Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Dereham Pub Day 2 – Railway Tavern

Julian and I were back in Dereham for our second day of visiting all the pubs in the town, starting this time with the Railway Tavern. I understand that this venue is usually decked out in English flags, but it’s hard to tell at the moment as all the pubs in Dereham we visited were getting ready for the Coronation on Saturday.

And the man himself. The pub has been trading as a licensed premises since the 1840s and is now free trade, although in recent decades it’s been part of the Bullards estate, then Watney Mann, then Chef & Brewer before becoming part of Brent Walker. There was a large fire at the pub in 1989, but Brent Walker reopened it the following year.

The origins of the pub name aren’t difficult to work out, it’s located where the cursor is on the above map from the late nineteenth century. That loop section and the spur to the left aren’t there any more, although Dereham railway station is still there just off a little to the north, but it’s today part of a preservation railway.

The set-up of having a fish and chip shop inside the pub isn’t unique, but it’s certainly rare and it’s something that I very much approve of.

The bar area and the seating section to the front of the pub.

There’s another seating area to the back and they have some substantially sized televisions going on, with a strong reputation for sporting events. During a previous World Cup they even constructed their own grandstand arrangement in the garden.

I went for half a pint of the St. George’s Ale from Wolf Brewery.

It was lively but tasted acceptable, not much going on there though in terms of flavours. I’ve struggled with Wolf Brewery beers recently, but perhaps I’ve been unfortunate.

I don’t know where the street sign was from…..

The landlord was in the press a few weeks stating that if road works limiting access to his pub weren’t taken down by Easter then he might well close permanently, but they seem to have been removed now and hopefully his trade will start to pick up again. We were the first drinking customers of the day, or at least appeared to be, when we arrived at 13:00, but the fish and chip shop section seemed to have been busy.

I noticed that there were signs for a free pint of Heineken Silver, so I decided to sign up. As Julian noted, I’ll likely be getting marketing messages from Heineken now until I remember to turn them off.

I can say that Heineken Silver to me tastes dreadful, lacking in flavour, taste, excitement or indeed anything. To be fair though, I’m not their target drinker. But, I feel that it was priced fairly in this venue, so all was well. I’m surprised that Heineken haven’t sent some branded glasses, they’ve even invested on a badge on Untappd which is rare.

The food then arrived and it was served as a decent portion with the batter having a freshness of taste, although the underside was a little greasy. It was priced at £8.20 for the fish and chips, which is a competitive price and it was a suitably filling way to start the day. Certainly very reasonable value for money and it was freshly fried after I had ordered it.

There’s a beer garden to the side and it’s evident that they have plenty of events here, so there’s something of a community feel. There were two real ales available and the usual line-up of lagers, but it seemed a reasonable choice and the service was always polite and efficient. The welcome seemed genuine and I suspect that they’ll have a very busy weekend.

I quite liked this pub, the food set-up is one that does appeal quite a lot, although it means they are a little short of seating space internally. However, part of the external area is covered and so there’s potential there to sit outside when it’s busy inside. The service was personable, the pub was clean and it was a suitably positive way to start the day.

May 4, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 9 and Delight

This is the ninth week of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year. There’s been a slight gap in proceedings since the last expedition was in late March, but maybe we can make up an extra one in May so that my two loyal readers don’t miss the updates too much.

This week’s expedition was to Delight which sells a variety of Turkish food.

The stall’s menu, with some Turkish specialities at the base.

I went for the chicken wrap meal deal which included fries and a rather lovely Dr. Pepper, the premium of all the soft drinks (with the exception of the even more premium Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda). Nathan went for the doner wrap, also correctly going for Dr. Pepper.

The Gözleme on display. At some stage when we’re finished going around the market, we might perhaps start again but having different things on stalls. That should make this task never-ending.

The chicken cooking away nicely at the back. The food was prepared efficiently and the service was polite, engaging and warm. The stall looked clean and tidy, with the surfaces being dry and not sticky. There was a friendly welcome and I know that’s commonplace from the Norwich market traders, but it’s always pleasant being here.

Nathan convinced me to sit outside in the open air and I’m pleased to note that we did manage to avoid attack from pigeons or seagulls, although I still think it’ll be like Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft soon when the birds become ever more aggressive.

The food was perfectly decent, the chicken was tender and moist, the portion size was generous and the salad added some texture. I had opted for a spicy sauce which gave some extra heat to the food and the Dr. Pepper complemented it marvellously. The chips were maybe slightly soggy, but they tasted good and I was full by the end of the meal. It came to £7 for the wrap, drink and fries, which I thought was reasonable, with Nathan’s slightly less decadent affair costing £6.50. I paid with cash today, but they do accept cards.

Nathan’s selection, which I’ll note here that he failed to finish as he had been gorging on handfuls of doughnuts in the morning. I didn’t say anything though as I didn’t feel that was my place to do so. I can say that he did approve of the food.

Overall, this is yet another stall that I’d very happily visit again. I liked the food, the service and the amount of food that I had for my lunch. All really rather lovely, the market continues to surprise and delight.

May 2, 2023
London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Central Bar

This is another of my posts trying to tidy up some of the Good Beer Guide listed pubs that I’ve visited but never written up. The downside is that I have very limited photos of them so this is hardly going to win any awards, but there we go, I’ve only got to cater to about two readers so that makes things easier.

The pub is operated by JD Wetherspoon, who opened it in 2002, and they have two other venues with the same name, the others are in Cardiff and Carrickfergus, but this one relates to the Central Line:

“This pub is on the first floor of the W12 Centre, opposite the Central Line underground station. The railway came to Shepherds Bush in May 1844, to close only a few months later. The first proper local service came with the opening of the Hammersmith and City Line, in 1864. The Central London Railway opened in 1900 and was renamed the Central Line in 1937.”

This was one of the cheap meals that were offered for many years, chicken wrap and chips, but the prices have gone up sharply over recent months.

Back to the venue, and once again apologies for the lack of photos of the interior, but the pub is located in a shopping centre and so it’s quite a generic and dull open plan set-up. For a JD Wetherspoon outlet it’s relatively badly reviewed, although I can’t say that I’ve had any particular problems here during my visits.

One customer has a photo of their food with a comment noting “Steak and pork loin cremated on my mixed grill with zero sympathy from the manageress” and he isn’t exaggerating, the photo shows food which shouldn’t have been served. On this point, there are two reviews of poor food where the customer has eaten nearly all of it and then taken a photo of the now nearly empty plate, I’m always humoured by the those reviews.

A few customers have complained that a QPR ticket is required to enter the venue when the team are playing at home, which is no doubt more for licensing issues but I can imagine it’s a little annoying for visitors who don’t think to check when the local team is playing. The pub serves alcohol from a later time in the morning when QPR are playing, which sounds very sensible to be fair.

“The management was kicking me out because me and my friend ate a burger that was not ordered by us “

I can understand where the management are coming from…..

“Asked for a classic 6oz beef burger with cheese and bacon no salad and the moron behind the bar somehow managed to hear “original gourmet beef burger” instead”

This from a customer who managed to order the wrong thing, didn’t notice they were charged more for the food, didn’t notice their receipt and calls the member of bar staff “a moron”….. I make no comment.

Anyway, I’ve once again digressed. At the time of writing, this venue has seven real ales which are priced between £1.71 and £2.96, very thrifty options there, including Oakham’s Citra and Elgood’s Patron Saint. Just on that selection of real ale and pricing, it’s no surprise that it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide.

April 30, 2023
London – Lewisham (Borough of) – Brockley Barge Pub

I haven’t visited the Brockley Barge recently, this is just something of a tidying up exercise to write a few riveting words about a pub that I’ve been to which is in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a JD Wetherspoon operated venue and they’ve been listed in the Good Beer Guide for several years now. The Wetherspoon history of the pub is quite brief, namely:

“The name of this pub recalls the barges which plied their trade on the Croydon Canal. Opened in 1809, the canal was replaced (in 1836) by the railway line, which was laid largely along the same course.”

A large chicken jalfrezi and I have to note that I’ve only got a few photos here, so excuse the lack of interior shots of the pub. The venue has been operated by JD Wetherspoons since 2000, it was the Breakspear Arms before that which had first opened as a licensed premises in 1868. It closed in 1994 after some turbulent years and was left with an uncertain future for six years until JD Wetherspoons reopened it.

As I have a lack of interior photos, here’s some fish and chips I had in the pub a few years back. The pub has always been busy when I’ve visited before, it’s not that substantial in terms of its size and it is clearly a popular venue within the local community. Incidentally, if I revisit I’ll actually take photos of the interior, rather than having to rely on old photos of food which I accept have rather limited excitement to my large readership of two people.

The reviews for the pub are generally positive but I had a little look through to see what excitement was going on.

“My friend who is heavily pregnant was in urgent need of the toilet. We knocked on the door a couple on minutes after closing to which they heard of her pregnancy and walked away. The manager then came and shouted at us through the window, as I told her by the law an establishment should let a pregnant woman in to use the toilet”.

I’m fairly sure it was never in the licensing rules for the pubs that I had which said it was the law to open up a closed pub to a pregnant customer to use the toilets…… Mind you, there’s a myth that pregnant women have the legal right to urinate in a policeman’s helmet on request, another falsehood that amazingly persists.

“They didn’t answer the phone when I called to wish them happy new year”

Hmmmmm. That’s as exciting as the reviews get to be fair…..

At the time of writing the pub is offering six real ales, priced between £1.71 and £2.78 per pint, including Sambrook’s Wandle Ale and Sambrook’s Nightshift Mild. A pub with a mild can’t be a bad thing. Although it’s important to mention micropubs and other independently run pubs, it seems to me a real positive that this venue has been saved by JD Wetherspoons as there would otherwise have been a realistic possibility that it would have become another outlet of Tesco Express.

April 30, 2023
Cambridge – The Maypole (Repeat Visit)

I’ve visited this pub before, so will just add briefly to what I wrote a couple of years ago.

I was going to try a third of the Duality V4, as I’ve worked through the rest in that series, and a third of the Panna Cotta, but the manager told the server not to pour those drinks in that size. I must admit I’m not entirely sure that’s ideal, these are £9 per pint beers and I would have preferred to try two different ones. The last time that happened to me was at the Euston Tap, it’s otherwise not something I come across very often at all. It’s not a problem particularly as I’ll just opt for something else, but it feels sub-optimal from a craft beer perspective.

I instead went for half a pint of the Brazilian from Colchester Brewery, a reliable and creamy stout that I’ve had numerous times before, including from here. It was well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and reasonably priced, so I had no complaints.

The food options looked tempting and I might have worked through some more of the beer options, but we decided to just have one drink and leave to go elsewhere.

The full menu, looks suitably interesting.

Anyway, without repeating too much more from my previous post, the pub is still listed in the Good Beer Guide and there’s plenty of choice in terms of cask and keg beers.

April 30, 2023
Sedgeford – St. Mary the Virgin Church

Richard and I were off for an evening meal nearby, so we decided to stop off at St. Mary’s Church in Sedgeford. Unfortunately, our evening arrival meant that the church was closed to visit inside, but it’s an intriguing building to look at externally.

As ever, there is plenty of conflicting information about the church’s history on-line, but I think I’ve got some sort of vague grasp on it now. The Saxon church was in a different place and when the settlement moved a new grander building was constructed here. The tower is complex, it might just be partly Saxon, but is likely Norman from around the late eleventh century although some historians date it another century after. The Tudors hacked the building about, adding the clerestory in the fifteenth century and also adding the sections around the tower. However, some historians suggest that the tower structure was all built at the same time, but I’m going to just link to the article by Stephen Hart rather than claim any additional knowledge here.

Until the Reformation, this was a Peculiar meaning that it was under the control of the Prior and Monks of Norwich Cathedral. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the building was falling down and that was seen as sub-optimal given that the congregation had to take their umbrellas into the church with them when it was raining. Fortunately, the Victorians made the necessary repairs, although this Grade I listed building has found itself at risk once again recently, with the medieval wall paintings inside needing urgent conservation.

The almost cavernous north porch which appears to be lacking the doors which once protected it from the elements.

This complex set-up has the round tower which has been encased by later additions (or not later additions, depending what you believe). Most of the round tower is intact within here, with the vestry to the left and another room to the right.

The south of the church, with another open porch. The church’s web-site notes that in the mid-nineteenth century this porch was used by smugglers to store their illicit goods.

Numerous add-ons, including a south transept which is embedded slightly into the chancel which feels just a little strange. There was a north transept at one point as well, but it has been taken down. Or, more likely, fallen down, likely sometime in the period after the Reformation or in the seventeenth century. George Plunkett has a photo from 1978 taken in a similar location.

The chancel was reconstructed in 1770, partly because some of it fell down in the middle of the eighteenth century. The odd placement of the priest’s door, visible in the previous photo, shows how truncated this new chancel is.

This feels like a Victorian repair given how neat and tidy it is compared to the rest of the church.

Looking at the Victorian restoration gives some insight as to what is happening with the interior.

Richard noticed the irregular way in which this gravestone has eroded away, I can’t imagine this has that long left.

A memorial by the gate which commemorates the 20 people who lost their lives to a typhus outbreak in 1852.

There’s a separate war memorial in the village to those who died in the First World War, but this tablet mentions the names of the seven men who died in the Second World War. There’s more information on these men at the base of http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Sedgeford.html.

Robert Ladbrooke’s drawing of the church from the middle of the nineteenth century.

Anyway, a rather lovely church, this is one I’d like to return to and look inside.

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Signature Brew

Fourth and final on my list of bars I visited on the Blackhorse Beer Mile, because I needed to get back for my train, was Signature Brew. I only had time for one beer here and it was also the busiest of the venues that I visited on my Thursday evening peregrination.

The outside of the large complex that they’ve got going on here. It had started to rain but the outside area looks decent for when the weather is more agreeable. I write things like this, but I’m very much an indoor person, I don’t like sitting outside with cigarette smoke and bees.

The menu board.

I went for the Black Vinyl Stout from the brewery, a reliable dry stout along with my suitably paired crisps. I put a lot of thought into selecting the most appropriate crisps, although ideally they would have had Hula Hoops or Wotsits here.

The set-up here felt more commercial than the other taprooms, but I’m not sure that’s a negative, it’s a bigger venue and a larger outfit.

My friend Nathan, who is like a peripatetic and travel obsessed Alan Whicker, has been here and recommended this lunch deal. I had already eaten and was too late anyway, but this seems very acceptable to me for anyone who is around the area at the appropriate time.

My visit here was relatively brief due to timing issues, relating to a late arriving train in London caused by the theft of cabling in London, but I’ll come back and spend longer here. The environment was inviting, the staff were friendly and the choice of beers looked intriguing. I feel the need to come for the lunch deal, perhaps next time I’ll go from south to north on the beer route, rather than the north to south option I took. It all meant that I didn’t have time to have a drink in Big Penny Social, but next time!

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Exale Brewing and Taproom

Exale Brewing’s taproom was the third location that I visited on my little tour of the Blackhorse Beer Mile. Open on Thursdays to Sundays, this was one of the breweries that I was looking forwards to visiting as I’ve numerous of their beers over recent years. They brew the Krankie Iron Brew Sour which I liked the sound of, but it wasn’t quite as rich and innovative as I had hoped.

Customers walk through this area to get to the taproom, I think it’s quite exciting to feel part of the whole brewery process. I very much enjoy the Bermondsey Beer Mile, but it no longer feels quite as authentic as it once did, whereas the Blackhorse Beer Mile really was surprising and delighting me.

There’s the beer menu and it looked suitably tempting to me.

The taproom area with its mezzanine level and my bag on the left enjoying its latest trip out. How that hasn’t fallen apart I don’t quite know.

I asked if they served in thirds and the helpful team member explained that they didn’t, but she then suggested that I could have a flight and this was seemed a perfect solution and was reasonably priced. When serving flights, I’m always pleased when they make clear which beer is which and they were written clearly on the little card. The Monster Munch was so delicious that I went back for another pack, I was very pleased with those.

The Bossa was my favourite of the four, a blueberry sour which was rich and smooth. It apparently also had lychees in its, but I couldn’t remember what they tasted like, and I was already content with the blueberry sour and it reminded me of the free blueberry juices handed out on Finnair flights. But nicer of course because it had an alcoholic edge to it.

The Oona was also though also delightful, a hazy and hoppy NEIPA.

Some of the brewing equipment.

It does add somewhat to the drinking experience when sitting in front of the brewery’s tanks.

There is a food option available and it’s supplied by the nearby Lacy Nook restaurant.

This was the third delightful visit in a row, an inevitably on-trend, authentic and exciting taproom where the service was friendly, the beers were suitably decadent and I had a rather lovely time if truth be told. I imagine I’ll be back to all of the bars along here and this is certainly no exception to that plan.

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Beerblefish Brewing Co

There’s an element of this looking like something that I’ve arranged, a paper sign and a couple of tables outside with a variety of different looking chairs. But, it feels more authentic like this, I don’t need polished, I like seeing breweries just trying to make customers feel welcome in their taproom. This was the second venue that I visited on the Blackhorse Beer Mile, after having gone to the Hackney Brewery taproom.

A pleasant taproom with numerous benched seating and not that busy on the early Thursday evening that I visited, so plenty of space.

I was going to have half of each of the keg options, but their melon lager wasn’t behaving so I switched that out for half of the 1820 Heritage Porter.

There’s the Organic Hazy Pale which was OK, some citrus taste coming through but not much more exotic than that. The crisps are from Two Farmers, I went for the Hereford Bullshot and I decided that these complemented the beer nicely. To be fair, I rarely find that crisps don’t complement the beer I’ve ordered, they’re a very reliable foodstuff.

The 1820 Porter which had a traditional feel to it, nice roasted taste to it with flavours of chocolate and coffee, very drinkable.

I haven’t heard of the Toilet Twinning project before, but it certainly seems to be a worthwhile concept.

Some venues perhaps overthink toilet accessibility, this sort of arrangement seems to be a practical one.

I liked the whole arrangement here, although it was quite rustic in its set-up. The taproom is open from Thursdays to Sundays and although they don’t do food, they do have an agreement with Yard Sale Pizza who deliver here for free. There’s a community feel to the taproom and it’s smaller scale than some of the other venues on the Blackhorse Beer Mile. I’d merrily come back here again, very decent, with the service being friendly and efficient.

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom

I feel that I’ve mostly completed the Bermondsey Beer Mile, so it seemed an appropriate time to start work on the Blackhorse Beer Mile in North London. I arrived at the northern end of the run just as the Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom was opening and I was suitably surprised and delighted to see that they have some very generous prices on Thursdays of £3.50 per pint.

There was a friendly welcome and the helpful server told me that the first seven beers on this menu were part of the core range which were £3.50. So I started on some of those as that seemed the most polite thing to do.

Here’s the full beer list and I noted the Lervig Original Sin, I had a version of that (the Quebecois Maple Barrel) in Oslo and it was quite beautiful. But today was a day for concentrating on the Hackney Brewery beers and there were no shortage of tempting options here.

The brewery set-up.

The Millions of Peaches which had a whole load of peach taste in this beer as the name suggests, but there’s a complementing aftertaste of basil which works well. This was my favourite of the several beers that I tried here.

Although this Billions of Cherries wasn’t far behind it, a very decent sour which didn’t disappoint on the cherry flavours. They were just setting out the tables in the brewery area when I arrived, but there’s a large enclosed area in which I was sitting where the main bar was located. I noticed, but didn’t acquire, plenty of crisps as well for those who fancied some food. On Fridays and Saturdays they have Oli Babas serving Middle Eastern food, it’s quite a small food menu, but wraps, fries and olives with a beer sounds pleasant to me.

This is a genuinely agreeable set-up, the service was personable, the atmosphere was laid-back and comfortable, with the surroundings being informal. The servers had a strong knowledge of the beers, which isn’t surprising but it’s always a relief, with the helpful staff member ensuring there was a power point I could charge my depleting phone battery at. I felt welcome, the prices on Thursdays are remarkably cheap for the quality and I shall be coming here again and I am unanimous in that.

April 28, 2023