sounded like one big stress.

My lack of wanting to go down the slides at a breakneck pace meant that one of the staff at one point had to push me down as I was going so slowly I managed to just stop, not a problem that Liam faced as he went charging down. On that matter, all of the staff were friendly and helpful, with plenty of them on-hand to prevent anyone from drowning. There were lots of whistles being blown throughout the day for anyone transgressing the rules, but nothing looked like it was near to disaster.

The on-line reviews are quite exciting to read through, or at least, as exciting as these things can be. Plenty of people complaining about queueing, overcrowding, too much chlorine and safety issues. I can’t say that I saw anything that I considered unsafe and it all seemed clean to me, although goodness knows how high their water and energy bills must be. Reports of an hour wait to use each slide are perhaps exaggerated, but there are lots of complaints about people pushing in. I must admit, being British that would irritate me.

There is a restaurant area by the side of the pool which we didn’t have any need to use, but the prices looked quite high. I remember going to Aquatica in Florida a few years ago with my friend Rob, and they positively encouraged visitors with low prices to keep them in restaurants and make space in their water park. The outdoor swimming pool was closed during our visit, but everything else was open, although some of the rides opened in rotation to keep staffing levels down.

I decided that my favourite slide was the Stormchaser, which they describe as a thrill ride, so I consider that sufficiently brave. For anyone interested, they have videos of all of the slides at https://www.waterworld.co.uk/rides/. I’d probably go back at some point in the future if the opportunity arose and Liam seems keen to go back with his family later in the year, although I think that’s primarily as he wants to throw himself down the slides again.

June 13, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 10 and Norwich Fresh

I’m pleased to note that my Norwich market series is continuing with some pace, this time with James, my lunch-time dining companion of what is now over 25 years. We’ve managed to stick to the same two places for the bulk of that time, namely Grosvenor and Lucy’s Chips, with few diversions. However, we’ve decided to be brave and branch out using the same randomly selected market stall plan that Nathan and I had been doing.

Above is the double stall setup that Norwich Fresh have at the market, but there’s also a separate juice bar opposite which we may tackle on a separate occasion. I liked the clarity of the menu board, it’s clearly laid out and makes it obvious what is available.

There are 17 different options on the menu, although some of them were marked with small stickers as sold out. There’s a choice between two styles, the Fusion Ramen and the Fusion Rice Bowl. I decided to opt for the Korean Chicken Bowl which is battered fried chicken served with jasmine rice, chicken and vegetable dumplings, boiled broccoli, spring onion and homemade Korean sweet and sour sauce.

The prices are towards the higher end of the scale for Norwich market, with my option coming to £8. However, the food is freshly made and is well presented, as well as being served as a large portion. The service was friendly and efficient, another market stall with an inviting feel to it. They accept credit and debit cards which made matters easier. Customers are given a ticket number and that’s called out when the food is ready, with mine taking around five minutes to prepare.

James and I are completing our second City of Ale trail tomorrow evening, but we needed to tick off Toby’s Beer from the list during the day as it’s not open later, so we took our food to Toby’s market stall to get a drink with it. This is the very agreeable Big Blue Shoe NEIPA from the excellent Three Blind Mice Brewery.

But, back to the food. Served at the appropriate hot temperature, the food looked colourful and appetising. The broccoli retained some bite, but wasn’t overly hard, with the dumplings being fried to give them a firm exterior. The interior of the dumplings was light and the sauce was rich but not overly sweet. There was sufficient sauce to coat the rice and the battered fried chicken was tender inside, all combining to be a filling and satisfying meal.

James had the chicken dumpling ramen which consisted of wheat noodles in a homemade chicken broth topped with chicken dumplings, a boiled egg, broccoli, spring onion and coriander. He thought that the broth was a bit thin and lacking in richness of flavour, slightly jealous that I had picked a better option.

James has a better eye for photography than me so I might get him to take future photos (although he can faff about a bit taking them if I’m being honest), this is his food alongside the IPA Galaxy Ella & Vic Secret from Three Blind Mice Brewery.

Back to the food from Norwich Fresh, I very much enjoyed my food and felt that it was worth the cost. A depth of flavour to the sauce, tender chicken and the fried dumplings added positively to the whole arrangement. The service was friendly, the menus were clear and the stall seemed clean and organised. All very lovely. Oh, and although James tried to rig the random selection of market stall to ensure we did Lucy’s Chips for the next eight visits, I was able to oversee the random number generation and can confirm it was done fairly (and as a spoiler, it’s not Lucy’s next).

June 12, 2023
Thurlby – St Germain’s Church

St Germain’s Church in Thurlby is Grade II* listed, with its origins from the eleventh century. The north aisle was reconstructed in 1820, using the same foundations as the 1300 construction. In 1843, the chancel was restored by Sir Edward Ffrench Bromhead, although it’s not clear to me whether the chancel and nave have always had a shared roof. He was from the local Bromhead family who occupied Thurlby Hall, perhaps most notable for Gonville Bromhead who fought in the defence of Rorke’s Drift, with Michael Caine playing Bromhead. The porch is also of interest, built with rubble there’s the old Norman stone doorway within which dates to before 1200.

The Thurlby bit is a little confusing as there are a couple of other places in Lincolnshire with the same name, with villagers in June 1968 seeking formal permission from the Royal Mail to change their name to Thurlby St Germain’s after the church. The Royal Mail weren’t having any of it though, saying that “it would cause us a lot of trouble and work”, with the village name remaining unchanged to this day.

It has one of the more attractive churchyards, with the medieval standing stone cross still in situ which was restored in 1842.

There are 30 war graves from the Second World War in the churchyard, all from airmen who died during the conflict. There are another 26 post-war service graves, again all airmen.

The church was closed when we visited, but the listed building record notes that it has a fifteenth century octagonal font, a nineteenth century rood screen and a nineteenth century pulpit and pews.

June 8, 2023
Norton Disney – Green Man

The Green Man in Norton Disney has one of the more detailed pub histories on their web-site that I’ve come across, it’s always a delight when a venue is proud of their heritage. The Green Man is an early name for the pub, which was trading in the early 1840s, but it changed its name to the Sportsman by 1851. From around 1909, the pub was renamed as the St Vincent Arms in honour of the local landowner Viscount St Vincent. It was unfortunate enough to have been taken over by Punch Taverns in the early part of this century, but after they messed it about the pub was sold in 2009 and renamed as the Green Man, remaining as a free house.

The interior has been sensitively restored.

There’s a nice open and clean feel to the whole arrangement. The service was immediate and welcoming, with the pub having an inviting feel to it. The pub is also very well reviewed on-line and it appears to have a strong food, particularly Sunday lunches, offering judging from those reviews. They do seem to have picked up a small number of negative reviews which are just odd, at least the pub has responded in full to each one and I can imagine they feel a little hard done by given the nature of some of them.

The beer choices and there was a brewery I hadn’t known about before, Beermats Brewing Co of Winkburn in Nottinghamshire. I went for the brewery’s Legitimate bitter, all very agreeable and well kept. This was the best selection of real ale in the local area, I’m not entirely sure why it isn’t in the Good Beer Guide, although maybe it’ll be in the next edition.

The pub wasn’t serving its usual food menu, but they did have a BBQ going so a pint of beer, a hot dog and warm weather all combined to make a rather lovely afternoon. Those cabins in the background are part of the accommodation offer, in conjunction with Outdoor Inns, but more about them in later posts.

June 7, 2023
Bassingham – St. Michael and All Angels Church

The Church of St Michael and All Angels in the Lincolnshire village of Bassingham is Grade II* listed and has elements from as early as the eleventh century and it was also listed in the Domesday Book. Much of the older section of the church dates to the thirteenth century, but it was extensively restored in 1860 under the supervision of JH Hakewill.

The design drawings prepared by JH Hakewill in advance of the 1860 restoration. During this work they discovered two Anglo-Saxon grave covers which are now located near to the altar, used as a table for the sacraments.

The entrance gate to the church from the road, with the rear of the churchyard reaching the River Witham.

The pretty long graveyard leading to the church from the road.

The rather blocky tower was rebuilt in 1782.

The south porch.

We weren’t able to visit inside the church, but the listed building record notes that there are the remains of a fifteenth century screen, the altar rail and organ are from the nineteenth century, the nineteenth century pulpit has a panel from 1674 and the alms box is from 1668. Also inside the church is the bell from the minesweeper HMS Bassingham, which was given to the community in 1999 after it was decommissioned by the Royal Navy. It was explained at the service that at the time, minesweepers were named after villages which ended in ‘ham’.

June 7, 2023
Carlton-le-Moorland – St. Mary’s Church

This Grade I listed church in the Lincolnshire village of Carlton-le-Moorland has elements dating from as early as the eleventh century and reference was made to it in the Domesday Book. The bulk of the structure today is from the sixteenth century rebuild and the 1890 reconstruction overseen by C Hodgson Fowler.

Being very different in design, the chancel’s roof dates from the sixteenth century and the nave’s roof dates from the nineteenth century. The church wasn’t open when we visited, but the listed building record notes that screen is from the the fifteenth century, the wooden pulpit from the eighteenth century and the pews are from the nineteenth century. There are tablets inside the church which are memorials to the Disney family, dated 1595 and 1611.

Some of the church graffiti.

The church’s lychgate was unveiled in October 1920, built at a cost of £174 to commemorate those villagers who had lost their life during the First World War.

Located outside of the church, this is one of the fountains which were placed around the local area.

June 7, 2023
Stapleford – Church of All Saints

Located down a track this pretty church was built to serve a village which has long since gone. The settlement that was once here was prone to flooding from the River Witham, meaning that this is the only building surviving. It’s also not the only medieval village to have been lost, just to the south was Stapleford Parva, with nothing now remaining of that settlement.

Although most of the structure is from a later period, there are elements from the eleventh century in the building and the church was referred to in the Domesday Book. The belfry had to be reconstructed in around 1300 as the local parishioners had become a little bit careless and it fell down.

There was an extensive rebuilding effort in 1770 with the mostly new structure being built on top of the earlier church, using brick rather than stone. In 1903, a restoration took place and the Cambridge Independent Press reported:

“The parish church was re-opened for Divine service on Sunday, after being closed for a fortnight. A great improvement has been effected by re-arranging the choir seats, pulpit and reading desk. In addition the chancel arch has been beautified, and two hagioscopes opened between the chancel and the nave.”

Unfortunately the church was closed, but it was possible to see through one of the windows. I’m not sure where they are now, but in July 1935, the owners of the neighbouring Stapleford Hall donated to the church a number of items from the Civil War period including a helmet and bottle found in the hall’s priest hole.

The listed building record notes that there is an eleventh century pillar piscina, eighteenth century altar rails, nineteenth century pews and twentieth century choir stalls, reredos and wooden screen.

The pretty graveyard, with Liam’s bike hiding the sign noting that dogs shouldn’t foul the area. It is a constant mystery to me that they need signs like this as one would hope it was obvious, but there we go…..

Charles Tonge who died in 1809 at the age of just 34, with this memorial noting “the time is short”.

Elizabeth Tonge who died in 1826 at the age of 48, alongside her son Joseph, who died at the age of just 14.

Edward and Ann Tonge, further dominating the side of the church wall.

June 7, 2023
Bassingham – Bugle Horn

I suspect some local wags and pesky kids might well have been having a go at the pub signage of the Bugle Horn, a Good Beer Guide listed pub in the Lincolnshire of Bassingham. The pub has been serving alcohol to customers since the seventeenth century, it’s a sizeable building and there’s also a large beer garden. I’ve tried to work out the reasons for the pub’s name, but I can’t see any local military connection and the actual reason is likely lost to history.

Here it’s the Te Buge Horn.

Here the Ugle Horn.

And here the Bugle Orn. It’s like something out of Fawlty Towers and the kids changing the letters on the sign. But, I won’t linger any further on the external signage.

This wasn’t what I expected to see from a Good Beer Guide listed pub if I’m being honest, especially as this appears to be a free house which isn’t manacled to a pubco or brewer. As there was another bar where more exciting options might be available, I asked if there were any other ales to choose from.

The friendly staff member, who I assume to be the landlady, politely pointed me straight towards the keg options from Beavertown. I’m not averse to these, although I’ve obviously worked through them all before, so I was hoping for a local beer that I might not get anywhere else. Prices of these were towards the higher end of the scale, but I liked the inviting nature of the pub so I felt it was a price worth paying to not have to drink Greene King IPA.

I went for the Bloody ‘Ell from Beavertown, an entirely agreeable blood orange keg IPA. It’s a nod towards craft beer, I approve of the pub’s attempts to widen their beer range.

There are two separate bar areas, the one in which we seated was comfortable enough but they do perhaps need a refurbishment as some of the seating is heavily stained and things are a bit wobbly in places.

Having said that, the pub still felt traditional and if there is a refurbishment, I hope that it doesn’t change the layout and separate areas of the interior that currently exist.

Liam’s gammon (that’s a description of the food he ordered, not his politics which are far more reasonable), delivered just seconds after he had gone off to explore the toilet facilities in the pub.

Although the Beavertown beers might have been just a little decadently priced, the meals certainly weren’t, this fish and chips was at the very agreeable price of £10. The home cut chips are mostly hidden here by the fish, but there were more than I could eat and so I let Liam finish them up. For the perfect arrangement, the fish could have been drained better and the oil could do with changing, but the batter had a decent depth of flavour and the fish flaked away. I think they’re using some form of margarine on the bread, that wasn’t a highlight if I’m being honest. But, for the price, this was a satisfying and filling meal, if I was a local I’m fairly sure I’d eat here on a regular basis.

The pub is well reviewed on-line, with the staff member giving the atmosphere a family friendly atmosphere where customers feel welcome being there. They’ve built up a reputation for large portions of home-cooked food at reasonable prices, which is quite a selling point as far as I’m concerned. Although I can’t say that I was surprised and delighted by the range of real ales, they’ve made an effort with offering Beavertown beers as an additional option. Definitely recommended, although some form of minor renovation might improve the ambience, as it’s an element customers have mentioned on-line for a few years. But, times are hard for pubs, and at least they’re keeping the food prices down. It felt like a proper pub to me, a phrase that’s over-used I admit, but some things are timeless and too much change here would be a bad thing.

June 6, 2023
Bassingham – Five Bells

The Five Bells at Bassingham looks like a rural pub should perhaps look like, although the foliage is rapidly consuming the venue’s signage. I can’t say I’m overly taken with the pub’s opening times which are caveated with “we may close earlier on very quiet nights or open later if need be”, which don’t exactly make planning entirely easy.

Anyway, gripes about opening times put to one side, the pub felt an inviting place to visit and my hopes were high.

I was a little disappointed with this to be honest, as ideally a venue with four different real ales would have something a slightly more interesting available. No local breweries, no milds or dark beers, all just a little generic. But, at least they have a choice and if that’s what the locals want to drink, perhaps I shouldn’t complain. Although I will.

I went for the Timothy Taylor Landlord, with a food pairing of Mini Cheddars, with the beer being well kept and tasting as expected. The Mini Cheddars were delicious as ever.

The pub did have plenty of character, including the hops above the bar, and a tree. I’m reminded of the rather larger tree in the Raleigh Beer Garden, a venue I’m keen to go back to. But I digress, dreaming of the United States once again.

All very British, there was a pleasant atmosphere to the pub. Well, there wasn’t from a few drunken customers loudly announcing they were from London who were busy upsetting some locals, but these warm days seem to bring out these type of arguments. The staff didn’t seem to notice an awkward altercation between the two groups, which fortunately didn’t develop further so peace of sorts was maintained.

The pub was once owned by Highwayman Inns who in the 1980s specialised in offering steaks and seafood. The pub itself was built in 1815, although it does feel older because of how the interior has been designed.

The service in the pub was friendly and what I think was the manager asked how we were, it all seemed authentic and genuine. There’s quite a wide menu, perhaps priced a little towards the higher end of the scale, and food is what many customers were coming in for during our Saturday early evening visit. It is very well reviewed on-line, so they seem to be doing a marvellous job in serving the community and the environment felt warm and cosy. Definitely worth a little visit for anyone in the area, if time hadn’t been pressing I would have liked to have spent longer in here.

June 6, 2023