Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Monday to Thursday : Unlimited Chicken Wings at Brewdog Norwich, a Free Whopper and Limited Progress at the Ferry Boat Inn

Another one of my little complaints, this is the disgrace (I like using strong words to reinforce my anger, even though it makes me sound inarticulate and odd) of the former Ferry Boat Inn, a pub operated by Greene King until they closed it in 2010. After a series of business plans which fell through, it’s now going to be turned into flats for students. There are so many similar developments in the city that I’m not sure where all these students are coming from. Anyway, the development has stopped again now due to some odd financial arrangements, so the site remains in flux. What this site would have made is a excellent pub which could have been one of the best in the city, with a long heritage since around 1820. Who knew? Anyway, in around ten years there might be some cheap flats here overlooking the river which will probably fall down in around thirty years.

My friend James mentioned that there were free Whoppers being dished out around the country by Burger King. I didn’t want him to be lonely when he went to get one, so I accompanied him to the new Norwich branch. I know that since hitting 30 I’ve become old, but I’m sure that Whoppers were better back in the day…… It was quite fiddly to order them using the app, but there was such a queue that anyone could realistically just walk in and say they had ordered one.

Inspired by this food excitement, James and I went to Brewdog in the evening for all you can eat chicken wings. I mean, no-one can say that I’m not classy? Whoppers and chicken wings? Very decadent. I’ve worked my way around most Brewdogs in the country, and indeed many Wings Wednesdays, as although it’s not the best food that the chain does, it’s sort of affordable (for them anyway) and I know I’ll eat enough.

James can eat more than I can, he’s nearly to 40 than I am (in terms of chicken wings consumed, not age), but they’re delicious, although that sauce is a little vinegary so it soon becomes quite challenging to eat them. We managed to persist for a couple of hours though, with the service being a little sluggish at first although it then picked up and extra wings came flying our way (there’s a pun there) at some pace. They were generous in letting us have two blue cheese sauces, they really something to the chicken wings, mainly by hiding the vinegar taste which is in the sauce.

We then shuffled along the road to the Leopard, which I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions is one of the best pubs in Norwich (although the dog is I know annoying more than just a few customers now), with their selection of keg and cask beers. I went for the Have Your Cake and Eat It from Three Blind Mice which was pleasant enough, but it didn’t have enough dessert taste for me to really like it and I slightly regretted getting an entire pint of it. Interesting beer though and the staff here were as friendly as ever, it’s a very laid-back pub and the beer options are well balanced.

And in a switch of drinking partner from James (who needed to go home to get over excessive chicken wing consumption) to Nathan (who was propping up another bar in another part of the city), I popped to the White Lion before we accidentally both went to the King’s Head for goodness knows how long. We had to discuss the delights of Gorleston for the big day out that we were planning, although I expect we got distracted and talked about some other unimportant thing that had annoyed us both.

I’ve noted how food and drink obsessed this blog gets when I’m back in Norwich, but readers will just have to wade through this drivel….. At least the blog marches forwards several days at a time when I’m in the heart of Norfolk life, so there’s less to read.

June 8, 2022
Thursday to Sunday : Blickling Hall, Blickling Church and Bonds Chip Shop in Aylsham

It’s quick progress (well, slightly quicker, I won’t get carried away) on this blog when I’m in Norwich, as I managed to do little of note on the Thursday, Friday or Saturday, although since I had an opportunity to go to Blickling Hall on the Sunday that seemed a marvellous idea to get the most from my National Trust membership. I’ve visited here on numerous occasions before, it’s a flagship National Trust property and I think very over-priced for non-members to go in at over £15, but there we go…..

Going through the front porch, it must be handy owning a property with this much space. Anyway, there’s a date of 1620 visible to the top-right, contemporary with the original construction of the property between 1619 and 1627 for Sir Henry Hobart, the Lord Chief Justice.

The frontage from a different angle. The volunteers at the house were pro-active, friendly and helpful, although I suspect they were low on numbers as some of the rooms were closed off. As an aside, I do wonder what the National Trust are doing with all the rooms that are closed, they surely can’t need that much office space. I’m especially disappointed at the lack of access to the former servant rooms, as these often tell some of the most interesting stories of how the property was run and how the servants lived and worked.

Located at the bottom of the stairs is what some people refer to as an original Holbein, although the National Trust say that it is a copy. The painting was at Newbattle Abbey, a former monastery turned into a residential property following the Reformation. It’s a decent copy though, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference, although I’m not entirely sure why it’s shoved down by the bottom of the stairs by the mops.

My favourite room in the property, the Great Hall, or as far as I’m concerned in terms of the naming, the library.

Any working environment is substantially improved by having so many books and I could sit here for quite some time without getting bored. I could also fit a bar billiards table in here and I might even have my own cue like other professional players that I know.

What a beautiful sight. This collection of books is of national importance and there are around 14,000 of them, mostly a legacy from the book collector Sir Richard Ellys (1688-1742), but added to over the years. There are some very early books here, including incunables from the early years of printing.

The tapestry room which would annoy me as I’d want to remove the crumples. I’m pleased that tapestries on walls has gone out of fashion over the last few hundred years.

One of the state bedrooms, more style over substance here as far as I’m concerned, but I think that’s what guest rooms are really for in country houses. This room has a fine view of the lake and it’s just a short walk from the library for any guest wanting a night-time read. I’m fascinated about what life must have been like for those with wealth here and whether they realised the enormous privilege that they had, or whether it was so part of their normality that they didn’t much think about it.

I approved of their gentle humour.

Walking around the outside of the house gives an indication of its size. The last owner of the property was Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, a man who had some fascinating roles, including the Ambassador to the United States and earlier on in his career, the Private Secretary to David Lloyd George. The property was given to the National Trust in 1940 following Kerr’s death, although it didn’t open to the public until 1962.

It started to rain after I had left the hall, so I decided against walking around the gardens which I’ve meandered around many times before. There are 55 acres of formal gardens, which feels excessive for any one family, but I won’t get involved in class based discussions here. And, in addition to that, there are thousands of acres of land around the estate, although much has been sold off over the generations.

I think this is wisteria on the wall, it all looks very suitable for the National Trust and its image.

I’ve never had chance to visit the RAF Oulton Museum at the property, located next to the cafe and there are plenty of knowledgeable volunteers here. It commemorates the existence of RAF Oulton between 1939 and 1946 which was located at the Blickling Estate and there’s some continuation of heritage as the rooms that the museum now occupies were used by air crew and wing sergeants during the Second World War.

And just at the end of the drive is St. Andrew’s Church and it’s open seemingly every day, although the constant flow of visitors from Blickling Hall must help to justify that.

The nave of St. Andrew’s Church, which was used by Blickling Hall, which was unfortunately substantially reconstructed during the Victorian period and it’s perhaps a drab and sterile affair in comparison to other churches in the county. However, it holds some charm and there are some memorials to previous residents of Blickling Hall.

Despite the Victorian renovation of the fifteenth century church, there are some survivals from the earlier building, including this older piscina.

And this chest, which is around 500 years old.

The font is medieval, although I can’t imagine that paintwork is particularly old. I’m going for the Victorians fiddling with it.

Steps down to a vault under the chancel.

The Commonwealth War Grave of LE Billington, who died at the age of 20 on 4 March 1945. Leslie Billington was on board an aircraft that crash landed at RAF Oulton on the way back from a military operation on the European mainland.

Bond’s Chips in Aylsham and I have my usual complaint that they don’t accept cards. On this occasion, I had guessed in advance about that situation and had cash, but this lack of card acceptance is now becoming increasingly rare and it’s no surprise they’re receiving negative reviews about their policy.

The service though was friendly and the sausage is better than the photo suggests, this is a proper butcher’s sausage and the batter had a pleasant taste to it. The chips were served as a suitably large portion and I was satisfied with the whole arrangement. And there was a little eat-in area which made things easier.

June 7, 2022
Wednesday : Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, the Stablehand Pub and Another Bloody Tableless Train

The standard JD Wetherspoon breakfast at Goodman’s Field in London, with the bacon seemingly heated under a candle, but everything else suitably hot and appropriately cooked. This is a handy pub given the number of power points that they have, with the venue being clean and organised. It’s not going to win a Michelin award, but breakfasts at JD Wetherspoons are reliable for being of a reasonable quality and usually having one or two obvious faults such as a hard egg or a cold hash brown.

I’ve never previously noticed this memorial located by All Hallows-by-the-Tower church, commemorating the decision to give the entire population of Malta the George Cross in April 1942. The monument was placed here in 2005 and the limestone memorial is made from stone which comes from the island of Gozo. There’s quite a lot of text on the memorial and the Maltese cross image is visible above the information panel. There were many cases of bravery amongst the islanders who stood firm against the attempted invasion by the Axis powers which became known as the Siege of Malta. As an aside, the stone probably needs cleaning, it’s much brighter in images taken a few years ago.

This is the One Millennium Bridge development, converting the former offices known as Millennium Bridge House, opened in 1988, which were used by the Old Mutual. The new development is meant to combine offices, residential and social space, which will also increase the length of the Thames Path.

This all feels a little odd, it’s the Hoop and Grapes pub at 80 Farringdon Street in London. Demolition of the buildings either side have meant that the pub is just a little exposed, and rather inevitably, it’s also just a little closed. It was nearly demolished in the 1990s, but fortunately it was saved. I visited in late 2020 as it was listed in the Good Beer Guide, and hopefully that will come to pass once again when it’s re-opened. The building is a brave survivor of demolitions on this street, adding charm and heritage to the area.

Bunhill Fields, a burial ground in Islington which was in use between 1665 and 1854, with around 125,000 burials having taken place.

Disappointingly, there’s no public access to much of the site as there’s a large fence separating the central walkway to the graves.

There’s plenty of character to the burial ground and likely numerous rats playing in all of that undergrowth which is inaccessible to humans (unless they happen to have a key).

The end of platform at Farringdon Station, where I got the underground service to Paddington. I’ll leave the history of this station to Wikipedia, but I do think of the heritage of the service at what is one of the longest operating underground services in the country, having started in 1863 as the terminus of the Metropolitan Railway.

For the second day in a row, I had a meal paid for by The Fork, this time at the Stablehand pub near Paddington, built in 1839 on the site of an old archery range. My table reservation was for 17:00 but I arrived at the pub, completely soaked due to a typhoon which was hitting the area, and the signage said drinks only until 18:00 which didn’t seem ideal. It’s a gastropub in its intentions, having recently opened at what was until 2021 the Angelus French restaurant. The welcome was immediate and authentic, with the staff member merrily giving me the table with a power supply (as in the power supply was located by the table, it wasn’t a table which electrocuted me) which also handily had a hook that I could hang my drenched coat on.

The beer was reasonable, this is the IPA from Rebellion Beer which was well-kept but not particularly exciting in terms of flavour.

The staff at the venue were friendly, pro-active and helpful, saying that they were happy to see if the kitchen could produce something easy before the food service formally opened. I asked if the cheese board was available, and after checking if cutting cheese would be OK in terms of being easy, the chefs were keen to oblige. There were though a handful of customers who came in and left when they discovered food wasn’t available, it seemed a slightly odd decision to not serve earlier.

Back to the pub though, which is food focused, but is also welcoming to those who just want drinks. They offer a British only menu, so there’s an attempt to source good quality products without the need for importing anything. The cheeses were decadent and delicious, a rich blue cheese and a creamy brie, which isn’t a cheese I usually go for, but was suitably full in flavour. The staff member was also knowledgeable, and I liked that she remembered to come over to take my main course order when the kitchen had opened fully.

The photography here doesn’t show how decent this meal was, but it’s steak and kidney pudding served with vegetables and with a side of mashed potato. I asked for extra gravy and I received an additional jug which was richer than it looks in the photo, where it gives the impression of being watery. Actually, I’m not sure I would have ordered this meal if I had seen this photo in advance, it all looks a bit insipid.

However, this is probably the best steak and kidney pie that I’ve had, with large chunks of steak which were tender and had no sections of fat on them (I’m quite fussy). There were a few small pieces of kidney, but this pie was all about the steak and the kidney was just a sideshow, which is just how I think it should be. The gravy inside the pie was rich, the steak packed with flavour and the pastry was light. I don’t usually order mashed potato as it annoys me (I get pre-annoyed far too easily), but here it was smooth and not over-packed with anything like butter or cheese. All in all, very impressive.

I had hoped for the Arctic roll for dessert, but this was unavailable, so I went for this fruit based explosion instead. My bill came in at under £50, meaning there was nothing for me to pay, so thanks to The Fork for such a suitably delightful meal. I’d recommend this pub, it was informal and comfortable, with the staff being keen to engage and also knowledgeable and attentive. The prices were moderate for the area, with the quality of all of the food and drink being high.

Certainly drier than when I went in, when the road was more like a river. After a short walk back to Paddington, I got the underground to London Liverpool Street, although unfortunately this was the week before the Crossrail service between the two stations was opening.

My initial intention has been to position to near Gatwick Airport ready for a flight to Montenegro the following day, but I had instead booked a cheap train home to Norwich. I did notice this hoarding at London Liverpool Street, at least meaning that passengers can be properly fed before their rail departures.

Liverpool Street was busy, but then again, it always seems to be busy.

I was yet again annoyed that Greater Anglia were using a train which had no tables, which caused a number of passengers some difficulty trying to position their laptops and devices. The train was busy and Greater Anglia’s obsession with using the Stansted Express carriages on this service remains a complete mystery to me. However, there seems little point in my repeating my general annoyance at this situation, with the train being on time and otherwise clean.

June 6, 2022
Monday and Tuesday : Lucy’s Chips in Norwich Before a Trip to London Including Goose Island, Craft Beer Co and Hard Rock

I’ll immediately admit to some deceit and have used a photo from a different day, but this is the delight of Lucy’s Chips at Norwich Market. For the first time, no scraps were available today, but I’ve now decided these are the best sausage and chips available in Norwich, because they use a proper butcher’s sausage and they’re competitively priced. It’s no surprise that there’s nearly always quite a long queue wrapping around their market unit.

I did have some cheap tickets to fly to Montenegro, but for various reasons, I decided not to go. However, I still had my £5 fare from Norwich to London, so I thought I’d head to the city for one night rather than not use the rail ticket.

I wasn’t at all surprised or delighted to see that Greater Anglia have shoved another Stansted Express service on the route. Well, actually, I wasn’t entirely surprised at this bloody train being put into service. With no first or catering, neither of which impact on me, this isn’t an ideal train for many customers, nor is the entire lack of tables. I don’t know why people on the Stansted Express aren’t allowed tables, but I’ve questioned that before and Greater Anglia don’t know. I’m unsure why the rail company who spent hundreds of millions on these trains isn’t sure why they don’t have tables, perhaps someone forgot. The guard on board made an announcement apologising for the train, saying that several of the usual mainline trains were currently being repaired. I have no idea why such new trains need such maintenance, but there we go. The train was clean and tidy, getting quite busy when we neared London. I did have another passenger keep talking to me during the journey, but I tried to look as busy as possible, although that didn’t much help.

The tableless train arrived into London Liverpool Street on time at least.

Instead of going to a salad bar, I got muddled up and went to Goose Island, what I consider to be the best bar in London, which I might have mentioned a few times before. This is the IWD2022, a dank and hazy DNEIPA which was fruity, refreshing and beautifully decadent. Brewed on the premises and it’s always a delight to visit this marvellous location.

This is Worship Street where a girder bridge is still in place with trains underneath the road sweeping into London Liverpool Street station. I mention this as I have managed to walk by this many times and not notice it was there. Behind me in the photo there was not that long ago a series of railway tracks going into Broad Street railway station, which was one of the countless casualties of the post-war under-funding and poor management of the network. Even Beeching didn’t want it demolished, but British Railways demolished the station and flogged the land off anyway. Today, they’ve have to build Crossrail underneath the new developments, so Broad Street has come back in some form at least.

Clicking on the image makes it larger, and I was standing where it says Worship Street Junction on the left-hand side map. Look at all the railway!

I had decided to walk to Oxford Street, which is about an hour’s walk from Goose Island, since it was a pleasant day and I’m always keen on urban walking. This is Farringdon’s new Crossrail station, although this central section of the Elizabeth Line hadn’t opened when I was in the city, I was one week to early for that. I’ve pinched Crossrail’s press release below for information about this station:

“Farringdon station will be one of the busiest in the UK, connecting with Thameslink and the London Underground to provide links with outer London, the home counties, the City, Canary Wharf and three of London’s five airports. The goldsmiths, watchmakers, ironmongers and blacksmiths of Farringdon, Clerkenwell and Smithfields and the Brutalist architecture of the nearby Barbican Centre provide the context for the design of the new Farringdon station. Two new ticket halls are connected by underground mined platforms. The western end located on the corner of Farringdon Road and Cowcross Street will provide access to and from the Thameslink ticket hall.

The eastern end is bound by Charterhouse Street, Lindsey Street and Long Lane. This major transport interchange site has had to fit within a complex infrastructure network up to 25 metres below ground. The engineering and design challenges here have driven tailored design solutions such as lifts that move on a slope rather than the standard vertical movement. In the eastern ticket hall, the design references the Barbican centre and the design of heavy metal sliding-screen gates has been derived from a barcode for ‘Farringdon’. In the western ticket hall influence is drawn from the nearby diamond and jewellery quarter. A material palette comprising champagne coloured stainless steel cladding and etched glass panels unify design at both ticket halls.”

I’m a big advocate for Crossrail, this will make connections across London much quicker. Even though I try and walk across London as much as I can, this does make things easier and the excellent accessibility for those with disabilities is a real positive as well.

The once bustling site of Smithfields market, which is still there in part, but most of the site is moving location. Much of this will be the Museum of London in a few years, they’re moving from their current location.

I thought I’d have a quick mid-walk rest and charge my devices up, this is the Sir John Oldcastle pub in Farringdon, operated by JD Wetherspoons. I didn’t have any issues here, friendly staff, well-kept and keenly priced beer with the pub being clean and organised. And there were plenty of power outlets as well.

I had a look at some of the pub’s reviews, and it’s towards the higher end of ratings for the chain, with this one being helpful to me.

“If you want to sit and read a paper or a book, this is the place for you. If however, you want to have a laugh and giggle with friends, go to the castle pub instead. They could do with a manger that will let a group of friends meet up and not kick them out before most of them have finished their first drink.”

I can imagine what “have a laugh and giggle” means in terms of the disruption to others, so this reassures me about the pub’s management.

Or a 1/5 review as:

“We bought a cake from outside to share as it was my friend birthday”

and they were annoyed the pub wouldn’t let them.

And a 1/5 review:

“I came with a coffe cup, ok, I agree it’s not permitted, just left it on the table”

They came with their own coffee cup for the unlimited refills?

Anyway, I digress.

I was fascinated by this missing building and I’m still none the wiser. It’s been like that for at least two decades and there was once a building there, so quite what happened to it, I have no idea. And I’ve never said that this blog actually answers questions and problems….

Tzatziki Sour from Orbit Beers, which my friend Nathan has mentioned more times than I’ve mentioned crisps in my life, but it’s a very good beer.

And the This is Not a Soft Drink from Pressure Drop Brewing from Tottenham, who have a taproom that I want to visit. They occasionally have some beers in Goose Island, I had the Escape Pod Cherry Edition last year from the brewery, one of the most decadent and rich imperial stouts that I’ve had. This was a juicy raspberry and yuzu sour, refreshing although lacking a little something. And, no, I don’t really know what an yuzu tastes like, I think it’s lemony.

Downstairs in Craft Beer Co in what I considered was a suitably artistic photo.

The Whippet Bench at Centre Point which was designed as a seat, although this is rather more style over substance. It was created for the London Festival of Architecture and its relevance here is the architects of the public space wanted people to think about how dogs live in the moment.

The flags at Oxford Street, and also on Regent Street, have been controversial because some people have compared them to Nuremberg and the Nazi Party. Having been in Nuremberg a couple of weeks ago, it’s hard not to note the similarities and I assume this was considered, but at some point perhaps countries have to move on from what happened 80 years ago with a entirely different flag. Given they’re only there to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee which absolutely has to be marked in many different ways, it is perhaps going too far to say that they’re offensive. But I won’t go down the rabbit-hole of politics beyond that.

Thanks to TheFork, who I still refuse to praise for their anti single diner policy, who funded this thanks to their numerous offers. I’d add I might not praise them, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to enthusiastically join in with their deals. Anyway, this is the Hard Rock cafe on Oxford Street, which I’ve written about numerous times, mainly because of previous generosity from TheFork. Service here is nearly always impeccable, and it was thus once again. Although I’d note that they have an odd way of sitting diners next to each other rather than putting spaces between them, which isn’t an ideal situation. I was left with the neighbouring table asking me to explain the British currency, or more specifically, what the coins meant. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone disappointed that the 2p isn’t £2 as they had a lot of them and were about to pay for their coffee with them.

The “One Night in Bangkok Spicy Shrimp” weren’t cheap at £14.75 (thank goodness this wasn’t my money) but this sort of dish is often exciting in the United States in terms of the flavours. It was satisfactory here, but the outside was more hard than crispy.

I had a little dilemma here of trying to unstick the sticky sauce from the camera whilst smoke was sizzling from the chicken fajitas, so the photography is bloody dreadful. I’ve got a new camera now though, perhaps the imagery will improve…. Anyway, this was suitably delicious as ever, although four wraps isn’t enough to fit that much food in. Despite now being aged over 14 years old, I still get excited seeing food sizzling as it’s brought to the table. I should probably get out more to be honest.

As part of the decor, clothing worn by Phil Collins in 1982. I can imagine a political restaurant, perhaps with a suit worn by Jacob Rees-Mogg in 1987 being on the wall. On second thoughts, maybe not.

I thought I’d walk through Hyde Park to get to Hyde Park Corner underground, walking past the remnants of the Marble Arch Mound or whatever it was called. This is a cycle and pedestrian lane, although it wasn’t entirely clear to me (or anyone else actually) which was which.

A simple, albeit long, journey on the Piccadilly Line to Hounslow West. It’s possible to do the journey to Heathrow by Crossrail now, but it’s much more expensive than using the Underground, something that they’re not making at all clear.

And safely at the Ibis Heathrow with the two drinks proffered to me. I was only at Heathrow as this is where the cheapest hotel in London was, it was nothing to do with the flight I had originally intended to get, which was at Gatwick. It was good to be back in London, this is becoming increasingly rare given how much the hotels are now costing in the city.

June 1, 2022
Sunday : Rodent Wriggle LDWA Challenge Event

There was excitement in the air on Sunday 8 May 2022, as Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA had a new challenge event, the Rodent Wriggle. It takes its name as the event meanders around the River Rat, with three different distances available for entrants which were 13, 23 and 31 miles. We had around 180 people taking part across the different lengths, with the longest one being 50km in honour of the LDWA being 50 this year. The shorter distance was to encourage some people to enter who wanted to experience how the event worked, and we were pleased by their feedback.

The calm before the storm. We arrived early at around 06:30 and it does feel odd being in such a quiet location in the knowledge that it will be absolutely packed within an hour or so with excited entrants getting a hot drink and biscuit before their adventure begins.

I had a little look around the village hill, whilst Richard was setting up. It’s important someone takes charge of proceedings and Richard was very useful support during the day when I was very busy.

A map of the three different distances. For anyone interested in the exact routes, the GPX files and the route descriptions are at https://ldwa.org.uk/NorfolkAndSuffolk/W/1409/n-s-events.html.

All ready in the technology corner.

Waiting for the off. I have to mention here that I was at the registration desk all day there aren’t photos from me from around the event, and I was so rushed off my feet there aren’t that many from the hall either.

There’s a generous amount of food and drink available throughout the event at numerous checkpoints, all staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. The HQ seemed to acquire a heap of bananas and not many crisps, but I’m pleased to say that they did make their way to the end eventually.

Incidentally, I knew that there were crisps at a checkpoint as Peter put this on the organiser’s WhatsApp group to annoy me….

The meal for those completing the event was a jacket potato with a choice of toppings, along with a dessert option as well. I selflessly volunteered to test the first jacket potato in the morning that was put in to check the oven was working, which proved to be a handy breakfast to sustain me through to lunch. Incidentally, as the group’s official food tester, I don’t mind checking whether everything is up to standard (terms and conditions apply here, there are some things that I don’t bother testing, such as bananas).

Simon H (who took this photo) managed to professionally deal with the Rattlesden village fete rubber duck race which was on the route of the event, but his swift actions prevented a pile-up of tourists and walkers. That seemed to be the only little unexpected organisational challenge that we experienced, but we had plenty of highly trained marshals on the ground ready to deal with any other issues such as this.

At the end of the event, this is Susanna taking control of the camera taking photos of the very brave entrants from Hike Norfolk.

Like watching an artist at work with her ordering about 🙂 Here are Susan, Heather, Ian, Maggie and Graham, with Clive about to appear on the scene. They all completed the 23 mile distance, but I have to note the even more exceptional bravery from Sarah, Andy and Mel, who completed the 31 miles. I suspect Sarah will be in with a shot of winning the “bravest walker of the year” trophy at the Hike Norfolk Christmas meal, a very prestigious honour that is currently held by me (did I mention I walked 100 miles in 2021?). But, I’d better add that it’s all about enjoying the day, it’s not about the distance walked or the speed, it’s all a personal challenge (although walking 100 miles is particularly brave).

Back in and I know how delighted the organisers were with the feedback, and I’m hopeful that the event will be repeated given what entrants told us about their positive experiences of the event. Those who walked the longer distance got to see ten different churches, a really quite marvellous walk to see that much heritage. Some of the entrants mentioned to me that they’d found time to have a quick look around them all, or at least the churchyards, I was delighted to hear that. We also ensured that there weren’t too many hills, they can go off to South Wales if they want to climb mountains.

And everyone who completes the event gets a certificate as a permanent reminder of their brave adventure in Suffolk. Thanks of course to all of the volunteer marshals at the Rodent Wriggle, it wouldn’t have been possible to hold it without their help. But particular mention to Nicolas and Simon, who organised the entire event and planned the route, which is no small achievement. And Richard, who is getting ever better at the registration desk, and I think I’m ready to let him have more responsibilities at the next event, which will include moving the certificates from the printer to the tables.

For anyone interested in challenge events, give them a go, they’re a marvellous day out for not much money. Food and drink is provided, along with a route description and GPX, with numerous checkpoints along the way. We didn’t have any issues with anyone getting lost or going off-course, but there is back-up available if anyone needs help along the way. We have some shorter distances for those who want to get started and this is absolutely not a race, it’s just about enjoying the countryside. For those who want to walk with others, there’s lots of opportunities for that on the day, so it can be as social (or not) as an individual would like. More information about the LDWA is available at http://www.ldwa.org.uk/.

May 30, 2022
Saturday : Gem of Norwich

Expect a flurry of blog posts this week, as I bring everything back up-to-date…. After my successful weekend in Wales zip-lining and paddle boarding with my friend Liam, I need to rush forwards to get that inspirational content on-line. And I don’t care if others don’t think it’s inspirational, I do and I’ll get it written as soon as possible.

After a quiet day, Saturday was the evening of the Hike Norfolk meal out, and we were delighted to see Gordon appear, he’s someone more often seen at socials than walking, but men of money are often like that. Gem is a Turkish restaurant in Norwich which is located opposite the railway station and in the former building operated by Prezzo. It’s an odd building to be used as a restaurant, with a minimal reception and waiting area, alongside poor acoustics and difficult areas for staff to see. However, the new operators have built themselves a formidable reputation and their reviews are good, with friends having gone telling me that the food is excellent. Although the emphasis of the restaurant is on Turkish food, there’s also some Greek and Kurdish options to add to the mix. As an aside, they opened I recall just before the first lockdown, so it must have been a challenging couple of years for them having to work through the enforced opening and closures.

In terms of the ambience, it’s loud, but that is apparently a common situation here. By the staff’s admission, there were a very loud table, although they only admitted that after the group had gone, but it did mean that the restaurant had quite a vibrant feel to it during the evening. For some people that sounds marvellous, although I rarely like vibrant venues, I like peace and calm.

The service was on-point and timely, with the team members being conversational, friendly and knowledgeable. Susanna and I would have gone for the set menus, but the entire table needs to order from those and so we thought that’d potentially come back another day for those. In terms of beer selection, that’s poor, but not perhaps unexpected, but the prices for them were off the scale and were more expensive than some central London venues. The restaurant also does the thing that CAMRA disapprove of and charge far proportionally more for a half than a pint. Anyway, that’s a comment that is a little unfair as they don’t portray themselves as a bar or beer restaurant, so I can’t much say it’s a negative about the venue. Although, I decided to just order tap water.

The service time was reasonable given how busy the venue was, but the restaurant was hot and they could perhaps do with some air conditioning here. I liked the engagement from the team members as well, they were trying their best to build up a rapport with customers, it’s clear customer service is important to them. I can’t say that we had any problems during the service, but I imagine that they would have been resolved politely and efficiently if we had.

I went for the main of chicken shish, large pieces of chicken which were cooked over a hot charcoal grill and so were tender on the inside and had a firm exterior. The rice was well cooked and the salad seemed fresh, with everything tasting of a good quality. I did have a coffee after the meal, which took far too long to arrive, although they did apologise on three occasions about that (they were pro-active apologies, I didn’t make three complaints).

As a venue, I thought that it was professionally run, it can’t be easy getting this volume of food out in a busy restaurant on a Saturday evening. They were fully booked which shows just how popular the restaurant has become, with nearly no negative on-line reviews. Reading through those reviews, there were a couple of annoyed people that they couldn’t change the items in the set menus, but it is clearly stated that this is the restaurant’s policy and it doesn’t seem unreasonable to have that policy. The pricing at the restaurant is a little towards the higher end of the scale, but they have the customer service and food quality to back that up. A vibrant venue on a Saturday night isn’t really something they can do a great deal about (other than by becoming unpopular), but it was particularly noisy which wasn’t entirely ideal. But, all still recommended.

Anyway, I’m of course not one to break any confidences about the Hike Norfolk meal discussion, other than to mention Gordon running off to hide in the toilet to avoid a situation, but I couldn’t possibly write any more than that and I’m sure it’ll be mentioned again at the Christmas meal.

May 30, 2022
Friday : Only a Little Bit More than Nothing in Norwich

Here’s a way of getting through the days quite quickly on this blog, stay in Norwich and don’t quite do anything of much interest. But it seems only right to comments on Simon’s visit to Norwich (this is the Simon of 100 fame), to reward me for my completing the LDWA 100 in 2021. Did I mention that I walked 100 miles in May 2021?

I forgot to take many photos other than of beer on this evening, but that’s the handy thing about Untappd (note my 2,000 badges that I achieved yesterday…..), I rarely forget photos of beer. On which subject, this was my favourite beer in the Artichoke where we started proceedings, the DIPA#2 from the GlassHouse Beer Co from Birmingham. This is the third beer that I’ve had from this brewery over the years, and they’ve all been delightful.

Then a quick visit to the Leopard, definitely one of the best pubs in the city, for the Knickerbocker pale ale, with flavours of strawberry, raspberry and cherry ice cream. Now, that’s an innovative beer, certainly a challenge for those drinkers (who I won’t name) who don’t like beer with flavour or taste. It wasn’t quite as rich as I would have liked, but still an enjoyable beer.

Then to the Plasterers, with this being the rich and decadent Imperial Stout Muda, from Puhaste Brewery in Estonia. And the Wotsits complemented it beautifully. I think Simon was by this point suitably impressed with the pubs available in the north part of Norwich City Centre.

The King’s Head was calling for the last pub of the night. I went for Mini Cheddars with the Nightlight Mild from Elmtree Beers, which was not perhaps particularly notable, but it was well-kept.

Emma, eager to hear from the gossip about Bev in Barcelona, as we all walked the Boudicca Way a few years ago, although Emma has perhaps sensibly retired from walking now. Simon couldn’t quite manage an entire night of drinking, but as he admitted, he’s from the north, and I didn’t say anything when he walked back to this hotel after a couple of hours. However, lovely to be back in Norwich, a reminder of just how many decent pubs we have in the city, as well as to see some people that I haven’t seen for some time.

That was certainly one of the quickest blog posts that I’ve written in recent weeks as well, there’s a lot to be said for staying in Norwich every now and then to catch up.

May 25, 2022
Monday to Thursday : Not Much of Anything

I had been getting a little behind with my blog, but I’m pleased to report for purists who dislike gaps that I’m able to catch up in one go by a few days as I was in Norwich for most of the week and have little of interest to report. That means, nothing for me to write about from the Monday to Thursday, other than my trekking up Gas Hill (Mountain) to go and vote.

May 24, 2022
Sunday : Hike Norfolk Canal Walk and Pizza at Franco Manca

The day started with breakfast at the Heathrow T5 Holiday Inn Express in what is a busy airport hotel and I think I took this photo at the quietest possible moment. This is all high volume turnover food and drink, but it’s all brand standard and what I expected from the chain. I like airport hotels for numerous reasons, and not just because it often means that I’m going away, but because there are people of different nationalities talking either about their excitement for going on a trip or talking about the one that they’ve been on. There were plenty of Americans in this hotel, not perhaps surprising given it’s an IHG property.

The bacon was odd, one side was slightly burnt and the other side was only just cooked, but it was very moreish and I think I rather overdid them and promptly got a salt overdose. That banana isn’t mine, Ross went for that. I didn’t say anything though. Given that the breakfast was included in the room rate, I thought that it was all quite reasonable, I did enjoy the bacon and sausages.

I would have usually taken this photo the previous evening, but it was a bit dark then…. The hotel is unlikely to win any design awards for its exterior, but the staff were helpful and I had no complaints about the stay.

It was a bus to Hounslow West (fortunately there’s a bus stop a short distance away from the hotel), which took longer than I had anticipated, the Bath Road certainly has a lot of stops. Ross got off at Holborn to change to the Central Line to go back home, whereas I had the Hike Norfolk walking day which meant that I stayed on the Piccadilly Line until King’s Cross.

After getting a quick free coffee, I started to walk along the Regent’s Canal from the King’s Cross area to meet the others. I didn’t rush, as the further I walked then the further I had to walk back and I had a very heavy bag after a few weeks away. Indeed, I had quite of little sit downs whilst letting the others walk towards me.

These gas holders at King’s Cross were modernised to be used as housing, this shows real innovation and respect for the local environment and its heritage. The one in Norwich was just pulled down in what I considered to be an appalling decision, but there we go. Mind you, although the properties are properly really lovely to live in, the prices start at £725,000 and there are sizeable annual service charges, so I think I’ll stay living in Norwich.

I could hear them coming (this is a video, if it doesn’t auto-play, then click on the image) as it’s fair to say that there are some loud members of the group. As I am the sole of discretion, I won’t mention any names. The walk was led by the formidable Steve along the route of the Regent’s Canal, which is 8.6 miles long and goes from Paddington in the west to the Limehouse Basin in the east. For my loyal followers, I reccied some of this walk with Steve and Bev a few weeks ago.

Dancing on graves isn’t usually acceptable behaviour, but it is here in Joseph Grimaldi Park. We diverted here because I knew of its existence, and I’ve written about it before.

The canal walk in mid-flow.

There were lots of opportunities for photos whilst walking.

A lock and I do enjoy watching boats navigate through these, always slightly relieved it’s not me that has to be in charge of that process. It looks quite complex and I’m not sure that I’d find a holiday on a boat relaxing if I had to do this more than once. I don’t think that I’m a born mariner though.

The lovely Sarah posing for photos. She was bravely walking the Rodent Wriggle the following week and was just a little nervous, but I did my best to offer helpful advice (did I mention that I’ve walked the LDWA 100?) and I’m pleased that I’m sure that I was useful as she completed it.

I went to the pub as I had a heavy bag and couldn’t be bothered walking any further (we had finished the Regent’s Canal early so Steve thought of another short walk he could lead), well, and I love pubs. This is the Craft Beer Co outlet at Limehouse, which again, I’ve written about before. The music was setting up and I helped pass over a couple of wires, which I think nearly defines me as a roadie (although perhaps I’ve rather under-estimated what they actually do).

I decided to leave at 16:00 with no disrespect to the musicians, but I’m not big on live music in pubs.

After a quick ride on the DLR and then a 15 minute walk (which I rushed in case the others got food before I got there), I caught up with the rest of the group in central London as they were looking for food options and they had chosen Franco Manca, partly because nowhere else was serving food. I had heard of this chain, which has about 60 outlets in the UK, but never visited and so thought this was an interesting choice.

The pizza was reasonably priced and suitably decadent, I was surprised and delighted. Mine was served first, so I had additional reason to like this restaurant. I went for the lightly smoked beechwood spicy salami with organic tomatoes, caramelised red onions and homemade chilli oil. Indeed, I’m making myself hungry two weeks on just thinking about that. I’d come here again, with the pizzas costing under £10 which is very reasonable for central London.

A successful meal I’d say (I didn’t hear any complaints), which meant that we just had a short walk back to London Liverpool Street railway station. They also had numerous charging points, which was handy to reinvigorate my numerous devices.

Steve posing at Liverpool Street, where we had a suitable rest whilst waiting for the train. I had been away for some time, including trips to Nuremberg and Barcelona, as well as a hike up a Welsh mountain on a challenge event, so I was ready to return home.

Boarding the train home, which was suitably uneventful other than for Andy accidentally punching someone, but I’m pleased to say that as it was an accident he wasn’t arrested by British Transport Police. I didn’t mind too much arriving back on time, as usually I look forwards to claiming the Delay Repay, but there was no delay on this service. And, as I’ve moaned about before when they put the bloody Stansted Express service on, I’m pleased to report there were tables and we had an appropriate train.

With that, it was good to be home and thanks to Steve for a really rather lovely day in London.

May 24, 2022
Saturday : Leaving Bev, the Barcelona Airport Lounge, BA into Heathrow and Bus to Hotel

Saturday was the day that we were all returning back to the UK, Bev on Ryanair as she likes the jeopardy, with Ross and I departing with British Airways a little later on during the day. Without a huge desire to traipse heavy bags around for the day, we thought that we’d walk slowly around the city and then get onto the Metro to the airport. And that day started with a delicious goat’s cheese roll with doughnut and coffee at Cafe Bazar, with the advantage of people watching as the cafe windows overlooked the busy nearby market. I can’t recall a city with so many cafes, this was my sort of city….

It was a bit hot, but these narrow streets do a very decent job of shading walkers from the overheat sun pounding down on them.

Pub one and needs must… This was a sheltered terrace so that I wasn’t sitting in the sun itself, but it allowed Bev to feel free in the outdoors. We pondered whether we might have been better with the pub next door as their food looked quite exciting, but I got beer of sorts and that sufficed me. I know my loyal readers (or reader might be nearer the mark) might comment that this sounds very relaxed of me, but I had already accepted I wouldn’t be getting craft beer on this day.

Free olives, I was sold on this pub after that.

Bev, busy looking at the football scores, she was a nightmare doing that, always wanting to see how her favourite teams were getting on and getting the latest news on the transfer markets.

After the pub we had a little walk through the nearby park, which offered views over the city.

The second pub and more free olives. Bev ordered some dumplings as well, Ross gave up on beer and I just had to tolerate what they had. Such a trooper….

I’m glad I have a new phone now, as my old one didn’t produce the quality of the photos I’d like (obviously it can’t possibly be my fault that this photo is blurred). This was us waving goodbye to Bev as she was departing from a different terminal. I’m pleased to report that she got back safely with Ryanair and National Express, but that’s the end of Bev’s story on this blog. She was marvellous company as usual, glad that she’s out and about again.

That meant just one more stop on the Metro to get to Terminal 1, where we were departing from. As I mentioned earlier on in the week, I was impressed with the Metro system, it was clean, reliable and we rarely had to wait for more than a couple of minutes. Other than when Bev posted her ticket into the machine itself, we had no issues with the tickets either.

Safely at the airport with its grand sweeping spaces which felt rather under-used. Think of the number of craft beer bars that they could fit in there.

Ross wanted to go to Burger King, it says one minute but it took us about half an hour to find the bloody thing.

Not that I’ve ever tried smoking, and it’s not exactly likely I ever will, but this is a good idea for an airport, having an external outdoors area which is embedded within the airside section of the building. Smokers can then do what they want in this area, away from sensible non-smokers.

The lounge was easier to find than Burger King and we were welcomed in by a friendly member of staff and it’s fair to say that I was surprised at just how large it was. There were also plenty of power points which transpired to be useful.

More of the spacious lounge and I noticed that the staff were obsessively cleaning, always reassuring.

The food and drinks area, with a range of high and low seating. I prefer high seating and so we perched about three metres from the food for about three hours. What a time to be alive….

Cold meats and cheeses, some of my favourite food and quite a lot of this disappeared quite quickly as I needed to test its quality on numerous occasions.

Light bites. Ross had already gone to Burger King as the reviews of the lounge that we had already read didn’t make it sound very decadent, but I’m glad I didn’t get anything as I was surprised and delighted with the food options here. I took the risk that food would be available as I was hungry (again) and the lounge didn’t let me down.

There was a selection of pre-made rolls, or customers could make their own.

Pastries and biscuits.

It wasn’t busy at this time in the late afternoon, but it got much busier later on, but it was never going to be anywhere near capacity. This is the non-Schengen lounge, there’s another one for those boarding Schengen flights. I won’t mention that I’m quite jealous of them, as that might suggest how much I quite like the border-free arrangement of most of the EU.

They had three different beers which at least gave me some variety, although there was nothing that surprised and delighted me in that regard. There were plenty of different soft drinks though, so no shortage of choice and there were some spirit options as well.

The hot food only came out a little later on in the day, I’m not entirely sure why they couldn’t have been more generous with the hours that this was served. The portions were small, but the food had a depth of taste, and it was easy to just get another portion. This was the chicken curry, which wasn’t overly hot in terms of spice, but the chicken was tender and flavourful. The pasta was perhaps a little bland though.

Off we go, we were the 19:10 flight to London Heathrow.

This isn’t the plane we were getting, but I liked the view out of the window over the tarmac. The airport itself was spacious with plenty of seating and nowhere felt particularly busy, although it was clearly a well-used terminal.

The boarding gate and everything was neat and organised here, with plenty of seating. There was boarding by group number, which meant we could get on to board early on, giving me sufficient space to put my bag over my seat. I mention this as one group of three people put their bags in the overheads by the exit row seat before walking about twenty rows back, which gave the crew later on at the empty gaps for bags were at the back of the aircraft. I’m not sure why passengers do this, they’re in danger of the crew moving the bags into the hold if no-one in the vicinity identifies them as theirs.

Our aircraft, and again I’m writing this too far after the event to work out what the registration number was to see if I’d flown on this before. A pointless hobby of mine I accept, but it occupies me for a few minutes.

Boarding the aircraft, with the crew being friendly and personable. I wore my mask out of habit on the aircraft and only noticed mid-way through the flight that nearly no-one else was, namely because they weren’t required. It occurred to me that unless there’s another outbreak then this might have been the last time that I had to wear a face mask, so that’s the end of an era. Or, at least, I hope it’s the end of an era.

I had an exit row seat and there was no-one else in the row. Given that, during the flight I went to find Ross who was stuck at a middle seat somewhere near the back and suggested he moved forwards, which he did.

The usual snack on-board, so I can’t write anything different to what I usually do, which is it’s basic but I appreciate having something provided. Perhaps British Airways could though at some point rotate the snacks, as those customers who fly weekly deserve a little change. Maybe they could offer Hula Hoops, or something just that bit more decadent such as Roast Beef Monster Munch.

We sailed through security into T5 without any delays, always a relief when getting late at night. It was a quick walk to the bus stop at T5 to get the first of our two buses.

Waiting at the bus stop for the second bus to get us to the hotel and this is the Longford Pump, a Victorian water pump.

The accommodation situation wasn’t ideal, but the cheapest hotel in the area was the Holiday Inn Express and Ross and I can’t afford the luxury of the Sofitel that Richard always goes for. We got to the hotel just before midnight and I, as usual, had worried that they would have given our rooms away, but my concern was unnecessary. Although, that reminds me, they didn’t bother to reply to my email saying we’d be arriving late, so I’m now post-annoyed as I had forgotten I had sent that. Our hotel was the Holiday Inn Express T5, although it’s not hugely convenient for T5 if I’m being honest, as it requires two buses or taking the over-priced Hoppa Bus which I haven’t used for the best part of a decade.

I’ll take this opportunity to write a little about Barcelona, although I’ve alluded already to my thoughts about this rather really marvellous Spanish city. I was very much of the opinion that this was a city at ease with itself, as although Barcelona has problems with so much accommodation turned into holiday lets, the heart remains. The markets are vibrant, there are endless cafes, the food is of a decent quality, the people were friendly and the streets were clean. The beach area contrasted with the bustling city centre, the suburbs maintained their own identity and last, but definitely not least, there was decadent craft beer. I look forwards to going back, this was a city that felt on-trend, modern and well-run, I liked and enjoyed it very much. And thanks to Ross and Bev for keeping me company.

May 24, 2022