Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Surrey

Bar Billiards – Inter-Counties 4-Pin 2025 in Surrey

Nathan had one of his good ideas that a group of bar billiards players should go to the 3rd Inter-County 4-pin bar billiards challenge. He collected some of the best Norwich players and as a tactical masterstroke I also invited myself to the event. Suffolk couldn’t make the event, so there were five teams in the competition with some experienced and quality players. Also, it was an honour to know that one person outside of Norwich (who are mostly bored hearing about this blog) knew about this blog 🙂

The venue was held at the Inn on the Green in Ockley. We’d gone down the night before and I’ll finish the write-up of those pubs soon enough. Nathan and I also thought it was a marvellous idea to see how many underground stations we could name at 03:15, but I’ve never been convinced that we’re very sensible if I’m honest.

Firstly, let’s deal with the beers. There were a few keg and cask choices, perhaps the best was the reliable Steady Rolling Man from DEYA.

And Guinness, it’s good to have a energy drink in the afternoon.

Before I get to the bar billiards, let’s deal with the most important element, which was lunch. Others had their meals in the evening, but I couldn’t be waiting for that long and so I went for the sausages and chips at lunch. Decadent, rich and meaty.

OK, right, food and drink out of the way.

My two teammates, Nathan and Fraser, we were Norfolk ‘A’. The other Norwich team had Pete, Zak and Oscar on, playing as Norfolk ‘B’. Nathan agreed to sacrifice doing very well by having me on the team which was very honourable of him. Norfolk ‘B’ managed to arrive at the event late, but Norfolk ‘A’ were very conscientious and punctual.

Nathan excitedly waiting for the balls to drop.

And Nathan in action. It’s like looking at a young John Higgins.

The prizes were on show all day to tempt us. This was kind as there was no entrance charge for the event, the organisers were very generous.

The final game which Nathan stormed. There will be some videos going up on YouTube as Pete had cameras going on both the tables which were used in the competition.

And here are the final results. I was slightly surprised to do this well (I did think that I’d lose every match which has been known), although my first match was against Oscar “I’m better at coaching than playing” Gerdes so that was an easy victory. In fairness, he beat me when we happened to play again, which transpired to be his own victory of the day. I think he exhausted himself with the second battle against me.

Nathan did the best out of all the Norwich players, but he secretly knew that he would although he was disappointed that he didn’t average 2,000 points in each game. Fraser had bought two brownies to eat after winning a match, but he just had to eat the second one at the end of the day. His average score was higher than mine though….

So, what this meant was that Norfolk ‘A’ managed to come third…. This surprised and delighted our team. I’m not saying that Fraser didn’t love his trophy, but Nathan and I were positively clinging onto ours on the journey home so we could pretend we’re really good at this (actually, Fraser was driving, so it was probably best that he wasn’t clinging onto his trophy). I definitely heard a yelp of genuine pain when Nathan briefly couldn’t find his trophy.

After all the games, here was the award ceremony with Oscar still buzzing with the excitement of it all. He’s thinking of putting his fifth place award up in his pub. I was surprised that the venue didn’t give Oscar an award for finishing a keg of Steady Rolling Man on his own, but perhaps next year.

Oscar collecting the awards for his team as they’d cleared off home. Zak had performed brilliantly during the day despite being, er, tired.

Oscar took over the videoing after Pete had gone home. Oscar had just had a half hour conversation whilst in the venue’s conservatory which did a marvellous job of echoing the noise around the pub so that at least one of the two tables was shaking.

The six Norwich players. So very brave, especially for Pete who had a very painful handshake when his finger nearly fell off. Zak is standing at the back as he needed to be propped up.

The Birchanger stop on the way home as Oscar was craving KFC. We probably can’t go back to these services since he managed to get the napkin container stuck on his hand, but Fraser, Nathan and I didn’t say anything in case we got some free chicken from him in the car. I’m pleased to say that we did. Thanks to Fraser for his very professional driving, even though he’s been put off going to Leicester for ever.

This was a rather lovely weekend and the plan is to go back next year assuming that we’re actually invited back. Everyone was very friendly, the food and drink was excellent and Nathan and I want another trophy for our new trophy cabinets we’re building this week now that we’ve got something to put in them.

Very many thanks to the organisers and all of the other players, but big thanks to Nathan for planning this!

September 22, 2025
Redhill – Garibaldi (Good Beer Guide)

The Garibaldi is a Good Beer Guide listed community pub located on Mill Street in Redhill, with a bit of a walk up a hill required to get there.

What’s on at the pub and a few copies of the Good Beer Guides. This is a small Victorian pub and it was nearly demolished a few years ago, but the community took it on and have been running it on a not-for-profit basis. They have a large garden area which has views over the local area, which also gives them something of a boost in terms of the seating numbers given that they don’t have a vast number inside. The pub likely takes its name from Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary who came to the UK on a few occasions and seems to have inspired quite a few people to name pubs after him.

There were four real ales available, mainly local options. The service was warm and friendly, with the pub being moderately busy when I visited albeit with one quite raucous group in.

There were also a few craft keg beer options.

I stuck with the real ale and my first half was the Surrey session bitter from Pilgrim Brewery, a well-kept, light, clean and rounded beer with a slight biscuit taste.

My second half was the Shere Drop from Surrey Hills Brewery, which was clean, light and had a slight fruit edge.

This is a well-reviewed pub online and it does have a rather welcoming community feel to it, something perhaps evident by their meat raffle. Since 2017, it has been run as a community project on a lease from the amenable owner, but they’re now trying to buy the freehold to ensure the venue’s long-term viability and the MP, Rebecca Paul, mentioned the purchase of the pub in the House of Commons. It might not be the most central of pubs in the town, but it’s worth a walk up the hill to visit.

August 18, 2025
Redhill – Garland Pub

In trying to deal with this extreme heat, I decided that I would seek solace in the pub.

The pub is tied to Harvey’s, which might be obvious from this beer selection, but it was positive to see a choice of different real ales as well as numerous flavours of Tayto crisps. The service was friendly, engaging and warm, so the environment felt welcoming and a place that I might want to actually spend some time.

The pub had a clean and inviting interior. CAMRA notes that it was built as a Victorian corner pub in 1865 and was known as the Anchor until Harvey’s Brewery purchased it in 1992. The pub has been in previous Good Beer Guides, but it seems to have fallen out in recent years, although this is more likely just because there’s strong competition in the area.

Oooh, a bar billiards table. Hopefully I’ll get to play on it one day, I think Surrey has quite an active league going on.

This was my first drink….. There’s a lot to be said for water with ice in a heatwave.

This is the Forward’s Choice from Harvey’s Brewery and it was on the turn. In fairness, I could have taken it back and informed them, but I was too hot and tired to do very much about the situation so I’ll accept that one is my responsibility as these things happen.

The Prince of Denmark from Harvey’s Brewery and this was much better, with flavours of chocolate and liquorice, with the taste being rich and very slightly boozy.

I liked this pub, it had an informal feel to it and a decent selection of beers from Harvey’s, which I don’t get to see much in East Anglia. I like the idea of playing bar billiards here and the whole environment felt comfortable and inviting. I won’t hold the beer on the turn against them as I didn’t tell them and it’s hot and these things happen. It just means I’ll have to come again to try the venue again.

August 12, 2025
Reigate – Reigate Tunnel

Whilst other people are going on fancy holidays around the world, enjoying decadent dining and lying by swimming pools with craft beer, I decided to visit what might be the oldest road tunnel in Europe. It was originally opened in 1823 when there was a toll of 6 old pence per coach, but they removed the toll in 1858 and pedestrians were never charged for using it, a decision that I applaud.

This seems a sensible name for the road. Its construction was needed as the town is on a hill that was proving challenging for the road traffic of the time, namely horses, and there were fears that the developing settlement of Redhill might steal their trade. There’s perhaps a slight irony that the railway line then promptly went straight through Redhill rather than Reigate, which might not have entirely delighted the denizens of the town.

It’s clear from this 1880s map why they decided to make this direct tunnel through to the town centre. In the early twentieth century, the council started to buy up properties so that they could widen the road, but then after doing so, they decided not to widen the road.

The road was made one way in the 1930s and then pedestrianised in the 1970s.

They’ve currently doing some work on the structure.

Inside the tunnel. There were originally vaults here, now accessible on occasional tours, which have been used for numerous purposes over the decades including as a war shelter, munitions storage, as a billiards hall and for alcohol storage. They’ve part of a wider caves network which had been created when they dug out silver sand, but they got a bit enthusiastic and in 1858 there was a bit of collapse which initially seemed sub-optimal, but they instead created sunken gardens to make things feel more positive.

Old signage from when there was a licensed premises here.

The bridge from the town side. They had to demolish two properties on the main street when they constructed it. It remains an important pedestrian link from the railway station and I like the efforts made to provide information boards about its heritage.

August 12, 2025
Reigate – Red Cross Inn

Whilst in Reigate I popped into the Red Cross Inn in the hope of cooling down slightly, which I’m not sure was an aim that was entirely successful, but I left refreshed if nothing else. It’s a Stonegate pub which is branded as part of their Craft Union chain.

Some of the pub’s history (transcript below).

“The Red Cross Inn can be traced back to the 17th century.

In 1652 the inn was owned by William Castleman who was substantial enough to issue his own farthing tokens. This is the earliest record of the inn clearly indicating a going concern.

Situated at the foot of the castle owned by the Earls of Surrey and beside the medieval market place.

The inn stands opposite the site of the medieval chapel of the Holy Cross that stood on an island in the middle of the road after the Reformation used as a barn and demolished in late 1785.

For centuries this hostelry was used by traders & farmers on market day, travellers and generations of townspeople.

Today this inn remains a well known Reigate landmark.”

It was reported in March 1900 that the pub was set back six feet to allow for road widening, so the frontage of the pub likely dates entirely from then. Ironically, there’s quite a gap between the pub and the road now, so that sacrifice might not have ultimately been necessary.

The beer was the London Pride and was well kept and reasonably priced. The beer selection was weak, mostly relying on lagers, with no craft keg beers of note, but I have to accept this is Craft Union and it’s not what they claim to be about. The venue was clean, although it was quite warm in terms of the temperature, although so were most places.

In terms of the negatives, there was no real engagement at the bar as the landlord just kept talking to another customer which I take no offence at, but if I was a new customer coming in for the first time, it wouldn’t have been the most welcoming of services. The landlord also was perhaps quite brave with his commentary on some first time customers who had walked in (and out) and I think I’ll limit my comments to that as I don’t want to be too downbeat about any pub.

An old door in the corner of the venue, which I assume is some sort of nod towards the heritage of the building. Stonegate have recently spent £200,000 on doing up this venue, although it wasn’t immediately obvious to me how they’d invested this money, although architectural features such at the fireplace had been retained.

Overall, it’s all OK and actually the sort of venue that I’d go, which is indeed why I do visit Craft Union pubs. I accept their drinks aren’t really what I want, but their pricing is reasonable and there’s usually some vibrancy to the atmosphere. It was quiet when I went, but I understand it’s busy on weekends and so they must be doing quite a lot right to surprise and delight customers.

August 12, 2025